Indonesia Sulawesi day octopus - handline and spear

Octopus is an important export seafood commodity in Indonesia with the country listed as one of the big four octopus producers globally. This fishery is an artisanal fishery, nevertheless, it significantly contributes to the community's livelihood. Sulawesi waters (Fisheries Management Areas 713, 714, and 715/FAO Area 71) cover more than 50% of the octopus national product, it produces high income for the fishers, but the detailed information about this fishery is not well known, i.e. the condition of the stock, unregulated, unreported and value-loss indication. The FIP aims to emphasize co-management among the stakeholders by developing adequate scientific research to support the sustainability of the stock and ecosystem in collaboration with universities and research entities, as a basis for management action at both national (through national octopus fisheries management plan with the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries) and grass-root level with the community. This combination is expected to strengthen community participation in fishery management leading to improvement below the water in 2027.

The octopus fishery in the Unit of Assessment (UoA) is dominated by traditional fishing gears such as handline and spear. Fishers use small vessels under 1 Gross Tonnage (GT), and in some cases fish without vessels by gleaning the octopus near the shoreline during the low tide. This FIP is estimated to cover 300 fishers in several locations: Wakatobi, Selayar, Banggai Laut - Kepulauan, Luwuk, and Tojo Una-Una Regencies. This FIP is led by Yayasan Pesisir Lestari (YPL) and Blue Ventures, which are NGOs/CSOs that support community-led fisheries management: JAPESDA, FORKANI, FONEB, KOMANANGI, LINI, SFP, fishers group within the UoA. This FIP aims to link the grassroots movement with the national-level stakeholders and is expected to catalyze improvement by achieving the objectives of this FIP.