One of the main commitments agreed at the first annual meeting in Bogor in 2014 was the fight against Illegal Unreported Unregulated (IUU) fishing in each of the assisted locations. Based on the agreement, Jaring KuALA, a member of JARING-Nusantara with an assisted area in Aceh, and WWF-Indonesia collected data related to IUU fishing, respectively in Aceh Besar and Benoa Harbor. There are 11 points of concern, including the registration and marking of fishing vessels, log book fishing, specifications of fishing gear and fishing aids, to the presence of observers on board fishing vessels.

The data was collected using a questionnaire, developed by WWF-Indonesia and Greenpeace. Several findings were obtained, one of which is the recording of log books which is still not well implemented. In Aceh itself, the implementation of logbooks will only be carried out at the end of 2015. In addition, irregularities were also found in the fishing gear data of several fishing vessels. In the licensing, the registered fishing gear is purse seine, but physically the fishing gear is more like cantrang/trawl. Meanwhile, in the Benoa Harbor area, there are vessels with markings that are not made permanent. This could potentially lead to multiple hull markings but only one license.

In general, some of the things that were noted together from both locations were the need for supervision related to licensing, placement of observer on board, recording log book, and confirmation of rules related to the management of the Fish Catch Certification (SHTI). In addition, it is important to increase the capacity of the crew in handling protected species when caught so that they can remain alive when released again.

The findings of JARING-Nusantara members related to IUU fishing were revealed during the second annual meeting held on May 31-June 2, 2015 in Denpasar, Bali. This activity is a routine meeting of members of the Responsible Fisheries Working Network or known as JARING-Nusantara. This activity is carried out to exchange information and progress on the improvement of capture and aquaculture fisheries in each assisted location. An important activity in the meeting was that two JARING-Nusantara members, WWF-Indonesia and JARING KuALA, reported the results of data collection in the field related to IUU fishing activities.

Furthermore, JARING-Nusantara itself will continue to conduct similar activities in other member-assisted locations, such as in South Sulawesi. The results of the survey of IUU fishing practices will then be taken into consideration for the improvement of fisheries that will be carried out by JARING-Nusantara members. Not only that, the points that need improvement will also be forwarded to the local government so that they become a special concern in order to improve Indonesian fisheries practices towards responsible and sustainable fisheries and free from IUU fishing.

Greetings!

Writer: JARING-Nusantara Team