Community-based Small Scale Octopus Fisheries Management
JARI in conjunction with Yayasan Pesisir Lestari (YPL) have been helping with local marine conservation efforts by enlisting the assistance of local networks and supporting conservation research, education, and sustainable development for coastal communities in and around Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia.
Since 2019, our works have focused on the management of local octopus fishing activities in the surrounding waters of 4 fishing villages on the coasts of East Lombok and West Sumbawa. We have been assisting with the monitoring and data collection of octopus catches in the area, where local fishermen have volunteered to report the time and location of their fishing activities and register the weight, length, and sex of their catches.
This data has allowed us to map out fish stocks and strategise approaches towards the sustainable management of local marine resources. It has provided the basis for several feedback sessions with fishermen groups and other key stakeholders to share their experiences and to discuss the implementation of octopus fishing management strategies and supervision models.
In 2020, JARI with the support of YPL launched ‘Pekan Gurita’ (Octopus Week), an awareness campaign designed to introduce the research findings to the broader community and to strengthen communication between fishermen groups and local government. The occasion also promotes the economic benefits of octopus as a sustainable product for local consumption and as a source of revenue with potential growth in ecotourism opportunities.
The result of this community engagement was the emergence of the online community platform ‘Berita Gurita’ (Octopus News), to help facilitate ongoing discussions on local octopus’ fisheries to the full inclusion of all community members to participate and share their perspectives.
