PROSPECTIVE Indonesia Indian and Pacific Ocean tuna - longline

Background

Under Target 75 we are seeking to achieve 75% of global production of key seafood sectors (including both shelf-stable and fresh/frozen tuna sectors) to be either improving (i.e. in a credible FIP making adequate progress) or sustainable (i.e. MSC certified). Accordingly, there are two tactical ‘successes’ based on T75:

• We increase the number of FIPs
• We increase the volume of product in FIPs 
• Strategically, our T75 analyses of tuna recommend that we move away from fishery-by-fishery FIP initiation and instead focus on larger scale (or regional) FIPs that offer economies of scale. 

Indonesia is considered the world’s largest producer of tuna and has the most abundant tuna fisheries in the world. Unsurprisingly, therefore, our T75 tuna analysis recommends a large-scale FIP in Indonesia’s EEZ as an important route for achieving T75 in fresh and frozen tuna. 

Collaborations

Several initiatives are already underway, or planned, with the goal of improving the sustainability of Indonesia’s tuna fisheries. To avoid the risk of overwhelming the local industry and government with yet another initiative, it is imperative that any strategy is sensitive to this possibility and aims to collaborate and/or build upon existing efforts. 

As such, several organizations funded by the Walton Family Foundation to work on Indonesian tuna are collaborating through a coordination platform, facilitated by Marine Change, that meets two-to-three times a year. The membership includes Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP), the International Pole and Line Foundation (IPNLF), the Indonesia Pole & Line and Handline Association (AP2HI), Masyarakat Dan Perikanan Indonesia (MDPI), WWF Indonesia, Hatfield Indonesia, and The Nature Conservancy (TNC).  

The platform has been effective in providing clarity on work areas and has enabled the members to avoid duplication. 

In addition, a major element of the coordination platform will be to collate the improvement needs for all Indonesian tuna FIPs through a National Tuna Fisheries Action Plan and work synergistically to address cross-cutting needs, including policy changes. 

SFP’s Indonesian Longline Tuna FIP

Following discussions with the coordination platform, SFP’s contribution to improving Indonesian tuna fisheries will include initiating large-scale longline tuna FIP(s). 

This will be achieved by using results from the Indonesia tuna MSC pre-assessment conducted by WWF Indonesia to identify fisheries from the units of assessments and engage with the fishers/fleet owners to explain the opportunities for fisheries improvement and potential market access/market security. 

SFP will support the initiation of each prospective longline tuna FIP in the project either directly, or through coordinating the industry funding of a technical advisor, and support the transition of prospective longline tuna FIP(s) into implementation by driving market pressure and working through the coordination platform to realize necessary policy changes. 

Furthermore, we will keep SFP’s fresh and frozen tuna market partners informed of developments with the FIP(s) via our Fresh & Frozen Tuna Supply Chain Roundtable, in order to drive improvements by Indonesian suppliers. 

FIP Participants include:

Asosiasi Tuna Longline Indonesia (ATLI)

PT Bali Maya Permai

PT Hatindo Makmur

PT Intimas Surya

PT Permata Marindo Jaya

PT. Sumber Mina Samudra (formerly PT. Bali Baramundi)

PT Bandar Nelayan