Participatory Boat Tracking Reveals Spatial Fishing Patterns in an Indonesian Artisanal Fishery

Gabriela Navarrete Forero,Hauke Reuter,Sudirman Sudirman,Tobias Karl Mildenberger,Sara Miñarro,Annette Breckwoldt

doi:10.3389/fmars.2017.00409

Abstract

The Spermonde Archipelago holds one of the largest artisanal fisheries in Indonesia, providing livelihoods for local communities and many other people involved in international trade networks of seafood. High demand and a lack of enforcement of existing fisheries regulations turn into high pressure for the coral reef ecosystem, contributing to its overall degradation. Estimations on the ecological impacts of different levels of fishing pressure, as well as fisheries stock assessments and marine resource management require precise information of the spatial distribution of fishing effort, which involves great uncertainty when only anecdotal information is considered. We explored the feasibility of applying participatory boat tracking to complement fisheries data during the NW monsoon season 2014-2015. We conducted interviews, measured catch landings and distributed GPS data loggers among hook and line fishermen to identify fishing grounds by gear-dependent patterns of boat movement. Most of the fishing activities involved two gears (octopus bait and trolling line for live groupers) and three fishing grounds. The mass of catch landings was dominated by Octopoda (CPUE=10.1 kg boatday-1) while the most diverse group was the fish family Serranidae, with Plectropomus leopardus being the main target species. In conclusion, boat tracking combined with interviews and catch surveys has proven a useful tool to reduce uncertainty in information on spatial resource use, while allowing a high level of participation by fishermen.

Highlights

Millions of people from coastal communities in Indonesia are directly or indirectly involved in the fisheries sector, with their livelihoods strongly attached to/dependent on the health of the marine ecosystem (e.g., Ferse et al, 2014; Ferrol-Schulte et al, 2015; Baum et al, 2016)
The catch was mainly sold to fish collectors linked to export trade networks, and only part of it was consumed locally
Boat tracking is an underexplored topic in the artisanal fisheries literature which deals with fishing boats which do not have satellite transponders, as opposed to industrial vessels where carrying Automatic Identification Systems (AIS) is standard practice

Summary

Introduction

Millions of people from coastal communities in Indonesia are directly or indirectly involved in the fisheries sector, with their livelihoods strongly attached to/dependent on the health of the marine ecosystem (e.g., Ferse et al, 2014; Ferrol-Schulte et al, 2015; Baum et al, 2016). The number of overexploited fish stocks has increased due to the unsustainable use of marine resources and the widespread degradation of Indonesia’s marine coastal ecosystems, including coral reefs, seagrass meadows, and mangroves (e.g., Heazle and Butcher, 2007; Ferrol-Schulte et al, 2015) This threatens the livelihoods of coastal communities, but national policies addressing their vulnerability have often failed to provide the intended benefits at the local level due to a lack of comprehensive, integrated management, and development of alternative livelihood options (Ferse et al, 2014; Ferrol-Schulte et al, 2015; Glaser et al, accepted). Complex networks exist between the small-scale artisanal fisheries and the local, regional, and global seafood markets, which pose even more challenges to transform this highly exploitative fishery system into one with sustainable management, fair access, and effective conservation regulations (e.g., Crona et al, 2015; Glaser et al, 2015; Miñarro et al, 2016)

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion