By Teguh Prawira
The Bycatch team conducted socialization of Turtle Bycatch Mitigation BMPs in five Indonesian Secondary Fisheries Business Schools (SUPM). Socialization is a strategy to disseminate information on responsible fisheries practices, especially in handling bycatch and its mitigation efforts. The activities were carried out from February 17 to March 3, 2014 at five SUPMs including SUPMN Bone, SUPMN Pontianak, SUPMN Pariaman, SUPMN Kota Agung, and SUPMN Tegal.

The socialization, which was attended not only by SUPM students but also local companies and fishermen, provided an initial understanding of the aspects of responsible and sustainable fishing practices. These aspects consist of Maintaining fish stocks, Protecting Threatened Marine Biota, Selective Catching/No bycatch ETP, Maintaining Ecosystems, and Traceability. All of these aspects boil down to fishing that pays attention to the impact on habitats and other ecosystems around it. To realize a fishery practice that is said to be responsible and sustainable, fishing actors must fulfill these aspects, or at least refer to the five aspects.

An interesting point was raised by most of the socialization participants, they admitted that they still often carried out fishing activities that were unconsciously far from responsible and sustainable aspects. They still have a paradigm to get a lot of fish and money, without thinking about the future impact on the surrounding environment. A paradigm that everyone can understand that most Indonesian fishermen still have a poor socio-economic life.

The paradigm of fishermen in catching fish and the lack of understanding of capture fisheries actors became the initial idea for the socialization of handling sea turtle bycatch. The target of this socialization also includes the young generation of Indonesian fisheries and marine cadres who will continue the management of fisheries in Indonesia. Sea turtles, as one of the Endangered, Threatened, and Protected (ETP) animals that are often involved in bycatch activities will lead to death and population decline which results in disruption of the ecosystem in the sea. This socialization has trained 390 stakeholders in sea turtle bycatch handling techniques and mitigation efforts. It is hoped that Indonesia's future fisheries and marine cadres will be able to implement and uphold responsible and sustainable fishing practices now and for the future.

Salam Lestari.