Officially, the Fisheries Agency is in favor of responsible fisheries but, on the other hand, there
is tremendous pressure to increase fishery-based income and employment as rapidly as possible,
especially through increasing the industrial fleet targeting pelagic fish in the deep-water EEZ
(V. Nikijuluw, pers. comm. 1998). The 1997 MSY estimate for the nation is 6.1 million tonnes, and
government statistics suggest that catches amount to only 40% of this potential yield. According
to government statistics, the Maluku province alone should have a standing stock of fish and
shrimp totaling 2.74 million tonnes. MSY, calculated as 50% of stock, is, therefore, estimated to
be 1.37 million tonnes. The total catch in 1997 was only 24.4% of the theoretical MSY, leading
the national government to promote expansion of the industrial fishery. However, there are
questions with regard to the government figures (see below and Section 3.4.2).
One major problem with the national expansionist policy and with the process of setting
catch limits is that calculations of potential yield are extrapolations from stock assessments
conducted in the early 1980s. These old data are augmented with catch statistics that are
limited in their coverage and often of unknown or suspect quality (Proceedings of the National
Conference on the Role of Communities in Coastal Resource Management in Indonesia, 1996).
As of 1998, Maluku still has no coherent, comprehensive and reliable system for collecting
catch data (Purnomo 1996), although LIPI, a national research institution, has plans to develop
and introduce a system at some future time. It is widely acknowledged that fishing boats
from other provinces and countries frequently fail to land their catches in Maluku, or they
trans-ship at sea. Thus such catches go unrecorded. Hence, despite there being in theory a
large available fish biomass, several important commercial stocks are, in fact, already over-
fished and declining in Maluku (Governor Latukonsina, pers. comm. 1998).
A second key issue is the lack of enforcement power to defend Indonesia’s vast EEZ from
illegal fishing by foreign and domestic boats, including live fish traders using potassium
cyanide. Illegal fishing contributes to the total of unrecorded fish catches (Fox 1996).
The third key issue is one of allocation: the need to balance industrial-scale fisheries serving
export markets with the need for local food security and employment for coastal communities.
In the Agriculture Ministry Decree No. 607, 1976, Indonesian waters were divided into zones
in an attempt to reserve inshore waters for the artisanal and small-scale sectors. Under this
law, vessels over 5 gross tonnage (GT) are prohibited from fishing within three miles of shore,
vessels over 25 GT must operate over four miles from shore, and vessels over 100 GT must
stay five miles from shore. Small boats are free to enter the offshore fishing grounds at will.
This is one of the laws that is not effectively enforced, with the result that clashes between the
industrial sector and coastal communities are increasingly common (Galanggajir 1996). Those
behind the drive for further expansion of industrial fleets fail to acknowledge this problem.
6.4 Agencies Involved in Fisheries Management and Development in Maluku
The planning board, BAPPEDA, is a coordination institution below the national planning
board, BAPPENAS. BAPPEDA holds a strategic position for coordinating the development
of various sectors in the region, including fisheries, and has offices at both provincial and
district levels. The provincial office of BAPPEDA is also the governor’s office. The provincial
governor holds two positions; he is head of the provincial government as well as the provincial
representative of the Minister of Internal Affairs. BAPPEDA has a close working relationship
with the Department of Internal Affairs.
Fisheries Management in Central Maluku 59