Improved Design Fixed Stake Trap With PVC Poles and Suitable Mesh Size Net Enables Sustainable White-Spotted Spinefoot, Siganus canaliculatus (Park, 1797) Fisheries in Luwu District, South Sulawesi

Abstract

The traditional fixed stake trap made typically of wooden poles and thinly interwoven bamboos walls have been used for generations as fishing gear in coastal regions of South Sulawesi Province, Indonesia. In the 1980s, bamboo slats were replaced with nets of various mesh sizes as they became readily available, and currently, in the research area, no bamboo is used. Each unit of the wooden structure is made of around 300 poles that must be replaced three to four times annually and is becoming difficult due to the scarcity of wood and the high cost. Thus, this research aims to provide a feasible solution using PVC pipes and a suitable size mesh net for sustainable fisheries management of white-spotted spinefoot, Siganus canaliculatus (Park, 1797). The study was done in Karang-karangan village located on the coast of Luwu Regency where white-spotted spinefoot is the main fishing livelihood activity of fishers. The mesh size of the net used was 2.60 cm, and the results showed that the newly designed fixed stake trap unit made of PVC has been durable for the last 2.2 years and is expected to last at least 5 years. Compared to the traditional wood structure, there are no barnacles attached to the PVC pipes. The net size used allows smaller fish below 8.6 cm in length to escape, thus making white-spotted spinefoot fisheries sustainable. The estimated cost of using wood for 5 years is IDR60 million (USD4200), while PVC only requires around IDR15 million (USD1050).