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Field Report

Fishing Grounds and Supply Lines in


Indonesia Fishery Management Areas 573, 713, and 714

Part 4: Kupang, Larantuka, and Maumere

June 8, 2012
This publication was produced for review by the United States Agency for International Development.
It was prepared by Chemonics International (www.chemonics.com) and
People & Nature Consulting International (www.people-nature-consulting.com).
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Contents

1. Introduction 04

2. Kupang 05

2.1 The Kupang-Based West Timor Snapper Fishery 05

2.2 Small Scale Demersal and Pelagic Fisheries in the Kupang Area 11

2.3 Kupang Fish Trade. Competition, Facilities & other Enabling Factors 19

3. Larantuka (East Flores) 23

4. Maumere and Surroundings (North Flores) 31

Annex 1: Data gathering events 39

Annex 2: Contact details 41

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1. INTRODUCTION

This report covers a 5-day field survey to Kupang, Larantuka, and Maumere, conducted
in December 2011 by consultants from IMACS and PNCI, assisted by local experts and
DKP Sikka. This survey mapped fishing grounds, fisheries resources and infrastructure
in Fisheries Management Areas in Central Indonesia. The focus for this mapping
exercise is on three groups of exported species, the first one being export size and
quality demersal fish from fishing grounds between 30 and 200 meter depth. This group
includes snappers, groupers, emperors and sea breams of various species and size
groups and is mainly caught with bottom hook and line and bottom longline. The second
main category that we looked at is a group of large pelagics including mostly yellowfin
tuna and in some places mahi-mahi, with a small part of bigeye tuna, caught around
FADS and also free swimming with small scale hook and line vessels. A final and third
category that we looked at is the combination of skipjack, juvenile yellowfin and bigeye
("baby tuna") and Eastern little tuna that is landed mostly with purse seines and pole
and line boats. The purse seine boats that target these fish also land varying quantities
of schooling jacks and trevallies, Indian mackerel, scads and other small pelagics.

Location of Fiseries Management areas WPP 573, 713 and 714, and IMACS Provinces
Nusa Tenggara Barat and Southeast Sulawesi.

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2. KUPANG

The main fishing centers near Kupang, in West Timor, are Oeba, Namosain, Oesapa,
Tenau, Sulamu, Toblolong, Kelapa Lima, Atapupu, and Bolok. The "fishing landscape"
of the Kupang area comprises several sectors:
a large scale demersal longline fishery, the West Timor Snapper Fishery, operating
on the Sahul Banks ("batasan Australia"), with catches transshipped in Pelabuhan
Perikanan Pantai (PPP) Tenau onto transport vessels to Probolinggo,
a small-scale fishery for demersal fish on the shelf area around West Timor and
Rote Island (mostly the western part of the Rote shelf),
a small-scale fishery on skipjack tuna, baby yellowfin tuna, and eastern little tuna
with various gear types including hook and line, trolling lines, pole and line and purse
seine, often practiced by fishers originally from Sulawesi,
a small scale hand line fishery for large tuna (both free-swimming and around
FADs), also often practiced by fishers originally from Sulawesi, and
a mini purse-seine fishery that is scattered along the coast and targets small
pelagics like scads, sardines, Indian mackerels, halfbeaks and small tuna species.

Landing (and trading) of demersals and pelagics from small scale fishing boats takes
place all along the coast of West Timor, from Tablolong in the South, up the coast at
villages and fish markets like Oesapa, to Tenau fishing port, Namosain and the main
fish trading center at Oeba. An additional center for tuna landing is at Atapupu on the
North coast of West Timor. Oeba is the main fish trading center of Kupang, and the
most important fishery hub in this area, servicing a fleet of hundreds of small-scale
fishing and fish collecting boats working in this area (30-40% of which are 3-5 GT,
including at least 30 mini purse seiners landing here). The second most important
fishery hub for large scale fishing boats in the Kupang area is PPP Tenau. There are
some pole-and-liners based here (ca. 30 GT, 30-40 boats active in Tenau), but this
fishery seems not as important in Kupang as it is in Larantuka for example. Also mini
purse seines are operating from Tenau and furthermore this port serves as the logistical
hub for the West Timor Snapper Fishery.

2.1 The Kupang-Based West Timor Snapper Fishery

Kupang is used as a logistical hub for the West Timor Snapper Fishery, which do not
land their fish locally but use the port of Tenau to move their fish over from fishing
vessels directly onto transport vessels with destinations in Java. Catcher vessels refuel
and re-provision here and get their ice from the local ice factory here.

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Probolinggo Longliners using the port of Tenau as their logistical hub, loading ice, fuel
and provisions for their one month long trips after moving their catches from previous
trips onto transport vessels which are waiting at the Tenau port for them.

This fishery operates around 100 to 150 miles South of Kupang, on the large shelf area
that extends from the Australian continent. The northern part of this shelf area is inside
Indonesian waters and the shallower part of this area is also known as the Sahul
Banks. This area is fished with bottom longlines, and there is no trawling (in contrast to,
for example, the Arafura Sea, where a large part of the demersal catch is from trawling).
Large boats, built in Java, are used as catcher vessels, and collector boats from the
same company that also operates the catch boats transport the fish from Kupang to the
aggregation point in Probolinggo, East Java.

About 50 of these medium sized bottom longlining boats catch an estimated 3,200 tons
of larger demersal fish annually. A single longliner catching vessel (fishing at depths of
70-120 meters) will make around 8 trips per year of each around 1 month long, up to
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150 miles out of Kupang in the Sahul Banks area. Catch is about 8 tons of target fish
per trip, with 2 tons of red snappers (Lutjanus malabaricus) and 2 tons of gold band
snappers, making 4 tons of what is potentially highest quality exportable species (quality
of the catch after 1 month on board is a matter of concern, of course). The 8 ton catch
also includes another 4 tons for Indonesian supermarket sales. This includes mostly
jewfish, various deep water groupers and sea breams. Total target catch is 64 tons for
each vessel per year and that makes 3,200 tons for the entire fishery in the year. With
25% red snapper making up 800 tons of that, and the same amount of gold band
snapper in 2011. This means that this fishery produces 1,600 tons of very good
demersal fish in a non-destructive way from an area that is not being trawled.

Bottom longline gear stored on a vessels which is re-provisioning at the Tenau port.

Though the effects of fishing are noticeable, the fishery still appears to be in good
shape. Ten years ago, some 20 catcher vessels were reported to catch 2 tons of each
of the two snapper species per trip, which means that the catch per unit effort remained
stable over the past ten years despite the increase in effort. The effort 10 years ago
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was lower than the number of active boats suggest, because the fishery was more
seasonal then, and the boats did only 3.5 trips per year. However, many small
snappers dominate the catch now, much smaller than 10 years ago according to an
interviewed longline vessel captain.

The transport vessels take all the target fish (the red snappers, the groupers, the gold
band snappers, the jewfish and the large emperors) to company trading centers in Java.
There is a substantial by-catch of sharks, cobia, marine catfish, trevallies and other
bottom fish as well, and this by-catch goes to the crew. They sun-dry these fish on the
roof of the catcher vessels and sell their products locally in Kupang. The shark fins from
some 100 small bottom sharks per trip go to the captain and he ships these out himself
from Kupang to Java for further export.

Trans-shipment in the port of Tenau of catches from holds in large scale bottom
longliners, carefully packed into the holds of transport vessels bound to Probolinggo.

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These large scale longliners are fishing on grounds that are adjacent, and directly
connected to Australian snapper grounds and they are fishing the same stock as the
Australians. In fact they are fishing a small "Indonesian Corner" of the larger Australian
North Western snapper grounds. Literature on genetic separation of Indonesian
snappers caught by the West Timor fisheries from Australian stocks may be in error on
such separation if sample snappers were tested from local Kupang markets like Oeba.
Snappers on the Kupang markets and auctions are not from the large scale longliners.
They are from local boats that fish near Rote on grounds that are indeed separated by
deep water from the Australian shelf.

Unusually designed pole and liners in Tenau represent a government project. Mini
purse seiners as well as regular pole and liners are also based in Tenau.

Oesapa fish market at the local beach. Many species of small demersals and pelagic
but also threatened species like manta rays which are targeted heavily in the Savu Sea.

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2.2 Small Scale Demersal and Pelagic Fisheries in the Kupang Area

Many small scale fishing boats from all along this coast land directly at Oeba or send
their catch with small transport vessels or vans and pick-up trucks to Oeba to be traded
there. On the coast from Kupang to Tablolong there are at least 200 small boats with
inboard engine that fish for deeper water demersals. About 50% of those boats are in
Tablolong, which is the closest to Rote (the preferred fishing ground). Rote is actually a
separate Kabupaten so most demersal fishers from the Kupang area fish outside their
own Kabupaten boundaries. Fish from Tablolong is collected with pick-up trucks (by
small traders) and transported to Oeba for trading. Most of the larger demersal fish
landed by small scale fishers in this area is ruby snapper, mangrove snapper (Lutjanus
argentimaculatus), malabar snapper (L. malabaricus), yellow tail snapper (Lutjanus
rivulatus), jolo snapper, chinaman fish, and various groupers and sea breams.

High quality deep water snappers were sold at Oeba market from handline and mini
bottom longline catches by boats that did 2 or 3 day trips and brought ice on board.
These fish were sold separately from catches of reef fish by different traders.

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Some batches of fish at Oeba are fresh and high quality where others are much older.

About 200 to 300 kg of mixed small demersals (for local markets) comes to Oeba from
Semau island every day by small collectors who collect there from canoe fishers. There
is no ice at Semau but ice is taken there from Kupang. At least 1 ton of mixed small
demersals (for local markets) is brought to Oeba from Rote each day by small local
collectors from there, collecting from canoe fishers. Mostly reef fish from shallow reefs is
caught by Semau and Rote fishers, judging from species composition. Some catches
appear to be from blast fishing operations. Quality varies, usually no export product but
all small reef fish and reasonably fresh. Fishers with larger boats from Rote bring their
catch directly to Oeba. Fishers from the Kupang coast either bring their fish directly to
Oeba, or they bring the fish to their own village where it is collected by local trader who
brings to Oeba. Of all catch from the shallow waters around Rote, probably 60% goes
to Oeba or villages near Kupang directly, and around 40% goes to traders in Rote who
transport it further. Fishers from Rote are mostly independent (i.e., they own their own
boat), though most work with traders who advance their operational expenses.

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Mixed demersals on the Oeba market include a high percentage of shallow reef fish.

Several batches of Jolo snappers (from deeper water) were also encountered at Oeba.

Small-scale demersal fishers on the larger local boats from the Kupang area have ice
boxes on board and do trips up to 10 days each and about 2 trips per month. Those
doing 10 day trips around Rote sometimes get extra ice there from household freezer

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production. They land about 500 kg to 1 ton of fish per trip which they sell at about Rp
20,000 per kg to traders. Quality is below the fish from the day boats and the boats that
do 2-3 night trips. Small-scale demersal fishers from Kupang and surroundings do not
fish at Savu Island. It is too far, and going there requires too much fuel. Some say they
do make occasional 10 day trips to Sahul Bank ("batasan Australia"), which they reach
in 24-48 hours. These may be rare occasions, since sea conditions for small boats only
allow for this in NovDec and maybe around May during the changes of monsoons. A
fisher from Sulamu reported the he makes fishing trips of up to 7 days to Rote, catching
and collecting up to 1,000 kg of large demersals (mostly snappers) per trip. He fishes
with handlines and longlines (300 hooks) and also buys from canoes he meets at sea.

Tablolong on the South Western tip of West Timor (S10o18.87, E123o28.63) has one of
the most active small scale fleets targeting deep water demersals. This area is the
closest to the preferred fishing grounds off South West Rote (a separate Kabupaten).
Substantial amounts of larger snappers, groupers, emperors and groupers come from
Tablolong fishers who fish around Rote mainly in waters of 50 to 150 meters deep.
There are at least 100 small boats for bottom hand lining and mini bottom long lining
working from this area and other small villages just up the coast. These demersal hook
and line fishers usually make 3-day trips to the western part of Rote (ca. 5 hours by
boat). They usually catch around 100 kg per trip (35 kg per night), selling at prices
ranging from Rp 10,000 per kg for large Ruby snappers to Rp 20,000 for more preferred
species and sizes. Ice is produced locally in Tablolong in household refrigerators and
taken on the boats in Styrofoam boxes. Most fish from Tablolong ends up in Oeba for
further sale on local markets. Several tons of larger demersal fish are sometimes landed
at Tablolong alone on a single day. Tablolong fishers reportly catch mainly Ruby
snappers in deep water. Ruby snappers are a large fish species, and therefore should
be caught at large size to keep the spawning stock at a healthy level---Unfortunately,
the market demands small sized fish and the price for large Ruby snappers reflects this.

The demersal fishers of Tablolong do not fish on the exposed grounds South and West
of Rote during the months June-August because of the southeasterly monsoon. The
access to fishing grounds is also restricted during North West monsoon in Jan-Feb.
Tablolong has some 200 families working a substantial seaweed culture area in the
strait between the village and Semau island when they are not fishing out at sea. There
are also 12 mini-purse seiners based here, fishing for small pelagics in the sheltered
waters of the Strait, usually not more than 2 - 3 miles from the village. The purse seiners
fish at night using light attraction, and they land their catch locally in the mornings
which is then collected and sent to Oeba. They do not fish in the week around full
moon. Their nightly catch is about 1,000 kg per boat, up to ca. 5,000 kg on occasion.

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Based out of Oeba, there is a small scale day-fishery with narrow open boats < 5GT
used by kite fishers who follow dolphin schools and target large yellowfin tuna. Fishing
for free-swimming tuna mostly takes place during April - May and August - October
(outside this season many switch to working on purse seiners), catching fish of 20 - 120
kg body weight (most common is 40 - 80 kg). There are also dozens of medium sized
boats (many originating from Sulawesi) with handliners fishing for tuna on FADs and
landing tuna and mahi mahi (which is their by-catch) at local mini plants and local
markets in and around Kupang. The larger tuna go to the mini plants, the smaller tuna
and mahi mahi go on the local market. A fishing trip for these boats may take up to 7
days, most common is 5 days. The catch of a boat with 6 crew averages around 1.5
tons per 5-day trip. Fishers sell large tuna (> 20 kg) at Rp 20,000 per kg.

Tuna handlining boats from Sulawesi do multiple day trips to FADs. They land mainly
tuna, baby tuna, and skipjack at Oeba, with by catches of mahi mahi and billfish.

Small kite-fishing day boats land yellowfin tuna at Oeba. Mini purse seiners land small
pelagics including half beaks, scads, Indian mackerels, sardines and tongkol.

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Yellowfin tuna and skipjack at the Oebe fish market. Large quantities of baby tuna are
traded here at time. The larger tuna of good quality are not traded on this open market
but sold to the mini plants where they are filleted and processed into loins for export.

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Billfish of various species and sizes were landed on the Oeba market, including black
marlin, blue marlin and sailfish. Swordfish were not found on the market but may be
directly delivered to mini plants if caught. We have not found any evidence of this
though, not anecdotal and not from any direct observations.

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There seems to be some good mahi-mahi around Kupang, which is caught as by-catch
by tuna fishers on FADs and also by fishers targeting mahi-mahi specifically at those
FADs. Most mahi-mahi seems to go to local market and there are no exporting buyers
here for this species. The peak season for mahi-mahi is unclear: some traders and
fishers said that April-May is peak season (especially for big mahi-mahi of 7 kg or
more), but at the time of the survey team's visit to Oeba there was also a lot of mahi-
mahi for sale, mostly of good size (most > 3 kg, not too small). Small traders are getting
Rp 10,000-15,000 per kg for mahi-mahi at the Oeba fish market.

2.3 Kupang Fish Trade. Competition, Facilities & other Enabling Factors

There are many buyers for export quality fish in Kupang, and there is a very strong local
market for the same quality (larger) demersals and medium size pelagics. Interviews
indicated a local market demand for demersals of around 2 tons per day at least. The
fish stalls in Kupang (Pasar Traditional, Pasir Panjang) sell mostly large demersals (L.
bohar, L. argentimaculatus, Ruby snapper, longnose emperor, sea breams, jobfish),
skipjack tuna, tongkol and amberjack. Of the six fish stalls at Pasar Traditional Pasir
Panjang, only one sold small reef fish (parrot fish, fusiliers, goat fish, etc.). Quality in
these stalls was low at the time of our visit. Most fish were old and displayed on tables
without ice. Some larger demersals from small scale fisheries go to export buyers but
only after local market is satisfied, since local market price for demersals is above price
paid by those buyers. Local fish stall owners buy larger snappers and emperors and
other large demersals at about Rp 75,000 to 100,000 per fish, with fish weights of about
3 to 4 kg, they sell the fish to consumers at roadside stalls at about 30,000 per kg.

Prices asked by a trader at Oeba market for good quality large demersal fish (mostly
snappers) amounted to Rp 30,000 per kg (selling a 150 kg catch from a small handliner
who made a 2-day fishing trip). Local aggregators / exporters try to buy the same fish at
about Rp 20,000 per kg from local fishers, which is only possible if local markets and
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local traders are fully satisfied and there is more production then can be handled on the
local market. This is the case occasionally but it is very hard to maintain a steady supply
at these prices. Local traders say that they would need their own loyal fleet to guarantee
any supply but even then they have problems mostly with loyalty when fishers sell
their catch at sea to other buyers or sell part of the fish themselves at local markets.

The popular Kupang fish stalls where locals buy their whole fresh or barbequed fish.

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One local trader (Mr Jonathan) said he gave up the trade in demersals for this reason
and now only works with small pelagics, mostly from purse seine catches, for local
markets in West Timor. Some traders like Pae Nope have found a market for other
types of demersal fish like parrot fish, sweetlips, fusiliers, paddle tails and other reef fish
which he sells to Dili. He says he can move about 2.5 tons of these fish per week to Dili
at times. Live fish like grouper, coral trout, napoleon and lobsters are collected at Tenau
by a trader who has holding pens in open water and concrete ponds inside a building.
Rote used to have a fishery for blue swimming crab ("rajungan"), which were exported
to Surabaya, but this fishery is no longer active.

In Kupang here is a high local demand for the same species and size classes that
traders try to buy for export. Prices paid locally create strong competition for exporters.
Exporters are usually only able to buy their target species and size groups at their target
prices after local markets have been fully satisfied.

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Demersals for export usually go to Bali mostly as whole round fish fresh on ice, if and
when exporters can buy any quantities at their target prices. Shipments of fish destined
for filleting plants in Bali go in freezer containers by sea. Production is limited and with
high local demand this leaves mostly just the large tuna for traders to export. Tuna loins
go to Bali and Jakarta, often by plane. There are also freezer containers with tuna
shipped by sea. Tuna landed at Oeba and other places around Kupang mostly make
their way to mini plants at Oeba. Tuna landed at Atapupu, which has a relatively
important tuna fishery, are loined there, and transported over land to Kupang for further
transport by air and sea to Bali and Jakarta. About 2 to 7 tons of large tuna is said to
arrive at mini plants in the Kupang / Oeba area each day. Several buyers / mini plants
are processing and exporting tuna here already and a new firm from Jakarta is rumored
to be opening shop here soon. But demand seems hard to meet here already.

At the time of the visit to Oeba (December 27), fishing activity was low due to the
holiday season---Jonathan estimated that trade was perhaps only 15% of normal.
Because of low supply, prices paid for skipjack tuna were exceptionally high: One local
trader asked Rp 15,000 per kg, whereas the normal price on this market is Rp 7,000 per
kg (normal price paid to the fisher is Rp 6,000 per kg).

There are many signs that the limits of production have been reached in the Kupang
area and that production is hardly keeping pace with demand. It is clear that any new
supply lines could only be developed if they replaced the currently existing ones. Not
only the limited demersal fishing grounds accessible to local small scale fishers seem to
be fully exploited but the limits are also being reached in the pelagic fisheries. There is
much talk in local government about phasing out purse seiners while at the same time
the pelagic fishery around FADs seems to be running out of space. According to Mr
Maxi Endun (HNSI), there is a province regulation (PERDA) stipulating that FADs may
only be installed > 12 nm from the shore (as the provincial jurisdiction extends to 12 nm,
this PERDA essentially prohibits installation of FADs in province waters). There is,
however, no PERDA that regulates installation of FADs in district waters (up to 4 nm
from the shore). Most FADs in Kupang waters belong to Sulawesi fishers. Jonathan
notes that DKP conducted in 2011 a "sweeping" to remove illegal FADs

There are four ice factories in the Kupang area. Tenau produces ca. 60 tons of ice per
day, which mostly supplies the large-scale long-liners operating on the Indonesian part
of the Sahul Banks. Each long-liner takes about 10 tons of ice per trip. The Namosain
ice plant produces about 20 tons per day. Oeba has two ice factories, each producing
about 20 tons per day. One block of ice (25 kg) sells locally at Rp 9,000, but sometimes
middlemen sell their stock at Rp 12,000 or 13,000 per block. There is also an ice
factory in Rote, but it is not completely functional, and there is no ice factory on Samau.
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A cold storage at Namosain (S10o10.24, E123o34.01) was not operational at the time of
the visit and looked in fact abandoned. In general, transport infrastructure in the Kupang
area is good compared to Indonesian standards. The roads are decent, there is an
airport, and there are several sea ports. During low tide, the fishing port of Oeba is only
accessible to smaller vessels (< 10 GT or so), and parts of the mooring area fall dry.

3. LARANTUKA (EAST FLORES)

There are three major fisheries for which Larantuka is an important hub: (1) Mini purse-
seining for scads, tongkol, and other small pelagics, (2) pole-and-lining for skipjack
tuna, tongkol, and juveniles of other tuna species (mostly yellowfin tuna), and (3)
handlining for yellowfin tuna, practiced by small open boats and frequently also by pole-
and-line vessels when bait is scarce. In terms of value, the pole-and-line fishery is
probably the most important among these fisheries. The Larantuka area has very little
fishing for demersals. The "fishing landscape" of Larantuka is dominated by the
presence of a two large fishing companies, PT Okishen and Mitra Mas, and Larantuka
has a new, well-equipped fishing harbor (which has the official status of a Pangkalan
Pendaratan Ikan, which usually indicates a harbor with more modest facilities).

At the time of the survey, there were many (in total perhaps 50) pole & line boats
anchored in front of Larantuka or moored on jetties (also at the jetty for the ferry).
According to Mr Pice (PPI), ca. 50 pole & line boats frequently offload at the PPI, and he
estimates that this is 40% of all landings from the Larantuka area. Skipjack tuna can be
found year-round, but peak season for skipjack pole-and-line fishing is July-October. Mr
Tien (coordinator of a fishing group in Gege, Larantuka), estimates that there are about
35 vessels of 10-30GT who are based in Larantuka (excl. vessels from PT Okishen and
Mitra Mas, and excluding vessels from the islands nearby). Mr Pice (PPI) estimates
that the average catch of a mid-sized pole-and-liner in Larantuka is 4 tons per trip.
Pole-and-line fishing is strongly influenced by availability of bait: Because of seasonal
shortages and because of shortage in the week around full moon, a pole-and-liner is
only operational for about 50% of the year.

Aforementioned data suffice for a rough effort and production estimate. The total
number of pole-and-liners landing in Larantuka is 125 boats. Assuming that 50% of
these boats are operational at any time, and assuming an average catch of 4 tons per
one-day trip, a rough estimate for the total amount of skipjack tuna and baby tuna
landed in Larantuka would amount to 250 tons per day, or 91,250 tons per year. This is
extremely high compared to official national fishery statistics. For example, the
government estimate for the national catch of skipjack tuna (including juveniles of other
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tuna species) in 2008 amounts to 296,769 tons (KKP 2010, Kelautan Dan Perikanan
Dalam Angka)---Though Laranatuka is an important area for skipjack tuna, it is hardly
conceivable that this area sustains a third of the skipjack catch of the entire Indonesia
archipelago. Other researchers (e.g. Ingles 2008) also find evidence for severe under-
estimation of Indonesia's tuna and skipjack catches.

Larantuka skipjack and baby tuna pole and line boats (top 2 photos and bottom left
photo) and bagan lift net boat (light attraction during dark moon phases) used to catch
the baitfish for the pole and line operations.

Fishers estimate that pole and line catches may comprise of 70% skipjack tuna and
30% baby (juvenile) tuna. There is no seasonal pattern in catch composition. Fishers
report that pole-and-liners usually catch either skipjack or baby tuna---These two
species categories only get mixed in the hold as the vessel fishes different locations
during a single trip. The local price for skipjack tuna (paid to the fisher) is Rp 7,000 per
kg for the highest quality grade, and Rp 4,000 / kg for the lowest grade. Pole-and-liners
may switch to fishing for large tuna using hook-and-line if large tuna is plentiful or if bait
from the local bagan (light attraction) fishery is unavailable for example during full
moon. The survey team could not make an estimate of the total amount of large tuna
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that is extracted in this way (from pole and line boats switching to hand line tuna
fishing). Sometimes these fishers also switch to blast fishing for skipjack, tongkol and
tuna. According to many informants, blast fishing for tuna often occurs in this area, but
incidence may be decreasing according to some.

Larantuka has developed advanced facilities for processing of large quantities of pelagic
fish. A new landing site with fuel station, several mini plants, a large capacity for block
ice production and large transport vessels for the transport of frozen tuna loins.

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Mr Tein estimates that there are 200-300 small open boats (crew 2-3) handlining for
large tuna in the Larantuka area. These small boats generally make one-day trips.
Tuna season is October - June. Assuming that there are 250 small open boats active
for 50% of the year, and assuming an average catch per trip of 100 kg, the daily
production of large tuna in the Larantuka area would amount to 12.5 tons. In addition,
the pole-and-liners land an unknown amount of large yellowfin tuna at times when
yellowfin tuna are plentiful or at times when bait for pole-and-lining is unavailable. As
bait is scarce in the week around full moon, and as there are seasonal bait shortages as
well, the total catch of yellowfin tuna by the pole-and-line fleet is probably substantial.
Price for whole tuna paid to fishers is Rp 17,500 per kg (for fish > 20 kg), for fillets
(loins) from collectors Rp 35,000 per kg.

Larantuka has a new fishing harbor, which was opened in 2009. The fishing harbor was
constructed through a JICA project. There is an ice factory (operational, currently
producing 4.2 tons per day), a Pertamina fuel station (not yet operational), a large jetty,
and office buildings. Operational expenses of the PPI are covered by the Ministry of
Marine Affair and Fisheries in Jakarta, whereas the local fisheries service (DKP)
provides manpower. There are three ice factories in Larantuka: (1) The ice factory at
the PPI produces 168 blocks (25 kg each) per day (4.2 tons), and maximum capacity is
252 blocks per day (6.3 tons). (2) An ice factory in Wira produces 800 blocks per day
(20 tons), and (3) the ice factory in Gege produces 200 blocks (5 tons) per day. An
employee at the PPI ice factory and local fishers find that ice is often in short supply.

The two major companies in Larantuka are Okishin, which has a large freezer vessel
anchored off Larantuka, and Mitra Mas, which has only fishing boats, not a processing
plant. In addition, there are two mini-plants and one cold storage facility: PT Tritunggal
Lintas Binua in Wira, Larantuka, PT Prima Indo Ikan (small, daily capacity of ca. 1 ton),
and a cold storage facility near the Larantuka market, owned by Mr Abdullah. This
facility can hold up to 75 tons of fish. Abdullah buys layang (scads, from purse seiners),
tuna, and skipjack. He ships his fish to Makassar, Surabaya, or Jakarta by Pelni (ferry)
in a cold storage container, and he transports tuna loins by truck to Maumere, from
Maumere to Bali, and from Bali to Makassar. PT Tritunggal Linas Binua (TLB) operates
a mini-plant in Wira. Their main product is tuna loins, with some skipjack tuna and
octopus. TLB works with local suppliers for sourcing of fish. The end destinations for
tuna loins are Japan and the USA. TLB transports frozen loins with trucks equipped
with refrigeration units (Thermo King) to Maumere. In Maumere, TLB transfers the fish
to a refrigerated container for transport over sea to Surabaya. In Surabaya, the fish are
transferred to another container for export.

26
Purse seiner at the port of Larantuka loading catches onto a pick up truck.

Purse seine catches landed by transport boats (who collect catches from purse seiners
at open sea) and directly by purse seiners themselves in the port of Larantuka.

27
Layang (scads) landings from a purse seiner in Larantuka.

At the time of the survey on December 28 a collector vessel was offloading ca. 500 kg
of layang (scads). The boat collected from mini purse seiners fishing ca. 20 nm from
Larantuka, around FADs anchored at ca. 800 m depth. The peak season for small
pelagics (scads and tongkol) is November - December - January. There are about 50
such collector vessels landing at the PPI, and in total there are about 70 collector
vessels working from Larantuka. On December 29, a fisher landed at the PPI about 1.5
tons of layang. According to the fisher, the fish will go to Kupang, Ende, or Maumere.
The fisher sold the fish for Rp 6,000-7,000 per kg for the local market, even though the
fish was of a size suitable for export to Japan or Korea for bait fish (4-6 pcs per kg).
Purse seiners usually make one-day trips, leaving at night, landing in the early morning.
Often the landing is not directly to the port but to a collector vessel outside the port. The
collector vessel then brings the fish ashore. Average catch per tip is around a ton.

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At Desa Waebalun (near Larantuka, S8o20.28, E122o54.51) fishers use handlines from
small open boats to catch "ikan layur" (scabbard fish, locally known as ikan parang-
parang). The fishery takes place at night, using Petromax lamps. Individual weight of
ikan layur is between 0.5 and 7 kg. The season for this fishery is normally from July
through September, but this year catches were very low and the season was less
distinct. The current price, paid to fishers, is Rp 15,000 per kg; while five years ago this
was only Rp 3,000 per kg. The price went up because nearby fishing company Okishin
started buying this species for the Japanese market, and because of decreasing supply.
An average catch during peak season in a normal year is 100 kg per night. Local
fishers occasionally fish for grouper and snapper, which they sell for Rp 50,000 - 60,000
per fish of 4-5 kg, but total supply is low. The Kepala Dusun estimates that there are
about 70 small open boats in this area. The fishers of Waebalun once installed a
rumpon, which was very effective, but it was not replaced after this rumpon got lost.

29
30
4. MAUMERE AND SURROUNDINGS (NORTH FLORES)

According to Dony Parera (DKP Sikka), the main fishery hubs of East Flores and Sikka
districts for deepwater snapper and grouper and for yellowfin and skipjack tuna would
be Larantuka, Maumere (TPI) / Wuring, Nangahure, and Waturia. Waturia would have
demersals like snapper and grouper, but no skipjack or yellowfin tuna, whereas
Nangahure village focuses on yellowfin tuna but also produces deep water demersals.
The main companies in Sikka district are Laut Biru (tuna loining) and KCBS, an
Indonesian company with Japanese participation. PT Shin is a new company in
Maumere that just started operations. Ende district, on the South coast of Flores, has a
small fishery only, and Ende gets most of its fish from Maumere and Larantuka.

Small scale fishers and collectors land a wide variety of demersal and pelagic fish
species at the local landing site (TPI) in the port of Maumere. Small open boats bring
tuna and larger demersals from hand line catches, purse seiners land small pelagic,
pole and liners bring in skipjack and transport vessels bring a variety of purse seine and
other catches ashore. This includes also a noticeable amount of blast fishing catches.

31
Small traders buy from fishers and collector boats and sell at local markets the smaller
hand lined tuna which are not purchased by loining plants. Hand line boats also bring in
deep water snappers and other larger demersals. Purse seiners land tongkol and scads
while blast fishing catches from Watturia and other local villages come in by collector
boats or with pick-up vans over the road.

Fish buyer Fransiscus Lima is based at the TPI of Maumere. He works with 3 pole-and-
liners (each 30GT), who make 2-day trips and who catch 5 tons per trip on average. He
usually provides ice and fuel for the fishers he works with. The pole-and-liners work on
FADs, but also on free-swimming skipjack tuna and yellowfin tuna. The peak fishing
season is March - September; from October to February fishing effort is low because it
is difficult to obtain bait during that period. Fransiscus Lima pays to fishers Rp 7,000/kg
for cakalang, Rp 15,000/kg for large tuna (>20 kg individual weight), and Rp 7,500/kg
for juvenile tuna (c. 2 kg individual weight). He sells large tuna to local processing
plants for Rp 17,500 / kg. There are in total 5 traders (including Fransiscus Lima)
working at the Maumere TPI, and there are about 30 free" (not operated as part of a
company fleet) pole-and-line vessels active in the Maumere area, resulting in ca. 10
pole and line boat landings per day (Dony Parera). Hence, daily skipjack and baby tuna
landings in peak season may amount to 50 tons per day in this area, and during low
season ca. 25 tons per day. Annual landing of skipjack and baby tuna at the Maumere
TPI thus may amounts to some 14,250 tons. Most landing and trading at the Maumere
TPI takes place between 4:30 and 6:00 am. The ice factory at the Maumere TPI has a
capacity of 10 tons per day, and usually ice is in short supply.

32
Wuring purse seiner and collector boat landing purse seine catches at the local market
on the fish landing site at Maumere harbor.

Wuring (nearby Maumere TPI) has a fleet of 50 mini purse seiners who fish at night
using light attraction. The fleet makes one-night. trips, catching some 150 kg of scads
and tongkol per night which is a surprisingly low CpUE for this gear compared to other
areas. They fish on FADs deployed by fishers from Sinjai (South Sulawesi tuna
fishers). Most purse seine catches come to the Maumere TPI by small collector /
transport boats from Wuring but some purse seiners also land their catches directly to
the local market here.

PT Laut Biru runs a small mini plant in the Wuring area, and produces about 500 to
1,000 kg of tuna loins per day, using exclusively tuna > 20 kg individual weight. With a
loining efficiency of 50% (loins weight out of whole fish weight), PT Laut Biru buys 1-2
tons of tuna per day, mostly from Nangahure handline fishers, but also some from Paga
on the south coast. Loins are transported by air to Bali.

33
PT KCBS is an Indonesian fish processing company with Japanese participation,
situated on the coast about a half-hour drive west from Maumere.

The main products of PT KCBS are skipjack tuna, juvenile tuna, scads, tongkol, and
octopus. PT KCBS no longer buys large tuna as supply was limited at their target
prices. They do not buy snappers and groupers or other large demersals either. KCBS
has very large cold storage facilities and a large jetty. KCBS operates its own transport
vessel, which has a capacity of 1,000 tons. KCBS ships all fish (frozen whole round) to
Jakarta, selling most to the domestic market there. PT KCBS owns 6 pole-and-liners,
and works together with another 20 pole-and-liners, as well as with local mini purse
seiners. The pole-and-line fleet usually makes 1-day trips, catching 3-4 tons per trip
when there is fish around. The peak season is August-December. Trips may take up to
4 days if there is not much fish. KCBS buys scads and tongkol from local mini-purse
seiners. Fishing grounds are in the Flores Sea (north up to Taka Bone Rate, east up to
Kumba Island and Larantuka). PT KCBS installs 4 deepwater FADs (c. 2500 m depth)
per year, which usually last 0.5 - 2 years. Purse seiners fish shallower waters, around
800 m depth. Total production of frozen fish at the KCBS plant averages 50 tons per
month, and the holding capacity of the KCBS cold storage is 250 tons. The facility can
take and process 60 tons in one day if supplies are large. Their supply is characterized
by periods of zero activity to very large amounts coming in during short periods of time.
A major bottleneck in fish production from pole and liners is the availability of bait.

The small-scale fishers of Nangahure, a coastal village west of Maumere, target


predominantly large tuna. There are 80 small open boats with engines, typically with a
crew of 2-3 people. In addition, there are 8 mini purse-seiners, who operate in nearby
waters, up to 800 m deep. The fishers are organized in three groups: Raja Tuna (with
15 active vessels), Inti Gemala, and Dewa Tuna. The fishers estimate that they fish for
80% of the time for tuna, and for 20% on demersal fish at depths of 30-100 m using
handlines and bottom longlines. For most fishers in Nangahure, demersal fishing is an
34
occasional activity only, but ca. 15% of fishers specialize in it. The fishers estimate that
about 60% of all boats are out at sea at any one time. The Nangahure tuna fishers
catch tuna of 1-100 kg body weight, both near FADs and free-swimming with dolphin
pods. The peak season for large tuna is October-June, whereas small tuna is available
year-round. Usually a fishing trip takes one day only, but sometimes the fishers stay at
sea for up to 4 days. If they fish far to the east they land their tuna at North Lembata.
The Nangahure small scale tuna fleet as a whole can produce several tons of tuna per
day but this production is scattered around over various small supply lines.

Nangahure beach with large numbers of small open boats used for tuna hand lining.

On average, the Nangahure fishers catch 3-4 fish per day, sometimes up to 10 fish.
The fishers loin (skin-on) their catch on-board their boats while at sea, and the loins are
further trimmed of red meat and bits of bone in mini processing facilities on the shore.
There are five small collectors in Nangahure, who sell to two local traders: Ibu Sinta
and Pak Amir. Some sell their fish to Biru Laut. On longer tuna fishing trips to the east,
Nangahure fishers my sell their catch in Bedurin, east of Larantuka. Ibu Sinta ships
loins to Bali, and Pak Amir ships to Larantuka. The fishers report that many traders
have tried to establish themselves, but these initiatives were usually short-lived because
of irregular supply and because fishers may sell their fish at sea for better prices than
they get from the trader who advance their operational expenses.

Nangahure does not have an ice factory, instead fishers and traders use ice from
household freezers. The fishers sell small tuna (< 20 kg) and mahi-mahi on local
markets. Snappers (including ruby snapper and other species) are also destined for
local markets, but groupers are sometimes sold to various local traders for export to
Bali. Most Nangahure fishers are independent, but suppliers of provisions advance
operational costs. Local prices for tuna loins, paid to fishers are Rp 37,000 per kg (skin-
on, trimmed), Rp 32,000 per kg (skin-on, not trimmed). Nangahure fishers used to
35
operate in Riung waters, but they do not do so anymore, because they were sent out
from there repeatedly. Officially, fishing across Kabupaten boundaries requires a so-
called "surat andon" (a license that allow a fisher to land fish at places other than their
home harbour), and the fishers think getting one is too much hassle.

Unloading of blast fishing catches at Watturia. Blast fishing is a common practice here,
based on species composition in landings and the presence of compressors on the
boats. Cyanide fishing for live groupers and lobsters is also common.

36
The dominant fisheries in Waturia are blast fishing, cyanide fishing, and possibly also
some hook-and-line fishing. Most of the boats anchored in front of Waturia were
observed to have compressors for hookah divers on board at the time of our visit.
There are about 30 active boats said to be operating from this village, which was very
badly damaged by a major Tsunami in the early nineties. Fish from blast fishing is sold
at the roadside near the village, and to other local markets (e.g. trucked to the TPI of
Maumere). Hook-and-line fish (neither tuna nor larger deep water demersals) was not
observed during our visit but was reported to be sold for the export market at well as for
the local markets. Local women and children were offloading a catch of blast fishers at
the time of the field visit.

There are two karambas (live fish holding cages usually for cyanide-caught coral trout,
groupers and lobsters), of which one was operational at the time of the visit. One of the
local fish traders, Ketut Armada, exports grouper (live and fresh on ice) and live lobster
to Bali by airplane. Ketut Armada ships 75-300 kg of fresh fish per three days,
averaging about 50 kg per day. Ketut Armada buys grouper at Rp 30,000 per kg from
the fishers; he does not buy any snapper. The groupers are mostly from shallow coral
reefs (up to 40 m depth) judging from species composition. There is one other trader in
Waturia, Mr Darwin.

Fresh coral trout and groupers on ice in Watturia at small trading shed run by Ketut
Armada. There were also live lobsters in the shed and at one point a blast catch of
fusiliers was also observed to be sorted in the same shed.

37
Various airlines like Lion Air, Wings Air, Batavia Air and Merpati have daily flights out of
Maumere to Bali and Kupang and other destinations. The more expensive export
products such as live coral trout, groupers and lobsters, fresh coral trout and groupers
on ice as well as frozen or fresh tuna loins are flown out of Maumere on these flights in
stryrofoam boxes. Maumere does not seem to have a very large production of export
quality demersals but the tuna fisheries at Nangahure may offer opportunities which
could potentially also be combined there with further development of a deep water
demersal fishery.

38
ANNEX 1: LOCAL RESOURCE PERSONS AND DATA-GATHERING EVENTS

Visit to Kupang (esp. Tenau fishing harbor) in September 2011, resulting in information
on the large-scale longline fishery on the Sahul Shelf (Jos Pet)

Various interviews with Mr Pae Nope, fish trader and cold storage based in Tenau (near
Kupang), active since as a fish trader in Kupang since 2009.

Visit to Pasar Traditional Pasir Panjang, Kupang, on December 26 2011 (Jos Pet, Peter
Mous, Pae Nope, Mashuda, Jonathan)

Visit to Namosai, Tenau, and Tablolong on December 26 2011 (Jos Pet, Peter Mous,
Pae Nope, Masuda, Jonathan)

Interview with 4 fishers on the beach of Tablolong on December 26 2011 (Jos Pet,
Peter Mous).

Visit to Oeba fish market (4:15 - 5:30) on December 27 2011 (Jos Pet, Peter Mous,
Jonathan)

Interview with a crew member of a tuna fishing boat (at the time of the interview
temporarily working on a purse seiner), interviewed at Oeba fish market on December
27 2011 (Peter Mous)

Interview with a small-scale handline/longline fisher from Sulamu at Oeba fish market
on December 27 2011 (Peter Mous)

Various interviews with Mr Jonathan, fish trader in Kupang since March 1986 (now
mostly buying from mini purse-seiners), December 26-27 2011

Interview with Mr Maxi Endun, head of Himpunan Nelayan Seluruh Indonesia (HNSI), at
Hotel Kristal, on December 27 2011 (Peter Mous)

Interview on the beach of Waebalun with Kepala Dusun of Waebalun on December 28


2011 (Peter Mous, Pae Nope, Dony Parera, Mashuda).

Interview with Mr Pice and staff (DKP Flores Timor) on the premises of PPI (Pangkalan
Pendaratan Ikan) Larantuka on December 28, 2011

Various interviews with Mr Dony Parera, DKP Sikka, and former DKP representative at
the TPI of Maumere (December 28-29).

Interview with the crew of a collector boat at the PPI of Larantuka on December 28
2011.

39
Interview with mini-plant manager of PT Tritunggal Lintas Binua, Wira, Larantuka on
December 28 (Peter Mous, Mr Mashuda)

Interview with Mr Tien, Kampung Gege, Larantuka on December 28. Mr Tien is a


former fisherman and he now coordinates 13 pole-and-liners of 15-30 GT (Peter Mous,
Mr Mashuda, Mr Nope)

Interview at PPI on December 29 (by Mashuda, Nope)

Interview with Pak Tien, Kampung Gege, Larantuka, on December 29 (Mr. Mashuda,
Mr. Nope)

Interview with Mr Abdullah, cold storage owner in Larantuka, on December 29 (Mr.


Mashuda, Mr Nope).

Visit to Maumere TPI, on December 29, 2011, 6-7am (Peter Mous, Jos Pet, Dony
Parera)

Interview with Fransiscus Lima, a fish buyer at the TPI of Maumere, on December 29,
2011 (Peter Mous)

Visit to PT Laut Biru, interview with Frans Edinus, manager at Laut Biru, a tuna loining
plant in Maumere, on December 29, 2011 (Peter Mous, Jos Pet, Dony Parera)

Visit to KCBS, interview with Mr Samual Ledehiku, PT KCBS employee (government


liaison), on December 29, 2011 (Peter Mous, Jos Pet, Dony Parera).

Visit to Nangahure, interview with Ketua Kelompok Nelayan (Head of Fishermen Group)
Mr Ali Sadikin and two other fishers, on December 29, 2011 (Peter Mous, Jos Pet, Dony
Parera).

Visit to Waturia, interview with local trader Ketut Armada, on December 29, 2011 (Peter
Mous, Jos Pet, Dony Parera).

Direct observation by field team (Peter Mous, Jos Pet).

40
ANNEX 2: CONTACT DETAILS

Mashuda Kholis, 08113447278, contractor for Bali Seafood International

Nope Pae, 081339141576, has a cold storage in Kupang (mostly buying speared coral
fish), makes c. three trips per year to Larantuka to buy "tongkol pisang", now helping out
Bali Seafood International.

Mr Jonathan, 081339159264, fish trader in Kupang since March 1986, now mostly
buying from mini purse-seiners.

Dony Parera, DKP Kab. Sikka, 081338578562, padron_doniex@yahoo.co.id

Mr Pice, DKP Kab. Flores Timur (staff at PPI), 081339497711

Mr Ahmad Duryana, PT Tritunggal Lintas Binua, 081381791249

Mr Lucas Papiarnak, PT Prima Indo Ikan, Larantuka, 081236268730

Mr Willem Enga, Head of DKP Ende, 085253386455 (not interviewed)

Hotel ASA, Wira, 03832325018

Frans Edinus, manager at PT Laut Biru, 081239400127

PT KCBS office 0382-22670

Mr Maxi Endun (HNSI), 081337922707

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