Developing and testing a collaborative data collection method to characterize the deep-slope demersal fishery in Indonesia

Indonesia is the center of marine biodiversity and the second largest global seafood producer. Here, many fisheries go unmanaged. This results in either overexploitation or their status remains uncertain because there are no... [ view full abstract ]

Indonesia is the center of marine biodiversity and the second largest global seafood producer. Here, many fisheries go unmanaged. This results in either overexploitation or their status remains uncertain because there are no data. The deep-slope (50-500 m) multispecies demersal fishery remains as one of the few lucrative commercial fisheries in Indonesia and is characterized by dropline and longline gears that capture over 100 species of grouper, snapper, and emperor. Our research aims to ensure the sustainability of this fishery with a theory of change built around a collaborative data collection system. Thus, we have developed a Captain Operated Data Recording System (CODRS), which collects detailed catch and effort data for the past 3 years. Our results indicate that 52% of catch composition is dominated by six species. In addition, we have identified fifteen species that have never been considered a part of this fishery. We found significant differences in catch composition between dropline, longline, and mix gear, however, Pristipmoides multidens is the top species in all gear types. We calculated percentage of catch below length at first maturity (Lmat) and found that the most dominant species, P. multidens, was dominated by immature individuals. Fishing effort was correlated with vessel size and was not dispersed equally among fishing grounds. In fact, many fishing grounds were located across two different Fishery Management Areas (FMAs). Our findings show that characterizing a fishery through collaborative methods can serve as an effective way to collect data that informs sustainable fisheries management.