Indonesia update: key fisheries selected as focus of improvement initiatives

A total of 14 one-by-one tuna fisheries have been identified to be the focus of on-the-ground improvement activities as part of the Indonesian Fishery Improvement Project (FIP).

IPNLF and AP2HI recently announced which one-by-one (pole-and-line, handline and troll) tuna fisheries or Units of Assessment (UoA) - which are defined by the target stock, fishing method and location - in Indonesia will be the focus of fishery improvement activities, with the aim of transitioning towards Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) assessment in the near term. The UoAs were identified based on criteria which included fishery geography, gear type, target tuna species, available fishery data, preparedness for MSC assessment, company engagement in achieving MSC certification, and compliance with the AP2HI Code of Conduct. The selected 14 UoAs cover six geographic regions:

1. Maluku Skipjack Pole-and-Line
2. Maluku Yellowfin Pole-and-Line
3. Maluku Yellowfin Handline
4. Banda Yellowfin Handline
5. North Sulawesi & North Maluku Skipjack Pole-and-Line
6. North Sulawesi & North Maluku Yellowfin Pole-and-Line
7. North Sulawesi & North Maluku Yellowfin Handline
8. West Papua Skipjack Pole-and-Line
9. West Papua Yellowfin Pole & Line
10. West Papua Yellowfin Handline
11. North Flores Skipjack Pole-and-Line North
12. Flores Yellowfin Pole-and-Line
13. Flores Yellowfin Handline
14. West Nusa Tenggara Skipjack Troll

IPNLF and AP2HI have developed a FIP Action Plan for each UoA to address the issues that each fishery needs to tackle in order to prepare the fisheries for MSC Full Assessment, with support and collaboration from other FIP stakeholders. Fisheries improvement activities will not focus exclusively on these UoAs and in the longer-term other UoAs may be taken to full assessment.