Trial Fishing Surveys for Skipjack As an Early Develqpment of the Indonesian Skipjack Fishery
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TRIAL FISHING SURVEYS FOR SKIPJACK AS AN EARLY DEVELQPMENT OF THE INDONESIAN SKIPJACK FISHERY M. Unar Marine Fishery Research Institute Djalan Kerapu 12, Djakarta, Indonesia. ABSTRACT A brief account is given of the early development of the Indonesian skipjack fishery. The skipjack industry in Indonesia has the potential to expand tremendously, especially since the skipjack stock is underutilised and there Is an increasing demand for the raw material in world markets. A review of the methods of fishing for skipjack indicated that the pole-and- line method appears to be the best means for harvesting this resource in Indonesian waters. However, problems relating to the availability, abundance,and hardiness of baitfish must be overcome before the fishery can be expanded to its maximum. Experimental pole-and-line fishing trials and surveys carried out on modern skipjack vessels have indicated a bright prospect for the development of a skipjack fishery, particularly in the eastern park of the Indonesian waters. The total landings of tuna and tuna-like fish from the Indonesian waters is estimated at around 30,000 tons annually. Classified according to the conditions of the Indonesian waters, about 5,000 tons of this amount come from the waters of the Sunda-shelf, in particular the Java Sea, Malacca Strait and adjacent waters (~igureI). These catches include the following species: Euthvnnus spp., Auxis thazard and Thunnu8 tonnnol. The bulk of the remaining catch of 25,000 tons comes from outside the mentioned shelf waters, particularly from coastal areas directly facing the oceans. These landings contain in addition to the species mentioned earlier a larger number of species such as Katsuwonus pelamis, Thunnus albacares and Sarda orientalis. The most important one is the skipjack, Katsuwonus pelamis, popularly known as chakalang, which constitutes the mador part of the landings, at least about 12,000 tons. Particularly in the eastern part of Indonesia this species is very popular and in several regions it is found throughout the whole year. A substantial increase in the landings of this species can be observed at the two maincentresof .skipjack fishing, i.e., at Airtembaga, North Sulawesi and at Ambon, Moluccas from where overseas shipping has been established recently. The efforts made bv the Government for the expansion of the skipjack fishery represent one of it* programmes to incrtase the utilisation of the fishery resources rationally. The programme is not only aimed at meeting local needs but also fits well in the overall Government agricultural development policy which gives high priority to foreign-exchange-earni~resource development. In addition to domestic capital, foreign investments are needed in the development of this enterprise. Skipjack landings in the Indonesian waters are still considered to be low and the skipjack stock is virtually under-exploited. All investments in this fishing industry are encouraged, and should be backed by trial fishing or surveys in order to be able to decide whether the establishment of such enterprises can be justified commercially. The pilot fishing operation for skipjack and tuna in West Irian, which operated from Sorong in 1969-197Qwas the first survey conducted in this field. Similar surveys or trial fishing are now underway in other parts of Eastern Indonesia and on the west coast of Sumatra. 2. DISTRIBUTION OF SKIPJACK Except for the shallow waters of the Arafura Sea, skipjack are found in the waters of eastern Indonesia from Makassar Strait to West Irian. It ia also abundant along the coasts facing the Indian Ocean and around the islands in the South China Sea. Data of landings at both skipJack fishery c3ntres in Eastern Indonesia, i.e., Airtembaga and Ambon Micate that skipjack can be caught continuously throughout the entire year. This can also be observed at Padang, West Sumatra, where data of landings by motorised trollers suggest that skipjack is to be found in this part of the Indian Ocean throughout the whole year. It is worth noting that observations show dense skipjack concentrations normally in the vicinity of islands and this might be attributed to the presence of food concentrations in these waters. Both skipjack fishing grounds of Airtembaga and Ambon can be reached in only a few hours sailing. Two cruises made by an Indonesian research vessel with an interval of 5 months in 1970 have resulted in indications that large schools of skipjack were present along the north coast of the eastern part of the Lesser Sunda Islands, particularly in the vicinity of entrances of straits between the islands. ' 3. SKIPJACK FISHWIES In the Indonesian waters the most common and basic method of fishing for tuna and tuna- like fish is by trolling from small wooden sailing veseels which are powered with inboard OF outboard motors Qr just by rowing. In Benoa, south-east of Eali, a local fisheries cooperative with a fleet of 242 sailing trollers had landed 196 tons of tuna-like fish during the east monsoon of 1970, the major part of which consisted of skipjack (Table I). Along the Badung Strait where Benoa is situated and which is about 50 miles long, more than 5,000 sailing vessels are engaged in trolling. At Padang, West Sumatra, a fleet of 142 trolling vessels powered with inboard or outboard motors oaptured 1,572 tons of tuna-like fish in 1970, 80 percent of which consisted of skipjack (Table 11). The vessels have a length ranging from 7 to I0 m. Several are powered with in- board diesel engines of 8-16 HP and more than half have outboard motors of 25-40 HP. In the dry season schools of skipjack come into the Bay of Ambon and other bays in the Moluccas, and trolling is carried out by rowing smaller vessels of about 3-4 m length, locally called nk016-kol6~~. Pole-and-line fishing with live bait is practised in the Sulawesi Sea and the Moluccas Sea with its centre in Airtembaga,and in the Banda Sea with Ambon as its centre. The original method of pole-and-line fishing for skipjack by rowing vessels of 10-12 m length is still carried out in the Ternate and Ambon areem. Those vessels mentioned which are employed in this fishery are called nfunaiM in the Ternate and VurQh6fl in the Ambon area. Modernisation of this fishery commenced with the introduction of Japanese-type wooden motorised vessels equipped with a live bait tank. Generally the catch is not frozen on board and the fishing operation itself lasts less than a day. At the centresAirtembaga and Ambon there are 50 pole--and-line fishing vessels, of which 23 vessels of the 15 tons class are owned by the state. The remaining 27 vessels of the 5-15 tons class are operated by private companies or cooperatives, with a larger part based in Airtembaga. Landings made by the aforementioned vesselsare estimated at around 5,000 tons annually. Light fishing is the most common method applied for securing live bait, and separate units carry out this operation. Live bait caught during the night is collected by the motorised vessels early in the next morning. Fishing gear commonly used f0.r this operation are lift- nets and beach seines. Observation of landings from 9 vessels owned by the state enterprise in Airtembaga for the years 1968-1970 indicated that the average annual landings made by each vessel were 156, 153 and 176 tons respectively (Table III), while for the same period in Ambon the average annual landings made by each of the five vessels operated by the state enterprise was 138, 134 and 197 tons respectively a able IV). The substantial increase in the landings of 1970 was attributed to the expansion of the skipjack market. Several other methods of fishing for skipjack which developed locally or incidentally are being employed. The "payang seine" which is traditionally used for fishing scad, mackerel and other pelagic fish is modified into a small skipjack seine at Pelabuhanratu on the south coast of West Java. Fishing is carried out by motorised vessels of about 10 m length. The ttgiob", a purse seine-like net for fishing garfish which is very abundant in the Moluccan waters, can be used incidentally for skipjack. Skipjack are also regularly caught in bamboo stake traps around south-east Sulawesi. 4. THE LIVE BAIT Light fishing in shallow waters seems to be the most common method employed in securing live bait and a large variety of fish species are used for this purpose. Stole~horusspp., locally called nterin or "ikan putihn, is most desired by the fishermen for its abundance and appearance, although the mortaliky seems to be high for extended operations. Other sardine- like fish such as juveniles of hrssumieria spp. and Sardinella spp. are commonly caught together with those of mackerel or scad. Close to coral reef waters Atherina spp. is always present in such light fishing catches, while juveniles of Caesio spp. locally called t*lalosin, are desired for their low mortality but like other bottom fish have a poor quality as live bait. - 485 - For the expansion of the skipjack industry in Airtembaga and Ambon live bait surveys have been carried out by FAO/UNDP fishery development projects and reports concluded that the bait conditions are favourable in both surrounding waters. Live bait production with light fishing might be a limiting factor if a large fleet is in operation, since catches decrease considerably during moonlight nights. In their operations the FUNMJI skipjack survey fleet based at Sorong, West Irian introduced a method which is applicable for daytime fishing employing a drive-in net which seems to be successful. Previous surveys conducted for locating bait grounds revealed some excellent bait source areas such as the Kendari waters, South-east Sulawesi.