SEA NEWS

BRIEF

Monthly Update Vol. 4, May 2019

SUSTAINABLE ECOSYSTEMS Two West MPAs Proposed for Ministerial ADVANCED (SEA) PROJECT Declaration

TABLE of CONTENT

Two MPAs • Proposed for Ministerial Declaration

USAID SEA Links up with • Indonesian Fisheries

Ministry to Showcase Assessment Work at

International Forum

On April 16, the Governor of West FakFak local government and • NOAA Lends Technical Papua submitted a letter to the community leaders to visit Raja Direction to Fisheries Ministry of Marine Affairs and Ampat and learn about developing and managing community-based Management in West Papua Fisheries (MMAF) requesting official declaration and establishment of two marine tourism. The visit, which MPAs in the district of Fakfak, was conducted on April 8-12, Discussion Kicks Off on namely, Nusalasi-Van den Bosch Bay involved about 180 participants • and Berau Bay, which together span from various backgrounds, Mid-Term almost 350,000 hectares of critical including district officials, technical Plan habitats. personnel, village heads, and community members. It culminated in an agreement Prototype System This follows a 2017 Governor’s • Decree to reserve these two MPAs, between the regents of Fakfak and Launched to Improve and nearly two years of work by the Raja Ampat to work together to Marine Use Permitting in provincial government to develop the strengthen marine tourism Maluku MPAs’ Zoning and Management development and management in Plans, which USAID SEA assisted their respective districts. through a sub-contract with CI. • Fisheries Committee Sets Ministerial declaration is required for This collaboration was formalized Guidelines for Sustainable the MPAs to be recognized in the in a memorandum of Fisheries in Maluku national MPA system and upgraded understanding that included under ’s MPA management relevant trainings, workshops, and

effectiveness scoring system from the other forms of knowledge and current green (minimally managed) experience exchange on marine to yellow (established), which will ecotourism management, allow for budget, and thus for customary community-based operations to begin, for implemen- surveillance, management and ting the MPAs. In preparation for the establishment of customary declaration, CI recently facilitated the fisheries area, and marketing and promotional strategies.

USAID SEA Links up with Indonesian Fisheries Ministry to Showcase Assessment Work at International Forum

th In their latest joint effort, USAID SEA and Indonesia’s Held on April 8-12 in Iloilo City, Philippines, the 12 Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (MMAF) AFAF attracted participants from 22 countries, thus presented their fisheries assessment work at a special providing opportunity for USAID SEA to promote and scientific session during the recent 12th Asian Fisheries disseminate its project results to an international and Aquaculture Forum (AFAF). The session, held on audience. April 11 and called “Toward Sustainable Fisheries in Eastern Indonesia: Assessment of Fish Stock and USAID SEA also collaborated with the USAID Oceans Fisheries in a Data-Limited Context,” was attended by and Fisheries Partnership to mount a USAID Marine scientists, academics, researchers and government Program booth at an exhibition held parallel to representatives from Asia and the U.S. It featured six Forum. As well as handing out project publications, scientific papers detailing findings from the the booth received and entertained inquiries, assessment, which involved a series of USAID SEA- including requests for e-copies of the three-volume supported trainings and workshops on data collection, USAID SEA publication “State of the Sea: Indonesia,” stock assessment methodologies and analysis. which drew particular interest from exhibition visitors. The papers were the collaborative work of fisheries experts from USAID SEA, WCS and WWF with senior MMAF researchers, some of whom attended and presented at the Forum, and who – after participating in 10 regular sessions and seven special sessions and taking note of developments in scientific approaches and methodological research in Asian fisheries – were one in saying that the methodology USAID SEA introduced to them was generally more advanced than those used in other countries.

AFAF is a triennial event of the Asian Fisheries Society organized as an international platform for scientists from all over the world to discuss issues affecting fisheries and aquaculture in the Asia-Pacific Region.

NOAA Lends Technical Direction to Fisheries Management in West Papua

A team of fisheries experts from The recommendation forms part managers that provided useful input the U.S. National Oceanic and of a wider set of needed actions on how the management measures for Atmospheric Administration that USAID SEA, along with anchovy and flying fish fisheries can be (NOAA) has identified a potential implementing partners Christian adopted into local or provincial University of Papua (UKIP) and regulation and what the fisheries institutional model for managing Papua State University (UNIPA), agency needs to do to monitor West Papua’s anchovy and flying identified in early 2019 during management activities. Researchers fish fisheries. public consultations with fisheries from UKIP and UNIPA said this stakeholders and managers at interaction with the NOAA experts The team was in Misool in West both local village and provincial helped to substantially improve their Papua’s Raja Ampat region on levels in West Papua. capacity in stock assessment and April 22-27 to collect anchovy fisheries management. fisheries data through a review of NOAA’s proposed model lift-net fishing operations in the integrates management measures area, following a recommendation into local customary practices, from USAID SEA to limit the catch formal regulations, and short-term of West Papua’s anchovy and and long-term catch monitoring flying fish fisheries through a activities. To support its quota system that defines a acceptability among stakeholders, reference point based on long- the NOAA team delivered two term fish landing data and robust mini-lectures for researchers, methodology and analysis. students and fisheries

Discussions Kicks Off on North Maluku Mid-Term Plan

USAID SEA and WCS conducted this The discussion covered best practices Vannamei shrimp and seaweed, to month a focus group discussion to and lessons learned from the ensure economic and ecological provide initial inputs to the implementation of previous mid-term sustainability; establishing and development of the 2020-24 North plans that provided inputs for drafting implementing MPAs to protect Maluku Provincial Mid-term a policy paper on improving the next turtles and other endangered, threatened and protected species in Development Plan and Marine and plans. Presentations from the Sula; and protecting high economic Fisheries Agency (DKP) Strategic provincial planning agencies and DKP value fish species such as grouper Plan. Held on May 2, the discussion outlined the provincial vision and and snapper. The North Maluku was attended by 31 participants mission and highlighted the next five years’ priorities and policy directions government and USAID SEA agreed from the different provincial for North Maluku’s marine and to follow up the meeting with government agencies, universities, fisheries sector. The sector’s focus is strategic program and Ministry of Marine Affairs and on strengthening the management and recommendations, including best Fisheries line offices in the competitiveness of major practices and actions for possible province. commodities, particularly tuna, inclusion in the plans.

Prototype System Launched to Improve Marine Use Permitting in Maluku

Designed primarily to record and SIPRUL is part of USAID SEA’s track the process of issuing marine institutional support to the spatial allocation permits, SIPRUL provincial government’s effort to can store applicants’ data, provide valid and qualified interactive maps and other marine spatial data services to a relevant information, including wider public. Its potential for use regulations for marine spatial in fisheries management was planning. In the long term, it can acknowledged by the Head of provide an accountable and DKP-Maluku, who said he and his USAID SEA in early May introduced to reliable system to monitor, team were committed to support Maluku’s Marine and Fisheries Agency evaluate, control and improve the the further development of the (DKP-Maluku) a prototype information allocation of marine use permits to system for wider use in marine system for marine spatial planning (MSP), ensure fisheries sustainability. spatial planning throughout which the agency decided to call “SIPRUL.” Maluku province.

Fisheries Committee Sets Guidelines for Sustainable Fisheries in Maluku

including accomplishments and challenges related to fisheries management. With representatives from the local government, fishing communities, suppliers, academia, fishing industries and local organizations in attendance, this month’s meeting also served as an occasion for the Maluku Marine and Fisheries Agency to distribute vessel registration books to 147 fishermen from Island. Vessel registration is recognition by government that a vessel is authorized to operate in Indonesian waters under certain conditions set forth by Indonesian law.

The guidelines for implementing fisheries co- management in Maluku Province were agreed this month during the 2nd Fisheries Co-Management Committee (FCMC) Meeting. The meeting, held on May 9 in the Maluku capital of Ambon, also formulated a joint action plan to support sustainable tuna management and to disseminate information on the Marine Stewardship Council Certification scheme (MSC Ecolabel) through Maluku’s fisheries management unit. The FCMC meets twice a year to provide progress updates on the implementation of its action plans,

The Indonesian Sustainable Ecosystems Advanced (USAID SEA) Project is a five-year project that supports the Government of Indonesia (GOI) to improve the governance of fisheries and marine resources and to conserve biological diversity at local, district, provincial, and national levels. USAID SEA is implemented through a consortium of partners and will from March 2016 through March 2021.

DISCLAIMER This Newsletter is made possible by the generous support of the American People through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) with the close collaboration of the Government of Indonesia (GOI). The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of USAID SEA and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.

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