Department of Aquatic Resources Management (MSP), Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Sciences (FPIK), IPB University held a Webinar Series with the theme ‘Coherence of Harvest Strategy and Ecolabelling in Demersal and Crustacean Fishery Governance to Support the Blue Economy’.

“This webinar is one of a series towards the peak of the International Seminar on Demersal and Crustacean Fisheries Management (ISDCFM 2023) which will be held on 2-3 August 2023,” said Dr. M Mukhlis Kamal, chairman of the webinar committee.

Prof. Hefni Effendi as head of the IPB University MSP Department hopes that this activity can become a tower of knowledge for various stakeholders to participate in contributing their aspirations in the field of fisheries. This webinar is also a place for students as the younger generation to develop their creativity.

On this occasion, the Dean of FPIK IPB University, Prof. Fredinan Yulianda said that fishery resources are one of the important commodities in the world. This is because 70 percent of the earth’s surface is sea.

“But unfortunately, Indonesian fisheries have not been able to be utilized optimally, one example is that prosperous coastal communities have not been formed. That’s why the term blue economy exists, which is known as a concept of sustainable resource utilization, both in ecological and economic terms,” he explained.

Dr Taryono, a lecturer at the MSP IPB University Department, said that this activity could become a forum for learning and new insights in the world of fisheries. The topic of harvest strategy and ecolabelling really supports the blue economy program. In many definitions, the blue economy is an economy driven by ocean resources.

Lecturer at Gadjah Mada University, Dr. Suadi said, the blue economy is the health of the aquatic environment is maintained and can make fishing communities prosperous with production that remains high. Blue economy can include marine ecosystem, marine biodiversity, aquaculture and marine economy.

Dr. Suadi also explained regarding blue swimming crab which is a big business and has a relatively large value in Indonesia (commodity based). Currently, Indonesia is a major producer of blue swimming crab with marketing levels reaching America and Europe.

“The trend for crab needs in general is starting to increase with positive growth. The data needed are reproductive biology, fishing gear, catch per unit effort (CPUE), sustainability and management. This data determines the reference points needed to make a harvest strategy,” he continued.

On the other hand, Dr. Fery Sutyawan from the Directorate of Fish Resources Management, Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) said that his party was trying to develop a harvest strategy as one of the fisheries management efforts. Indonesia has 11 fisheries management areas (WPP). However, the data regarding the eleven WPPs is not updated.

“The KKP has been mandated to make a harvest strategy in each WPP within five years. However, until now no harvest strategy has been realized. The reference given by the KKP to fishery business actors is the maximum Spawning Potential Ratio (SPR) of 20 percent,” he said.

Dr Fery said that biological data related to length, weight and the uneven distribution of sample locations for data collection were obstacles in the process of preparing a harvest strategy. KKP hopes that with the existence of a harvest strategy, the potential for fisheries in Indonesia will be more sustainable and can recover more quickly.

In addition, the current challenge of the world’s oceans is fish stocks that are decreasing due to increasing levels of global fish consumption. Program Director of the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), Hirmen Sofyanto explained, there are three aspects related to sustainable fisheries management: protecting habitat, balancing capture and restock from nature and ensuring fishing activities do not damage ecosystems.

“Every year the MSC conducts a survey regarding views of global fish consumption. These results show that overfishing is a hazard and main concern in world fisheries in addition to climate change and pollution. MSC is here to promote fisheries in the ecolabel and fishery certification programs and also efforts to support development goals sustainable development (SDGs) 14,” he explained.

In this activity, Prof. La Sara, a lecturer at Halu Oleo University also emphasized the importance of realizing the 1945 Constitution in the field of fisheries. This is so that fishery resources can be utilized as well as possible and maintained in a sustainable manner.

Sources: IPB News