JAKARTA: A recent scientific study has uncovered that the wild populations supporting a significant Indonesian fishery are more depleted than government estimates, emphasizing the need for a reassessment of fish stock assessment methods.
Published in the journal Fisheries Research, the study focused on eight economically valuable fish species in Indonesia living close to the seafloor. The findings indicate unhealthy stocks with declining spawning capacities, signalling unsustainable fishing rates compared to official estimates.
The research, led by Elle Wibisono, a fisheries scientist from the University of Rhode Island, challenges the perception of Indonesian fisheries as “data-deficient” and advocates for a science-based approach to address overexploitation.
The study scrutinized deep-slope demersal fisheries, crucial to millions of people’s well-being and contributing significantly to Indonesia’s position as the world’s second-largest exporter of snapper species.
The study’s framework, combining catch rates (CPUE) and the spawn production ratio (SPR), provided a clearer assessment of stock status than individual indicators.
None of the studied stocks displayed healthy or sustainable exploitation, contradicting estimates by the Indonesian Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (MMAF). Discrepancies were attributed to various factors, including the inclusion of species not typical in deep demersal fisheries.
Wibisono emphasized the importance of using multiple indicators to avoid potential biases in decision-making. The study calls for a robust framework to guide fisheries management decisions and highlights the need for civil society, NGOs, and researchers to actively contribute to the ongoing development of harvest control strategies by the Indonesian fisheries ministry.
Source: Mongabay