By: Davidson Rato Nono (Capture Fisheries Officer WWF-Indonesia)

Better Management Practices (BMP) for Shellfish Fisheries published on December 19, 2015 is a practical guide for shellfish fisheries actors in conducting the capture and handling process in a better, environmentally friendly and responsible manner. This guide has gone through a series of preparation processes starting from data collection to review by academics from the Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Science at Airlangga University and Sam Ratulangi University, Sidoarjo Regency Marine and Fisheries Office to fishermen in Surabaya, Semarang, Banyuwangi and Sidoarjo.

Following up on the issuance of the Scallop Fisheries BMP, on March 13, 2016 the East Java Chapter of the Indonesian Women's Coalition (KPI Jatim), WWF-Indonesia's Capture Fisheries and Fisheries Science teams and Fish n' Blues' Quality Control conducted an approach or socialization related to the use of the Scallop Fisheries BMP to stakeholders of scallop fisheries in Sidoarjo. The socialization of Shellfish Fisheries BMPs was attended by 17 shellfish fishermen, two representatives from the Sidoarjo Regency Marine and Fisheries Office and a Sidoarjo Regency fisheries extension officer.

The socialization of Shellfish Fisheries BMPs was officially opened by Mrs. Fesana Eradiaty as the Head of the Marine Potential Management Section of the Sidoarjo Regency Marine and Fisheries Service. After the opening about the importance of BMP socialization, the team then gave a pre test as a form of initial assessment to determine the level of understanding and insight of the participants regarding the clam fishery activities that have been carried out so far.

Introducing Sustainable Fisheries Management through Simulation Games

After the presentation of the material in the Shellfish Fisheries BMP guide, participants were given a simulation game of Sustainable Vs Non-Sustainable Fisheries. The purpose of this simulation was to give fisheries practitioners an idea of what would happen if scallop fisheries were not managed properly. Furthermore, the participants were given material related to the handling of catches delivered by Tia Soviana, Quality Control Fish 'n Blues.

The material provided by Quality Control Fish 'n Blues mostly contains how to maintain and maintain the quality and freshness of shellfish from the time they are caught until they are in the hands of consumers. The delivery of this material is very important, because the clam fishermen group whose activities have been assisted by KPI Jatim has conducted business transactions with Fish 'n Blues as a responsible and environmentally friendly reseller of seafood products.

At the end of the activity, the assisted scallop fishermen group was specifically given a questionnaire that was filled in by interviewing the resource persons to measure the level of compliance with the Scallop Fishery BMPs. From the results of the recapitulation of pre and post test scores calculated by the team, there was an increase in understanding, which averaged 14%. Then, based on the results of the interviews that have been conducted, it is known that the percentage of the compliance level of the assisted scallop fishermen is 65.2%, so they still need some improvements in terms of vessel cleanliness, licensing, fishing operations and post-capture handling to get a minimum percentage of 80%.

The follow-up of the socialization of BMP for Shellfish Fisheries is that KPI East Java can continue to provide assistance to fishermen groups in improving the management of shellfish fisheries to make a meaningful contribution in maintaining the sustainability of ecosystems and fishery resources, especially shellfish in Sidoarjo Regency. Hopefully, under the guidance of KPI East Java, fishermen as fisheries actors can directly apply the standards in BMP to realize better, responsible and environmentally friendly fisheries management.