UOW to lead major study of Indonesian marine fisheries

University of Wollongong, 4 Jul 2008 | Bernie Goldie 

A research team from the Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security (ANCORS) at the University of Wollongong has won a major four-year, $1.5 million nationally competitive research grant that could have a significant impact on marine fisheries in Indonesia. 

The project is funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR). 

The University team is led by Associate Professor Ron West, a leading Australian fisheries scientist and includes Professor Martin Tsamenyi and Dr Mary Ann Palma, experts in ocean law and policy. The CSIRO (Marine and Atmospheric Research) and the Indonesian Ministry for Marine Affairs and Fisheries (MMAF) will be collaborators in the research. 

Indonesian fisheries are among the largest and most productive worldwide, and are critical to that nation’s economic development and in providing food resources to millions of people. 

Based on the UN's Food and Agricultural Organisation's (FAO) data for 2004, about 4.5 million tonnes of marine fish (valued at about $US3.2 billion) are harvested by millions of people using a wide range of fishing gears, including hundreds of thousands of fishing boats. 

Professor West said this places Indonesian marine capture fisheries among the top five in terms of fisheries production. 

FAO data have shown that many regency, provincial and national government agencies are involved in administering these fisheries and that the current arrangements have led to a confused situation where “effective management is difficult to achieve”. 

As a result of the lack of effective management, Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing throughout Indonesian waters has become a major issue that confounds attempts to manage fish stocks. 

"Consequently, there is an urgent need to develop effective assessment and policy frameworks to better manage Indonesian fisheries," Professor West said. 

The primary objective of the research project will be to develop a better understanding of the characteristics of the many of the district and provincial fisheries throughout Indonesia (for example, details of the fishing methods, capture species, fished areas, unregulated fishing activities, licensing and regulatory framework) and to investigate new and innovative assessment and management approaches. 

It will require a detailed survey of fish markets throughout Java, Lombok and Bali, and investigating policy options with the goal of improving long-term sustainability. 

"This project is likely to have significant impacts on marine fisheries in Indonesia, such as improvements in the quality of fisheries data, stock assessments, fishery information; increased capacity in terms of fisheries management, particularly within provincial government; adoption, broader dissemination and further refinement of resource assessment methodologies; and, new policy and regulatory frameworks," Professor West said. 

It is expected that the research will lead to the establishment of more effective fisheries management; greater sustainability in fishing practices; improved food security; more sustainable catches; economic benefits to local communities; and, increased government revenue.