Assessment on the governance of fisheries management at fishery management area in Indonesia

Abstract

Given Indonesia’s enormous sea area, decentralization is inevitable in managing fishery resources, so-called Fishery Management Areas (FMAs). The governance of FMAs has been endorsed by MMAF Decree No. 33/2019. However, there were many challenges in its implementation. At the same time, Indonesia’s Long Term Development Plan of 2020-2024 specified that strengthening the governance of the FMAs will be one of the fishery development priorities. This study’s will assess the current design and implementation of FMA governance, namely the Fishery Management Councils (FMC). We gathered data and information using field observation, interviews with policymakers, and members of FMCs in several FMAs. We then carried out two analyses, namely, formal and informal analysis. The formal analysis was done by comparing each FMC component’s function and task based on the written guideline for operating FMC and the FMC of FMA and real observation. The informal analysis evaluates the critical management function and attributes of the existing FMC governance and compares them with the ideal function. From the formal analysis, we find that each component of FMC’s tasks and functions as written on the documents marginally/partially implemented by FMC members. From the informal analysis, we find that many challenges and gaps in the operationalization of the FMCs.