Stock Performance and Fishers’ Perception of Grouper and Snapper Fisheries in the Saleh Bay, Indonesia

Abstract

The legal basis of managing grouper and snapper fisheries in Saleh Bay is the Governor Regulation of West Nusa Tenggara No. 32 of 2018. This study aims to assess stock performance and understand fishers' perception of the regulation. In this study, we used length-based assessment, perception analysis, and Rapid Appraisal for Fisheries technique. The overall results showed that the implementation of the governor fisheries management regulation was still not optimal, although the potential spawning ratio (SPR) of most fish stocks has higher than the threshold, being over 20% (SPR limit reference point), except Epinephelus coioides. However, fishers had diverse perceptions of the governor regulations and had not fully complied with the most important ones. These included the minimum size of catch and the allowed type of fishing gear. Therefore, we identify four management strategies to improve a more sustainable fisheries management are: an intensive program to increase public awareness about sustainable fisheries needs to be conducted, the policy to limit the legal size must be enforced and should be adopted as provincial regulation in the future, the surveillance capability and law enforcement of destructive fishing practices (bombs and potassium) should be strengthened, stakeholder participation should be engaged, and social institutions of the fishing community should be empowered by co-management. This study also highlights the urgency of establishing a combination of market-based management (e.g., seafood certification) and a closed fishing season in spawning aggregation areas to complement existing fishery management.