Who doesn't know the charm of East Nusa Tenggara? This area has so much potential for marine tourism supported by the small islands around it. In addition to tourism, fisheries are also one of the main livelihoods of the local community. Fisheries activities in East Nusa Tenggara are dominated by small-scale fishermen using traditional vessels and fishing gear, supported by abundant fisheries resources. The main commodities consist of reef fish groups such as snapper, grouper, and ketambak or jangki/lencam.

One of the areas with the main livelihood in the fisheries sector is Seraya Marannu Village. This village is one of the fishing villages on Seraya Island located in West Manggarai Regency, only about an hour from Labuan Bajo. The fishermen in Seraya Marannu Village are generally involved in fishermen groups, such as Kelompok Usaha Bersama (KUB) Hasil Laut and KUB Sumber Rejeki. Both groups have been assisted by WWF Indonesia Foundation since 2017 in conducting sustainable capture fisheries activities.

KUB Hasil Laut and KUB Sumber Rejeki have been equipped with various knowledge from the Fisheries Improvement Program (FIP) regarding sustainable capture fisheries practices. Some of them include: knowing the types of protected fish, using environmentally friendly fishing gear, not throwing garbage into the sea by providing trash bins on each boat, completing the completeness of fisheries administration, recording catches, and knowing the weight of fishing kayaks from several catch commodities.

"For environmentally friendly fishing practices, the tools are simple. We use fishing rods, lead, sleighs, strings, and buoys," explained Karlin Latuo, a member of Sumber Rejeki KUB. He also revealed that the formation of these two groups was also to improve the welfare of fishermen as members.

In addition, both groups have also implemented the Reef Fish Better Management Practices (BMP) guidelines that have been socialized to all group members. The percentage of group members' compliance with BMPs has also increased from year to year. This demonstrates the increased capacity and knowledge of fishers in implementing sustainable fisheries practices that are important for the sustainability of the ecosystem.

Not only assistance in increasing the capacity and compliance of fishermen in implementing sustainable fisheries practices, fishermen of Seraya Marannu Village, especially KUB Hasil Laut and KUB Sumber Rejeki are also equipped with a business development plan through cooperation with UD Pulau Mas, a company engaged in buying and selling fish catches.

The cooperation with UD Pulau Mas means that fishermen do not have to go far to sell their catches, because UD Pulau Mas has cages located close to the fishermen's fishing grounds. Despite doing business with small-scale fishermen, UD Pulau Mas has strict standards for the fish that can be sold. The fish must be alive, healthy and not deformed, and have a minimum catch weight per individual.

Fish from fishermen are also valued at a fairly high value, for example, a sunu grouper weighing above 500 grams can be purchased at a price of IDR 260,000 (as of October 2021) from fishermen. This is a harmony between sustainable fisheries and the welfare of small fishermen that should be implemented. In addition to collaborating with UD Pulau Mas, KUB Hasil Laut and KUB Sumber Rejeki have also successfully expanded their fisheries business by becoming one of the suppliers of fishery products for AYANA Komodo Resort, a five-star hotel in Labuan Bajo.

"Welcoming the spirit of the fishery groups in Seraya Marannu Village who apply environmentally friendly principles and efforts to improve fisheries, we hope that the two groups will get support in other sectors such as the quality tourism industry, for example hotels, restaurants or other public sectors can utilize the catches of groups that think about sustainability for future generations," said Kusnanto, WWF Indonesia Foundation staff.

In order to continue the efforts to improve the fisheries program in Seraya Marannu Village, it is necessary to approach other fishermen groups, as well as broader business development to ensure the welfare of fishermen.