Rebuilding snapper and grouper stocks in Indonesia

Amount: £49, 375

This project will help a snapper and grouper fishery to develop strategies to help fish stocks recover and manage habitats and ecosystems in Saleh Bay, Indonesia.

Snapper and grouper are important commodities in the province of West Nusa Tenggara and ensuring these stocks are fished sustainably is important for both food security and to maintain the ecosystem. Improving the sustainability of this fishery is also considered to be a priority for the provincial government.

The snapper and grouper fishery has been improving its practices and joined a fishery improvement project (FIP) in 2019. It received funding from Fish for Good, which helped small-scale fisheries in developing economies to work towards MSC certification.

Fish for Good was a four-year project supporting more than 25 fisheries across Indonesia, South Africa and Mexico, funded by the Dutch Postcode Lottery. The fishery was verified for the In-Transition to MSC program in 2021, making it eligible for the Transition Assistance Fund. The fishery aims to make then improvements needed to meet the MSC Fisheries Standard and enter assessment in 2024.

What the project will do

This Ocean Stewardship Funded project will support the development and evaluation of strategies to rebuild stock populations. It will also enable the development of adaptive harvest control rules to ensure the stock is only fished at sustainable levels.

Additionally, the project will help to build a better understanding of the habitats and ecosystems in which the fishery operates. This includes analysing the selectivity of fishing gear and studying the snapper and grouper’s habitats to understand where stocks are distributed.