Despite its enormous potential in capture fisheries, Indonesia has been facing continuous and complex problems which prevent it from giving a maximum contribution to the gross domestic products (GDP) and improving the fishers' welfare. It is a disheartening issue as the fisheries and marine resources are essential assets to the national development.
Habitat degradation and overfishing has moreover depleted marine resources as an impact of overexploiting essential fishery commodities. These commodities will rapidly cease to exist if not managed sustainably.
Fisheries Resource Center of Indonesia (FRCI) was initiated after many discussions with fishery experts from universities and organizations who recognize the importance of data management as the basis for formulating public policies.
As one of the working units under the Rekam Jejak Alam Nusantara Foundation, FRCI is established to provide an alternative to fisheries analysis and management of sustainable marine resources based on scientific data with the vision of "Sustainability and Justice for Indonesian Fisheries". Through FRCI, we expect to contribute our ideas in addressing national fisheries issues, as well as providing alternative breakthroughs in facing many challenges in the future.
The FRCI research team comprises marine conservation fisheries researchers and activists with over two decades of experience working with communities, governments, and private sector, through data management, knowledge and capacity building, and policy advocacy in the marine and fisheries subject.
Dr. Irfan Yulianto currently works at the REKAM Foundation and IPB University. As a member of FRCI Advisory Board, Irfan has a history of research in fisheries, marine biology, and environmental and conservation sciences for over 20 years. Irfan's vast research experiences includes community-based natural resource management, marine conservation area management and networking, species conservation, and sustainable fisheries, enriching the perspective and analysis of FRCI's research.
With compelling skills in big data management, GIS analysis, Marxan, and Rstudio for fisheries modeling, Irfan has published various credible publications, ranging from technical reports, books, proceedings, and national to international peer-reviewed papers. His ability to work closely with stakeholders also supported his research experience, from coastal communities and local governments, to high-level policy and decision-makers in the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries.
Dr. Toni Ruchimat has made a brilliant career in the marine and fisheries field. He received his undergraduate degree from IPB University, master's degree from Kochi University, Japan, and doctoral degree from Ehime University, Japan. He was the Head of the Fishery Research Center (2017-2019), following his service as the Director of Fish Resources Management (2015 - 2017 and 2013-2015), the Director of Fishing Port (2015), the Director of Conservation Areas and Fish Species (2013 - 2015), and the Director of Small Islands Empowerment (2009 - 2011). After completed his structural career in the MMAF, he continued to work as a permanent lecturer in the Graduate School of the Conservation Program at the Jakarta Fisheries University (Politeknik AUP). He actively advocates conservation issues through scientific publications, seminars, workshops, and international conferences. As a member of FRCI Advisory Board, he supports the effort in maintaining sustainable coastal and marine resources in Indonesia.
Prof. Budy Wiryawan is a Senior Lecturer at the IPB University and a member of FRCI Advisory Board since August 2022. He served as the Head of the Department of Aquatic Resources Utilization at the IPB University in 2009 - 2017. He has taken several positions, i.e. MPA and Environment Specialist in the COREMAP - ADB (2005-2007) and Technical Advisor in the Coastal Resource Management Project in East Kalimantan funded by USAID (2004-2005), Marine Program Manager at TNC East Kalimantan (2003-2004), member of the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) from DANIDA (2010-2012), and member of the DHI's Ecological Monitoring for Newmont Nusa Tenggara (2009-2010). He gained a certification as EIA Compiler and Coastal Management from the Indonesian Coastal Management Expert Association/HAPPI. He also took part as a trainer and evaluator of the environmental impact assessment in many planning and evaluation programs. As an expert, as well as a member of the FRCI Advisory Board, he has productively written scientific articles, books, and other publications on the ideas in improving fisheries and conservation in Indonesia. His extensive experience in running large-scale fisheries programs, conservation programs, and coastal management has spanned for over three decades.
With more than 25 years of experience working in the environment, community development and conservation issues, Ari came with a diverse background: from coastal and estuarine ecology, community-based tourism and marine conservation planning, to protected area management effectiveness evaluation and assessment of conservation impacts on biodiversity and local communities’ socio-economic aspects. He has been directly involved in facilitating the development and management of several marine protected areas, community-based tourism and fisheries development in support of marine biodiversity and resources conservation, including strengthening the adaptive capacity of local communities to anticipate the long-term impacts of climate change on coastal areas.
Ari has strong interests in the Socio-Ecological System applications for the sustainable use of marine biodiversity and resources in and around marine protected areas. As a senior advisor at FRCI, Ari provides advice in several aspects, including the Integrated Conservation-Development programs or projects with the aims that they (i) will be well-planned, well-managed, and evaluation-ready; (ii) can be well formulated and articulated through the use of popular frameworks, such as situation models or diagrammatic contexts, logical frameworks or results frameworks, and the Transformative Theory of Change; and (iii) can be developed into an innovative, funding-winning proposal.
Yudi Herdiana joined Rekam Nusantara Foundation (RNF) as a Senior Advisor in 2019 with over 20 years of experience in marine conservation and fisheries. Yudi built his career in Wildlife Conservation Society Indonesia Program (WCS-IP) as a coral reef ecologist, whose tasks including conducting ecological surveys of coral reef, data analysis, data-based management, and geographic information system. Over the past 10 years, Yudi has been assigned as the WCS-IP Marine Program Manager and gained experiences in budgeting, human resource management, developing strategic planning programs, and fundraising. Yudi represents the RNF in supporting the government (MMAF) in developing systems, policies, and regulations in marine protected areas (MPAs) and fishery management. He has extensive experiences in coral reef ecosystem management, MPAs spatial planning, management and assessment of fisheries stock, management of database, and developing campaign material. He completed his master degree in Fisheries System and Modeling at the IPB University and is currently pursuing a joint-doctoral degree at the IPB University and Murdoch University. Yudi holds a license as Master Scuba Diver and enjoys diving and underwater photography and videography as hobby.
Natsir has over 20 years of experience as a capture fisheries researcher. He received his bachelor\’s and master's degree from Marine Science and Technology Department, IPB University, and his Ph.D. from Future University Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan. From 2002 to 2022, he worked as a researcher in capture fisheries and as the head of program and planning subdivision in the Ministry of Marine Affairs and FIsheries (MMAF), before becoming a senior researcher in capture fisheries as Head of Fishing Capacity and Fishing Behavior Research Group in the National Research and Innovation Agency.
As a researcher, Natsir specialized in fishing technology, fisheries management, bio-economics, and stock assessment. His interests include exploratory survey using acoustic, geo-statistics analysis and capture fisheries management system information science, including the impact of fishing activities on the fish stock and habitat.
Born in Garut on 31 August 1982, Efin completed his bachelor degree in the Department of Marine Science of the Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Science, IPB University. He continued his graduate degree in the Department of Coastal Resource and Small Island Management, IPB University. Efin has had over 15 years of experience in marine conservation, specifically in developing effective management for national parks, taking Karimunjawa and Taka Bonerate National Park as project implementation sites. He is a diver with a dive master certificate from the International Scuba School. Efin specializes in conducting monitoring for coral reef ecosystems, coral bleaching surveys, and was involved in several coral reef ecosystem surveys in many areas in Indonesia.
In the past seven years, Efin has been immersed in conservation issues focusing specifically on sharks and rays. He helped the Indonesian government in supporting sharks and rays conservation policies, pushed for sharks and rays conservation efforts, and supported the Indonesian government in the international conventions, i.e., Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC), CITES, and IUCN.
As a Project Leader in FRCI, Heidi leads the development of IKAN, an initiative in fisheries data collection and management. Currently, volunteers are collecting data of demersal fish (snapper, grouper, and threadfin bream), crabs, and sharks, using IKAN system. Data is collected using Android-based application by enumerators in several fish landing sites, such as Pati (Central Java), North Lombok (West Nusa Tenggara), and Pangkajene Islands (South Sulawesi). Her experiences in fisheries management projects/initiatives include the capacity in networking with various stakeholders, i.e., government, academics, and civil society organizations. Through IKAN, she actively engages fisheries stakeholders to support the development of fishery data in Indonesia. Tyas received her master degree in Marine Science from IPB University and is currently pursuing her doctoral degree in the University of Rostock, Germany, funded by the DAAD Doctoral Research Grant Programmes.
Annisya Rosdiana, or Anyes, received her undergraduate and master degree in Marine Science from IPB University. She has been actively contributing in many initiatives related to marine and fisheries since 2013, including the development of marine debris action plan, studies on climate change vulnerability, and studies on socio-economic development in coastal regions. In 2019, Anyes joined an international NGO working on the designation and management of 29 conservation areas. She took part in supporting the development of pelagic protected areas, the development of evaluation tools for marine protected areas (MPAs), and conducted institutional assessment for conservation areas. She was promoted as a Fisheries Coordinator in the same organization in 2020 to manage fisheries management program, including to supervise the compilation and implementation of fisheries management planning and harvest strategy at national level and provincial level, as well as developing and implementing the Fisheries Improvement Project (FIP). Anyes joined FRCI in 2021 as a Project Leader in implementing Ocean Accounts Pilot in Indonesia to support the national program for sustainable fisheries and conservation areas.
Born in Madiun in 1990, Oktavianto completed his bachelor at the Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Science in 2012 and master degree in 2016 at the IPB University. He joined FRCI in March 2021 as a Project Leader in program implementation in Central Java. Prior to joining FRCI, Oktavianto has been involved in sustainable fisheries programs, conservation areas, and facilitation for the coastal community for over seven years. He developed fishery management programs and conservation for Wedgefish and Giant Guitarfish in the northern coast of Java, particularly in Central Java, through collaboration with the provincial government through the Department of Marine Affairs and Fisheries of Central the Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Science of Diponegoro University.
Intan Destianis Hartati has been working in the field of conservation since 2017 as a Fisheries Science and Database Officer. In her career, Intan is responsible for controlling and managing fisheries database systems and conducting analysis on fish stock conditions using statistical software such as RStudio. With her expertise in identifying coral reef and demersal fish species, Intan has also contributed to the writing of the book "Kerapu di Indonesia / Groupers in Indonesia". In 2023, Intan joined the Fisheries Resource Center of Indonesia (FRCI) as a Senior Officer for Sustainable Fisheries and Conservation. In this role, Intan is responsible for managing sustainable fisheries and marine protected areas. Additionally, Intan is involved in supporting the implementation of the Pilot Projects of Ocean Accounts Indonesia.
Intan received her bachelor's degree in Marine Science and Technology from IPB University. During her college years, Intan was actively involved in a diving organization and holds an Advanced Scuba Diver license. She also participated in several coral reef ecosystem monitoring activities and volunteered in various conservation and environmental initiatives.
Agavia Kori Rahayu, usually called Via, pursued a double bachelor's degree in the Department of Marine Science and Technology, IPB University and the Sociology program, Indonesia Open University in 2023. Via is also a visual artist with expertise in both digital and traditional medium (i.e. oil paint, watercolor, ink). In the Fisheries Resource Center of Indonesia (FRCI), Via takes the role of scientific illustrator for fish species in Indonesia. Some of her works can be found in the book “Kerapu di Indonesia / Groupers in Indonesia”. In addition, Via also serves as a Communications Officer—executing copywriting, a part of graphic design, and video editing for the contents in FRCI's social media and website. Her writings on various fisheries-related themes are also published in FRCI's monthly newsletter. Furthermore, Via also supports the reporting of Ocean Accounts Indonesia Pilot Projects and various other projects.
What we have achieved so far.
