CTC recently conducted a three-day fish identification training for its staff and government institutional partners in Ambon, Maluku. The training was part of the implementation of the Deep-Sea Snappers (DSS) project in the Banda Islands, which would advance the national deep-water groundfish fisheries improvement plan for the following two years.

The training took place from May 30 to June 1, 2022, at Amaris Hotel, Ambon and attended by 23 participants from CTC staff and representatives of the Fish Quarantine and Quality Assurance in Maluku, the Fisheries Extension and Training Center in Ambon, the Marine Affairs and Fisheries Agency of Maluku Province, the Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Science of the Pattimura University in Ambon, the Deep-Sea Research Center of the Indonesia National Research and Innovation Agency, the Coastal and Marine Resources Management Unit in Sorong, the Archipelago Fishing Port and Landing in Ambon, and local government staff of Banda Sub-district.

All participants learned how to recognize 100 deep-sea fish species that are most frequently seen in Indonesia throughout the training, particularly those belonging to the family of Lutjanidae (snappers), Epinephelidae (groupers), Lethrinidae (emperors), and Carangidae (jacks). By being familiar with these fish species, participants can improve the deep-sea fisheries database in eastern Indonesia by assisting small-scale fishers in the Banda Islands in identifying their catch.

“I really enjoyed the training because the trainers delivered it in fun and interesting ways. I also made some notes that hopefully can help me educate local fishers in Banda in recognizing the variety of deep-sea fishing catch,” said Bachri Helwakan, local staff of Banda Sub-district office.

In delivering the training, CTC collaborated with the People and Nature Consulting International (PNCI) as our main organizational partner of the DSS project in Banda. CTC also acknowledges the contribution of the Yayasan Konservasi Alam Nusantara (YKAN) Indonesia for knowledge, training modules, and Captain/Crew Operated Data Reporting System (CODRS) to the project.

As a follow-up to this training, CTC is currently carrying out a frame survey targeting more than 150 fishermen respondents from June 12 to July 5, 2022. The main objectives of this survey are to identify and assess the state of local small-scale fisheries in Banda Islands, including kinds of catch, vessels, supply chain, fishing gears, and fishing sites. This survey was conducted face-to-face in 11 locations across all major islands of Banda. CTC will then review the survey’s findings before selecting 25-30 target fishers to work with for the DSS project until 2024.

Due to the significant potential for deep-water snapper fisheries in its waters, which is a part of Indonesian Fisheries Management Area (FMA) 714, the Banda Islands was chosen as the DSS project site. As the main resource users in this deep demersal fishery, the majority of local small-scale fishers in Banda have already demonstrated strong ownership over their local resources and showed interest in accessing sustainable supply lines to increase high returns from their efforts.

Through the DSS project, CTC and PNCI will provide cameras and measuring boards for photographing all fish in the catch, and place SPOT Trace units on the boats to record fishing positions. All data and information will be sent to CTC at Ambon and Bali offices. Trained CTC staff will upload compiled data and information onto the I-Fish platform, which is managed by the Indonesian Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (MMAF).  

Photo by Kasman/CTC