Studies on live baitfish for the tuna industry in Eastern Indonesian waters

• Research Institute for Marine Fisheries, Indonesia
• Balai Pengkajian Teknologi Pertanian, Indonesia

Pole-and-line fishing for tuna is a multi-million dollar industry in eastern Indonesia that employs many people, supports several canneries and generates export income. Many thousands of small artisanal wooden vessels and separate baitfish catching vessels are involved in the industry. But its development was constrained by a shortage of baitfish - mainly anchovies that are also taken for human food in this region. Some 40 per cent of fishing days are lost due to lack of suitable baitfish, and the situation could worsen if the pole-and-line fleet expands and catches of baitfish decline.
Little was known about the size of stocks and the level of extraction from the resource. The Indonesian government approached CSIRO for assistance in data collection, and ACIAR for funding. An initial feasibility study, which identified the most pressing problems that could be tackled in an ACIAR/CSIRO project, laid the foundation for this research.

The primary objective of this project was to develop a comprehensive research and management plan for tuna baitfish resources in eastern Indonesia, focusing on three important baitgrounds. This would provide Indonesia's Research Institute for Marine Fisheries (RIMF) and State Fisheries Enterprises with a reliable means of monitoring baitfish populations, so that timely and accurate data could be supplied for management. It would also determine the optimum number of baitfish catching vessels for each area, and hence establish the tuna fishing capacity and optimum number of pole-and-line boats.

The study capitalised on the experience and expertise gained during the previous ACIAR project that successfully studied tuna baitfish in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Project scientists from CSIRO, RIMF in Jakarta and the Fisheries station at Ambon, South Maluku undertook field work. Any technical aspects of the problem that could not be handled in the project were referred to the Western Pacific Fisheries Consultative Committee, who undertook a study of tuna baitfish capture and handling techniques (with funding through Canadian aid). Its report, published in 1993, included comprehensive data on fishing vessels, fleet sizes, baitfishing techniques, species composition of the catch, and problems associated with baitfish supply. It also recommended ways to improve the efficiency of the industry. This project complemented the work of the ACIAR project.
The research provided data on catch trends in the study areas that, combined with data from the stock assessment studies, allowed the scientists to estimate the amount of bait available for the tuna boats. This made it possible to recommend the optimum size of pole-and-line fleets in each area.
An important aspect of the project was training of Indonesian Fisheries staff in baitfish field techniques, biological analyses and stock assessment. The staff could then employ the techniques in other important baitgrounds and use the project's catch record and analysis system for continued monitoring of the fishery.

All aspects of the project, including those undertaken in two extensions, were completed successfully. The following results were reported at a baitfish workshop:
1) development and trial of a baitfish catch recording system in Bacan;
2) status of the baitfisheries in Sorong and Bacan were assessed and the current situation reported;
3) estimates of the number of 'bagans' that can be supported - hence the amount of bait for the tuna fleet, and the optimum size of the pole-and-line fleet in Bacan;
4) applicability of data to other Indonesia fisheries - hence building research capacity;
5) policy recommendations for conservation of baitfish (agreed and accepted by workshop participants).
The workshop provided an opportunity for industry and government to appraise research outcomes and management implications. Scientific results, their importance and implications for managing baitfish resources in eastern Indonesia were summarised in a special issue of the Indonesian Fisheries Research Journal, Vol. 4(2).
The project was then extended to examine baitfish resource utilisation in North Sulawesi and stock assessment in an enclosed bay (as recommended in the project review). The majority of project activities were successfully completed on time and as planned. However the period of the extension saw great political unrest and violence in eastern Indonesia, particularly in Maluku Province where much of the extension work focused. Fieldwork for the stock assessment in Ambon was abandoned after ethnic fighting and unrest. The work was completed in Bima Bay, Sumbawa but without the planned seasonal spread of sampling.
The project had strong cooperation from the fishing company Usaha Mina in both Sorong and Bacan, and this greatly assisted successful completion of the catch-monitoring component. The company realised the benefits it stood to gain from the research, however its operation ceased in Bacan because of the ethnic fighting.
Despite the political difficulties that diluted the overall impact of the project, the results have major implications for the pole-and-line fishery. They show that the shortage of bait for the fishery is related to operational inefficiency and not to the depression of the size of the resource. Lack of bait is often due to seasonal variation in anchovy food supply (plankton productivity) rather than overexploitation of the fishery.
The studies of the fate of the baitfish in the Bitung region in North Sulawesi showed that there was a drastic under-reporting of catches because of the system of levying taxes on fish production. This has wide implications throughout the country and suggests that actual production of fish, especially anchovies, may be up to nine times higher that reported in government statistics.