Author: Buguh Tri Hardiyanto (Capture Fisheries Assistant, WWF-Indonesia)

Reef fish is one of the fisheries commodities that has high economic value in Indonesia. Grouper and snapper are among the reef fish species targeted by fishermen in Indonesia. According to data from the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) in 2012 related to the export of Indonesian fishery products, reef fish ranked as the third most sold fishery commodity to foreign countries, after shrimp and tuna. Unfortunately, many reef fish, such as grouper and snapper, are caught in an environmentally unfriendly way that does not take into account the sustainability of these fish stocks. This finding is supported by the issuance of the Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries Decree No. 45 Year 2011 regarding the status of reef fish in 11 Indonesian Fisheries Management Areas (WPP), the majority of which are fully overexploited (overexploited & fullyexploited).

To support sustainable fisheries practices in Indonesia, WWF-Indonesia released Better Management Practices (BMP), Small Scale Fisheries Guidance Series, Grouper and Snapper Fisheries; which is one of the capture fisheries guidelines compiled by WWF-Indonesia Fisheries Team and published in 2015. These BMPs aim to encourage and guide fishers, especially reef fishers, in conducting grouper and snapper fishing with more environmentally friendly practices, starting from the preparation of fishing operations, recommended gear information, fishing techniques, to handling the catch and packaging the catch properly.

By implementing environmentally friendly fisheries practices, fishers not only preserve the available fisheries resources and sustainability of their own livelihoods, but also gain economic benefits by maintaining the quality of the fish caught.

The preparation of this Grouper and Snapper Fisheries BMP was conducted through various stages, namely:

• Data collection from the field in WF-Indonesia's pilot project locations such as Banggai, Kei, and Wakatobi;
• Discussion with relevant stakeholders such as government, academics and fishermen;
• Facilitation activities for reef fishers in Banggai, Wakatobi, and Takalar;
• Literature study of other research results.

This BMP is a flexible (living document), which will continue to be refined in accordance with developments in the field and input from relevant parties.