STOCK CONDITION OF SMALL PELAGIC FISH IN SULAWESI SEA, NORTH SULAWESI PROVINCE (FMA 716)

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Small pelagic fisheries have an important role, both ecologically and economically, particularly for those fishers who target them in Indonesia. Based on national fisheries statistics in 2020, the production of small pelagic fisheries in North Sulawesi Province contributed 82,668 tons, equivalent to 25.62% of the province’s total fishery production. The Sulawesi Sea is an important area within the Fisheries Management Area (WPP/FMA) 716 of the Republic of Indonesia because it is one of the main fishing areas for small pelagic fish by the mini purse seine fishermen of North Sulawesi Province as well as other areas. There is a need to preserve fish resources for sustainable management of small pelagic fisheries to ensure long-term, optimum benefits. Collaboration across various parties is needed to achieve a fisheries resource management model that can achieve sustainability goals. The North Sulawesi Provincial Government, together with the Central Government, the Scientific and Consultative Forum on Sustainable Fisheries Management (FIKP2B) of North Sulawesi Province, and fisheries stakeholders in the province have committed to developing a sustainable small pelagic fisheries management program in the waters of North Sulawesi Province FMA 716. One of the expected outputs is a policy related to small pelagic fish utilization based on fisheries reference points (FRPs). FRPs are important indicators that should be used in the policy-making process, mainly related to the regulation of fishing activities. FRPs for the small pelagic fisheries were calculated through the analysis of stock conditions for small pelagic fisheries in the Sulawesi Sea, North Sulawesi Province, FMA 716, based on data collected through monitoring fish landings carried out from February 2019 to December 2021. The data collected included information on fishing trips, fishing fleets, catch productivity, fish composition, price of fish, and fish lengths. The conditions of the small pelagic fishery stocks are reflected in FRPs that can be used in planning small pelagic fisheries management in the area. Sustainable management of small pelagic fisheries in North Sulawesi is mandated under the Fisheries Management Plan of Action (FMPoA) for FMA 716. In fisheries management, regulations and restrictions on fishing activities are interventions that can support resource sustainability. There are several fishery parameters that are used as indicators for fishery management based on stock assessments, such as catch per unit effort (CPUE), growth parameters (age versus length of fish), length of first maturity, length at first capture, mortality rate, exploitation rate, and spawning potential ratio (SPR). This document presents the current stock status for several dominant pelagic fish species in the Sulawesi Sea, North Sulawesi Province, FMA 716. Fishery conditions were assessed through calculating CPUE and SPR values. The highest catches of small pelagic fish over the 2019-2021 sampling period were in September 2021 (1,518.15 kg/trip), July 2022 (1,488.03 kg/trip), and April 2022 (1,014.54 kg/trip). The annual relative abundance of small pelagic fishes in 2019, 2020, and 2021 were 593.42, 764.8, and 865.27 kg/trip, respectively. Broken down, the annual relative abundance of fish of family Scombridae (Rastrelliger spp.) was 84.55, 56.88, and 178.21 kg/trip, respectively, and the fish of family Carangidae (Decapterus spp. and Selar crumenophthalmus) were 335.97, 473.44, and 542.85 kg/trip, respectively. Overall, CPUE as an index of relative abundance showed an increase from 2019 to 2021. Based on SPR values, fish stocks in the Sulawesi Sea are currently over exploited (SPR < 0.2) for the majority of pelagic fish species. These include mackerel scad (Decapterus macarellus), bigeye scad (Selar crumenophthalmus), redtail scad (Decapterus kurroides), indian mackerel (Rastrelliger kanagurta), and shortfin mackerel (Decapterus macrosoma) with SPR values of 0.15, 0.15, 0.11, 0.14, and 0.17, respectively. In addition, the level of exploitation of these species similarly reveals that exploitation exceeds the optimum level of utilization (overfishing) with a value of E >0.5 for all groups. The percentage of immature fish caught were 75%, 86%, 70%, 66%, and 68%, respectively. Based on these conditions, small pelagic fishing activities are at a high risk of overfishing their target species and may trigger stock declines (over exploited). Within the management framework, this condition reflects a major management priority for improving the conditions for fish stocks. Meanwhile, for sardine species (S. gibbosa), stock conditions based on calculation of the SPR and exploitation rate (E) are still at a moderate level (under exploited) with SPR values of 0.48 and E <0.5. The F/M value stock condition indicator reveals similar findings, with five species of small pelagic fish – mackerel scad (D. macarellus), bigeye scad (S. c rumenophthalmus), redtail scad (D. kurroides), indian mackerel (R. kanagurta), and shortfin scad (D. macrosoma) – all having F/M values >1, which indicates overfishing. The highest fish capture intensities by small pelagic fleets were in Manado Bay, islands in North Minahasa, North Tanahwangko, west of Sangihe waters, and Likupang waters. Based on the analysis of the Capture Season Index (Indeks Musim Penangkapan – IMP), the highest capture months of small pelagic fish were July, September, and November, with IMP values of 150%, 229%, and 123%, respectively. Based on these findings, we present the following recommendations for small pelagic fisheries management in Sulawesi Sea, North Sulawesi Province (FMA 716): (1) Allocate critical areas (i.e., nursery and spawning grounds for small pelagic fish) under an open-close system, with closures in key, strategic months; (2) Improve compliance and surveillance with respect to the use of minimum mesh sizes, particularly for the mini purse seine (pajeko), referring to the stipulations under the Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries Regulation (PERMEN-KP) No. 18/2021, concerning Fishing Lanes and Fishing Gear use in the Fisheries Management Areas of the Republic of Indonesia and the High Seas; (3) Improve compliance and surveillance of the implementation of licensing regulations for the installation of FADs, referring to the Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries Decree (KEPMEN-KP) No. 7/2022, concerning the allocation of FADs to fishing Lanes in the Fisheries Management Areas of the Republic of Indonesia