By Seafood Savers Team

Sendang Biru at the southern tip of Malang is one of the best handline tuna producing areas in Indonesia. The tuna supply of one of the Seafood Savers Sea Delight member companies also comes from the tuna landings in Sendang Biru. WWF-Indonesia's Seafood Savers team visited Sendang Biru some time ago to see the development of tuna fishing practices towards sustainable fisheries.

Seafood Savers has been working with fishermen and collectors in the Sea Delight supply chain in Sendang Biru since 2011. It began with a process of problem identification, recommendations for things that need to be addressed, and fulfillment of recommendations. Furthermore, the mentoring activities began with the socialization of the use of circle hook fishing rods, the application of Better Management Practices (BMP) of Tuna Fisheries, and the filling of logbook. In addition to providing assistance during fishing, Seafood Savers and Sea Delight are also working together to test how to handle tuna properly and efficiently.

Since taking over as Head of the Pondok Dadap Coastal Fisheries Port (PPP) Management Unit two years ago, Goentoro Soepardi has also implemented several measures to improve fishing practices by local fishermen, such as vessel registration to record vessels departing and landing fish at Sendang Biru Harbor and logbook recording. All of this data will also be useful for analyzing fish stocks. In line with this, Sea Delight representative Steve Fisher also stated that the improvements made by the Pondok Dadap port were very helpful in the fisheries improvement action plan carried out, especially in the Seafood Savers scheme.

Darmawan Ockto, a researcher from Brawijaya University who has conducted tuna studies in Sendang Biru since 1983, also said that the efforts to improve fisheries that have been carried out, especially since the last few years, have brought many improvements to the living standards of fishermen. However, according to him, there are still some things that need to be improved, such as the increasing number of FADs at sea and the significant increase in the fleet which is feared to add pressure to the fisheries in Sendang Biru in general.

Until now, Sendang Biru is still improving towards an international standard fishery area. There are still many plans to be implemented to increase the value of the tuna fishery in Sendang Biru, both in terms of quality and quantity. The improvement of fish handling and the quality of the fish auction site (TPI) are also on the list of homework that must be completed gradually. This can certainly be done with the support of all parties, ranging from fishermen, collectors, fishing industry, government, academics, to NGOs.