USAID SUSTAINABLE ECOSYSTEMS ADVANCED (USAID SEA) PROJECT: NORTH PROVINCIAL SITE

North Maluku sits in the center of the worlds’ marine biodiversity with global coral species and coral fish species exceeding most other marine areas in .

Sixty nine percent of North Maluku’s total area (145,819 km²) is composed of territorial waters with 3,104 km of coastline. As an island province, North Maluku contributes 3.4% of the Indonesian capture fisheries production or about 218,097 tons per year. The fishery sector makes a significant socio-economic contribution with a production value of IDR 2.3 billion (MMAF, 2015). North Maluku is a focus of the USAID SEA Project due to its high marine biodiversity, status as a national priority area for fisheries, the presence of small island provinces/districts, high rates of poverty in some areas, and its vulnerability overfishing and use of destructive practices.

USAID.GOV USAID SEA NORTH MALUKU PROVINCIAL SITE FACTSHEET/FEBRUARY 2019 1 THREATS TO NORTH MALUKU FISHERIES AND MARINE ECOSYSTEMS As in many parts of Indonesia, overfishing is one of the most prominent threats to North Maluku’s EAFM (Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management) particularly Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing by international fishers that target large pelagic species, overexploit demersal fisheries, as well as export groupers to Asia. Other threats include destructive fishing, coral reef harvesting, land reclamation, lack of data on status of marine resources, and poor small vessel registration. Threats to Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) include the limited number and relatively poor management of MPA sites. Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) while established and legalized in 2018 also finds challenges due to lack of capacity and coordination for the implementation of the plan. Law enforcement still has poor capacity and compliance is low due to lack of socialization of regulations and involvement with law enforcement at the local level and the absence of adequate provincial fisheries laws.

USAID SEA PROJECT PRIORITIES IN NORTH MALUKU The USAID SEA Project activities in Maluku are jointly implemented by consortium partners: Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), Coral Triangle Center (CTC), Masyarakat dan Perikanan Indonesia (MDPI), Reef Check Foundation, Marine Change, World Wildlife Fund-Indonesia (WWF-Indonesia) and Indonesian Pole & Line and Handline Fisheries Association (AP2HI).

Name of Number of The project activities in North Maluku aim to District MPA Hectares address overfishing and destructive fishing through assessment of fish stock status, identification of P. Rao-Tanjung data gaps, evaluation of logbook vessel registration P. 65,520.75 Dehegila and monitoring systems, and the establish of a traceability system. The project also works to Kota strengthen data collection methodology, Pulau Mare 7,093 Kepulauan management, and dissemination systems, as well as develop baseline for marine resources status. Kep. Sula Kep. Sula 117,959.88 The USAID SEA MPA strategies include surveying and identification of potential new conservation Kep. Guraici 91,576 Selatan areas, assisting to finalize management plans for MPAs in Morotai, Guraici, Sula, Mare, Widi and Halmahera Gugusan Pulau Islands (as shown in table above). Capacity 7,690 Selatan Widi building and training, as well as introducing alternative livelihoods at the community level, to Halmahera P. Makian 42,799 reduce habitat destruction that is ongoing at each Selatan MPA site. To address challenge in the implementation of Marine Spatial Plan (MSP), the project focuses on socializing MSP and developing a monitoring and evaluation system. On addressing local law enforcement, the project is reviving the community-based surveillance (POKMASWAS) system so that is will become functional in the MPA sites in the Province.

USAID.GOV USAID SEA NORTH MALUKU PROVINCIAL SITE FACTSHEET/FEBRUARY 2019 II