In order to support the management of snapper and grouper fisheries so that their stocks are sustainable and in accordance to the international standards for obtaining MSC certification, the Marine Affairs and Fisheries Service (MAFS) of West Nusa Tenggara Province along with the Scientific Forum for Sustainable Fisheries Management (SFSFM) held a ‘Action Plan Monitoring and Evaluation for Sustainable Grouper and Snapper Fisheries Management in West Nusa Tenggara Province’.

The event, which was held on Wednesday, 15 February 2023 at Hotel Santika, Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara, aimed to monitor and evaluate the achievements of the Action Plan for the Sustainable Management of Grouper and Snapper Fisheries in Saleh Bay, Cempi Bay, Waworada Bay and Sape Waters and to obtain input from all parties involved. This activity was attended by various government agencies, academics, fishermen's groups, NGOs, and other related parties.

On this occasion, the Head of West Nusa Tenggara MAFS Muslim, S.T., M.Sc. delivered the opening speech, followed by a presentation by Dr. Ferry Sutiyawan from the Directorate of Fish Resources Management of the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries regarding ‘Policy on Snapper and Grouper Resources Management in Indonesian FMA 713 & 573’ and Ir. Sasi Rustandi, M.Sc, the Head of the West Nusa Tenggara MAFS Capture Fisheries Division, regarding the ‘Management Authority of Marine Fisheries Resources at FMA 713 and FMA 573’.

Intan Destianis Hartati of FRCI presenting the Action Plan for Snapper and Grouper FIP in Saleh Bay (Doc: FRCI)

Next, there were presentations from Dr. Soraya Gigentika from SFSFM regarding the ‘Evaluation of Grouper and Snapper Fisheries Stock Status in 2022’, Intan Destianis Hartati from Fisheries Resource Center of Indonesia (FRCI) regarding the ‘Socialization of the Action Plan for Fisheries Improvement Program (FIP) in Saleh Bay’, and Dr. M. Natsir from the National Research and Innovation Agency on the ‘Strategy for Rebuilding Stocks of Grouper-Snapper Fisheries in Saleh Bay’.

The meeting resulted in several key points, which are: in general, the average length of captured groupers and snappers decreased in all locations, several species were over-exploited so they needed to be prioritized in order to improve stock conditions, and the data on several species was still at minimum which hindered the required analysis.