CTC recently signed two Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) to strengthen its collaboration with government and university partners. The first agreement is with the Maluku Provincial Government, focusing on the support for effective management of marine protected areas and sustainable fisheries and the second one is with Diponegoro University on fishery capacity-building for students, academics and coastal communities in Central Java.

Through the first agreement No. 168 of 2022, the Governor of Maluku, Murad Ismail, requested  CTC’s assistance in the establishment of an MPA network in Maluku, including sustainable marine tourism practices and the incorporation of local wisdoms in the management of marine and fishery resources. This agreement will be valid until August 2025, with evaluation taking place on a regular basis.

Following this agreement, CTC has started to carry out a number of activities in Maluku, including the Deep-Sea Snapper Fisheries project in the Banda Islands. This is a capacity-building program for snapper fishers and fishery stakeholders to support sustainable fisheries, and the Kalesang Dugong project, which aims to protect the population of dugong and its critical habitat in the Lease Islands MPA. Furthermore, CTC will continue to conduct regular scientific surveys to monitor biophysical and socioeconomic conditions in our targeted MPAs, increase the competence of MPA personnel, and conduct outreach activities to raise public awareness about the importance of MPAs.

The agreement between CTC and Diponegoro University has been stated through the contract No. 173 of 2022. The Dean of the Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Sciences of Diponegoro University, Prof. Ir. Tri Winarni Agustini, M.Sc., Ph.D. and Executive Director of CTC Rili Djohani agreed on highlighting the importance of increasing human resource capacity in researching, developing, and applying science in sustainable management of fisheries and marine resources in the agreement. This objective will be addressed appropriately through collaborative events and activities between two institutions over the next three years.

CTC plans to engage students and lecturers of Diponegoro University in the blue swimming crab (BSC) fishery management project for women fishers in Gedongmulyo Village, Rembang District. The pilot project was selected as a priority after CTC conducted a series of gender perception surveys and capacity-building needs assessments in several fishing villages on the north coast of Central Java since last July. The BSC fisheries project in Central Java will run until mid-2024.

These two collaborations contribute to three major agreements between CTC with the Indonesian Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (MMAF), signed last year. These focus on achieving three main work indicators: 1) the index of the government policy effectiveness, 2) the effectiveness of sustainable, fair and competitive marine and fisheries resource monitoring governance, and 3) the index of the personnel competency and integrity.

Photos: Yoga Putra/CTC, Kasman/CTC,  Nadia Qurotha/CTC, & Dwi Surkan