By Windy Rizki

WWF-Indonesia, accompanied by the Bunaken National Park Forum, conducted an initial survey to assess the suitability of mangrove crab fishing practices with the principles of the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) in Manado, North Sulawesi, from April 22-25, 2014.

This survey is one of the efforts in realizing efforts to improve fisheries in Indonesia through the JARING Nusantara scheme. The survey was conducted for four days by fishermen groups in the Bunaken National Park area covering the north coast of Bunaken National Park, the south coast of Bunaken National Park, and Mantehage Island.

Based on this survey, it is known that mangrove crab fishing practices use the same type of fishing gear hooks and traps (bubu or igih). The crabs encountered during the survey were larger in size compared to the crabs encountered in Java, which suggests that the mangrove crab resources in this area are still healthy and need to be preserved.

The bait used to catch these crabs varies, such as octopus (bobocha), lado fish, and coconut. The crabs caught are generally sold to Manado, although there are also those who utilize their catch for household consumption.

These crab fishermen fish in a habitat-friendly manner, with bycatch species of Sembilang fish and king crab. The follow-up to this assessment is the improvement of crab utilization and management practices that will be carried out by the Bunaken National Park Forum.