Judul: Utilization Status and Sustainability of Wedgefish Fishery Based on Tegalsari Coastal Fishing Port, Central Java
Abstrak: Wedgefish has been included in the CITES Appendix II list since 2019. The conservation status of wedgefish based on IUCN as "Critically Endangered" due to population decline by fishing activities. The over-exploitation is due to the high price of wedgefish fins. Indonesia is one of the biggest countries that caught wedgefish globally, with one of the landing sites at Tegalsari Coastal Fishing Port. However, in Indonesia, the study on wedgefish fisheries is still limited. The scientific information is important to achieve sustainable management. The aims of this study were (1) to describe the conditions of the wedgefish fishery based on the Tegalsari Coastal Fishing Port; (2) to assess the utilization status of wedgefish fishery based on Tegalsari Coastal Fishing Port; (3) to prove whether wedgefish are the main catch target by cantrang based on Tegalsari Coastal Fishing Port; and (4) to provide scientific recommendations for the sustainable management of the wedgefish fishery. The field study was conducted from January to February 2020 at the Tegalsari Coastal Fishing Port, Central Java. Types of data collected were boat size, fishing method, number of vessels, number of fishermen, fishing area location, trade chain, economic value, species type, total length (cmTL), Frequency (No. Inds.), and wedgefish sex. In addition, data from monitoring the catch of wedgefish from April to December 2019 sourced from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the Rekam Nusantara Foundation were used in this study. The results showed that wedgefish landed based on Tegalsari Coastal Fishing Port get caught by cantrang as fishing gear. There were three (3) species of the wedgefish, namely: Rhynchobatus springeri, R. laevis, and R. australiae. All part of the wedgefish bodies (fins, meat, skin, and bones) have a market value. The fin has the highest price of Rp3.000.000,00/kg in the local market. The fishing grounds of the wedgefish were in the Java Sea, Bangka Belitung Waters, and Karimata Strait. The utilization status of wedgefish species based on the exploitation rate parameter (E) were: R. springeri with E = 0,80 (overfishing), R. laevis at E= 0,82 (overfishing), and R. australiae at E= 0,81 (overfishing). Wedgefish was not the main target of cantrang, but squid as the primary target. Wedgefish was a bycatch that has high economic value. The recommendations for wedgefish management based on this study are: establishing a marine protected area (MPA), particularly in the spawning and nursery areas, implementing a regulation of allowable catch quota, collaboration among stakeholders for wedgefish management, implementing the allowable catch of wedgefish: (R. springeri males >120 cmTL and females >158 cmTL, R. laevis males >131 cmTL and females >174 cmTL, and R. australiae males >129 cmTL and females >171 cmTL), limiting fishing activities, close during the mating season (indicate in the August to November), reducing wedgefish as bycatch of the seine net (cantrang), and increasing capacity of the fishers on bycatch handling.
Keyword: seine net, cantrang‟, sustainable management, PPP Tegalsari, wedgefish