By Windy Rizki

On February 10, 2014,WWF-Indonesia in cooperation with Indonesian Reef Check Foundation conducted pre-assessment to measure the conformity of reef fish fishing in Tejakula and Gerokgak sub districts, North Baliwith sustainable and responsible practices. The pre-assessment was part of Fishery Improvement Program, especially for small-scale fishersassisted by one of the JARING-Nusantara members. The survey was carried out in two days, and the activities were mainly observing fishing practices used by fisher groups in two different sub districts.

Baruna Barata fisherman group in Tejakulasub district was the first group that had visit from survey team. This group consists of approximately 40 fishers and has been established since 1987. Most of the fishers in this group use handline with sardine and squid as the bait. The target species are grouper and snapper. The total number of catch per day is about 5 kg. From the interviews, it was identified that the number of catch was declining in the last five years.

Unlike any other fisher groups, Sumber Laut fishing unit in Gerokgak sub district, Sumber Kima village, consisted of approximately 58 fishers, is the only fisher group in the village that conducts spear fishing. The target species include grouper, rabbitfish, yellow tail, and pink ear emperor.

Most of the fishers in North Bali have realized the importance of sustainable and responsible fishing practices, bomb or cyanide fishing is no longer applied in this area. When fishers incidentally capture sea turtles or sharks, they do not retain them but release them back to the sea. Following up the pre-assessment, logbook program will be introduced and relevant data should be collected that include ecological and biological aspects, and morphology of reef fish. The data will be useful for the forthcoming stock assessment and measuring habitat and ecosystem condition. It is also hoped that linkages will be built, so the fish products from the sustainable and responsible practices in this area can be supplied or marketed to Panda Lestari.