Area 71 (Pacific, Western Central)

The Day octopus (Octopus cyanea) fishery is an artisanal fishery in Nusa Tenggara Timur, in southeast Indonesia encompassing the islands of Flores, Sumba, and Timor and their associated waters in the Flores and Suva Sea.  Waters within scope of the FIP straddle FAO areas 71 and 57, with the boundary between the Western Central Pacific and Indian Ocean zones running through Flores Island.  The fishery is prosecuted entirely within the Indonesian EEZ and is not RFMO managed.

Fishers capture octopus in three main ways. 1. Shore-based fishing involves daily away-and-back trips from local village landing sites, using small vessels, or fishing from flotation devices.  2. Fishing also occurs further afield and further offshore, using larger mother vessels that bring with them 10-20 smaller canoes: these are used to collect octopus in different locations over a period of a few days at sea. Octopus are collected either from the surface by fishers remaining in their vessels, or by fishers working directly in the water. When fishers work from the surface, octopi are attracted away from structure by jig-like lures (pocong-pocong/kulepa), hooked, and pulled up.  Octopus may also be collected in the water from open bottoms or reef structure by spearing and hand-gathering.  3. Gleaning for octopus also occurs in the intertidal and shallow sub-tidal waters.

FIP participants are fishers/vessels selling legally sized product into supply chains selling to PT Agrita Best Seafood.   

The main objectives of the FIP are focused on data collection and establishing basic fishery-specific management structures under Principles 2 and 3 of the MSC Standard and will also contribute key information related to the target species for Principle 1. 

This regional, Basic FIP, while its own entity, is intending to collaborate with other regional, Basic FIPs to support a future national FIP process, TBD. 

The Roundtable of Feed and Fishmeal companies has been initiated by end of 2016 by feed manufacturers and their suppliers to address the most concern of the feed sector regarding responsible sourcing of marine ingredients. In 2017, with support from Ba Ria-Vung Tau provincial People's Committee, Department of Agriculture & Rural Development and its affiliate - Sub-Department of Fisheries, Ba Ria - Vung Tau Fishmeal and Fish Oil Association has been recognised by authorities, a fishery improvement project (hereby called FIP Vung Tau) has been developed since then. In June 2020, FIP Vung Tau registered on FisheryProgress as Prospective FIP for trawl fisheries in Ba Ria - Vung Tau province, with 10 participants (4 feed companies and 6 fishmeal companies in Ba Ria - Vung Tau province). FIP Vung Tau has defined 5 'other species' as target stocks, including Greater lizardfish (Saurida tumbil); Blunt-nose lizardfish (Trachinocephalus myops); Sulphur goatfish (Upeneus sulphureus); Bigeye scad (Selar crumenophthalmus); and Yellowtail scad (Atule mate). Trawl fleets registered with Ba Ria - Vung Tau authorities and ones that land in ports in Ba Ria - Vung Tau that fishmeal producers are sourcing their incoming materials are covered by this FIP. Background studies and data collection for evaluation of PIs will be conducted in the waters under administration of Ba Ria - Vung Tau province.  

Update April 16, 2025

On March 24, 2025, FIP partners convened in Ho Chi Minh City and agreed to expand the scope of the Fishery Improvement Project (FIP) to include more seafood processing partners from across southern Vietnam, rather than limiting participation to Ba Ria - Vung Tau province. This broader designation aims to encourage wider industry involvement and foster a more inclusive financial contribution to support the FIP’s efforts.

Over the past three years of implementation, it has become increasingly clear that the Vietnamese government plays a critical role in the development and enforcement of policies essential to the sustainability of fisheries. While the private sector remains fully committed to implementing responsible practices, it is government leadership that creates the enabling environment and ensures consistent compliance.

We strongly believe that a robust public-private partnership—anchored in internationally recognized standards such as the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) and MarinTrust—can deliver long-term benefits. The private sector will gain from a supportive regulatory framework, while the government can leverage private sector resources to implement and scale sustainable practices effectively.

To this end, we plan to pilot a trawl fishery aligned with the principles of the MSC Fisheries Standard. This initiative is expected to contribute meaningfully to the government’s long-term ecological and economic goals, with positive impacts extending beyond the trawl sector to other important fisheries.

 The fishery being assessed is the Pacific Ocean tuna – longline (Sky Vision). The fishery targets north and south Pacific albacore (Thunnus alalunga), western and central Pacific Ocean (WCPO) and eastern Pacific Ocean (EPO) bigeye (T. obesus), and WCPO yellowfin and EPO (T. albacares) tuna. The longline vessels are flagged to China, Fiji, Cook Islands, and Vanuatu and fish on the WCPO and EPO high seas and within the Vanuatu, Fiji, Tuvalu, and Cook Islands Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs). The fishery is managed regionally by both the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) and Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC).

This FIP covers the Yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) and Skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis)  from High Seas Pocket 1 (HPS1) in the western central pacific ocean, caught by Philippine registered vessels with purse seine anchored FAD sets.