Blue Swimming Crab Consortium Members' Highlights

The BSC Consortium is driven by one common goal — to accelerate the efforts to achieve sustainability for Indonesia’s blue swimming crab fisheries.

Fisheries management

In 2020, FAO, under the ISLME project, supported the MMAF and carried out an ecosystems approach to fisheries management (EAFM) in Morodemak, Central Java as a basis for the development of Harvest Strategy, issued in 2020 and its Harvest Control Rules, regulating the input control (boat registration, use of non-harmful fishing gears and reporting) and output control (setting minimum legal size for BSC: >10-cm carapace width and banning the capture of female BSC with eggs). The target is to increase the BSC spawning potential ratio to at least 30% and to increase the percentage of wild caught BSC above the minimum legal size to 90%. The EAFM assessment findings put BSC fisheries in WPP 712 in the “restoration strategy” category, meaning it requires a systematic and comprehensive intervention to change the status from bad to moderate. The findings also indicate the need for improvements in the habitat, fish resources, social and institutional domains; while the fishing technique and economic domains show relatively good progress.

In 2021, Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and Mitra Bentala held 18 public consultations with 335 community members to determine no-take zones where fishing will be prohibited to allow juvenile BSC to spawn and mature. The local government and communities have recently agreed that migratory fishers will not be allowed to fish in Lampung’s nearshore waters (0-5 km) to reduce conflicts around gear type (i.e., gillnets vs. traps vs. trawls) and lost or damaged gear; in return, fishers will help oversee

management and enforcement of 8,000 hectares of no-take zones (referred to locally as core zones). If the MMAF approves the province’s MPA request, this provision will become law.

Meanwhile in the West Java province, the blue swimming crab management planning team, a multistakeholder team established by the Governor decree in 2022, finally completed the draft of the blue swimming crab management action plan for the province. The finalization session was conducted on the 7th and 8th December 2021 in Bandung after an extensive online planning process. The meeting was also attended by MMAF representatives.

The planning process started in mid-2020, once the planning team was established in the middle of the pandemic. It began with a short training introducing the basic concept of fisheries management planning for the team members. Due to limitations of conducting planning sessions virtually, the planning sessions have to be shortened and separated into several short sessions, i.e., problem analysis, determine management goals and objectives, develop indicators and management strategy, and develop action planning and implementation plan. After these online meeting series, the team secretariat developed a draft action plan to be consulted with relevant stakeholders at the community level.

Seven hybrid community meetings were held to discuss the draft BSC management action plan with BSC fishers, BSC pickers, BSC traders and BSC mini-plants in four regencies i.e., Cirebon, Indramayu, Karawang and Bekasi. The provincial DKP officials joined the meeting via Zoom while SNI organized a face-to-face meeting at the village level.

West Java BSC action plan finalization meeting in Bandung © SR

After the consultations, the secretariat team consolidated all inputs from the communities into the action plan and presented the draft to all team members in the finalization meeting from the 7th to 8th December 2021 in Bandung. After compiling all inputs and comments, the DKP West Java officially submitted the draft action plan to the Governor’s secretary for legal review.

To coincide with World Fisheries Day on November 21, 2021, CTC officially opened registration for an independent training module entitled Introduction to Fisheries Management for the public. The launch was carried out through CTC’s Instagram account (@coraltrianglecenter).

This online training course was jointly developed with EDF and is the Indonesian version of EDF’s Introduction to Fisheries Management module. Consisting of five units that use storylines in a fisheries hypothesis, this training takes a problem-oriented, case-based approach to learning, which allows participants to examine the challenges in fisheries and find alternative solutions to overcome these challenges.

The training is self-paced, with participants being able to choose when and where to study according to their respective time commitments. To participate in the training, you can visit CTC’s Instagram page on how to create an account at the CTC Academy website.

In early 2022, FAO and MMAF also facilitated boat registrations in WPP 712, in districts along northern Java Island, namely Cirebon (West Java), Demak (Central Java) and Lamongan (East Java). WPP 712 contributes 49% of total BSC national production and has the highest BSC fisheries processing units and mini-plants (65% and 57%, respectively) in Indonesia.

Data Collection

EDF is starting to work on developing data collection transition schemes from the regular enumerator to the fisher cooperative groups (KUB). Some consultations with SAG-KPPRB and the Directorate of Fishery Resources of the MMAF (MMAF-SDI) related to this effort have been conducted and recommendations identified. These recommendations include the development of a simplified data collection form and methodology that is more user friendly for fishers and will connect to the e-logbook system of MMAF. The initiative of testing out the data collection activity involving fisher groups will be implemented over the next several months in 2022 to be comprehensively evaluated before the complete handover of roles and responsibilities to fisher groups in 2023.

Data collection © EDF

Inclusion and diversification

EDF has been working on financial literacy training targeted at fishers and fishers’ wives, gender empowerment, and exploring value added products from BSC processing waste to diversify fisher households and allow new enterprises for women.

Financial literacy training for fishers and fishers’ wives will strengthen personal financial management and stability and will provide tools to help fishers manage the economic impacts of the pandemic and build economic resilience for future disruptions, including climate change.

In Lampung, EDF contracted Yapeka (a local Indonesian NGO) to conduct financial literacy trainings with Lampung’s 15 fishery associations, fishers’ wives and women’s groups in five target villages (Kuala Teladas, Cabang/Sumber Agung, Sungai Burung, Muara Gading Mas, and Margasari). The trainings were conducted over several months due to national COVID-19 lockdowns and the state of emergency. Yapeka worked with EDF and Mitra Bentala to develop the training materials, which were drawn from existing financial literacy modules and tailored to local needs and characteristics. In total, 111 participants (of whom 34% were women), representing 15

KUBs and three women’s groups, took part in the trainings. Using skills acquired, the KUBs are now recording their operational costs and including debt payment transactions to better understand their total costs, which will allow them to identify ways to improve the effectiveness of the KUBs and reduce costs.

On gender empowerment, EDF has been working closely with the IPB University and Dr. Ria Fitriana, a gender and livelihood consultant, to identify ways to increase women participation in BSC management and to conduct a study on the opportunities to develop value-added products from the utilization of the crab waste and their potential market for community alternative livelihood. Some potential products identified are: to use the liquid and solid waste in BSC processing to make food by-products that can be directly consumed by the household or sold in the domestic market as a source of income. Particularly, the wastewater from BSC processing can be used as a material for producing fermented paste, and flavor. The flavor can then be used for making soup, snacks, or crackers.

Most importantly, the production of these food products could serve as an alternative means of livelihood especially for the women (fisher’s wife). Thus, the provisioning of food from utilizing the BSC processing waste could also empower women’s roles both in the family and community. EDF foresees that these potentials could be improved and developed in the future so it can strengthen the household economy as well as food security at the local level. Lastly, to ensure the safety work condition while improving the quality of BSC processing at the landing sites, BSC handling protocol trainings were conducted in two villages and will be replicated for the other three villages this 2022.

BSC product diversification © EDF

EDF exploring value-added products from BSC processing waste to diversify fisher households and allow new enterprises for women. © EDF

CTC also provided a series of training on the BSC ecology, Business Model Canvas (BMC) and basic quality and packaging of food products for women fishers in Lampung. The training took place in two different locations - Kuala Teladas Village and the Sungai Burung Village. These villages are on the east coast of the Tulang Bawang District, a four hour drive from the capital of Bandar Lampung City. Tulang Bawang is one of the best BSC producers in Lampung, aside from the Lampung Tengah and Lampung Timur Districts. CTC ran the training from 14-24 October 2021 and it was successfully attended by 27 female participants from both villages (12 participants from Kuala Teladas and 15 participants from Sungai Burung).

During the training session, trainers from CTC and the Marine Affairs and Fisheries (MAF) Agency of Lampung Province presented various materials regarding the basic ecology of the BSC, including the life cycle of the species and potential threats to it, and the environmentally-friendly fishing methods to manage the sustainability of BSC stock in the wild. In addition, the training also emphasized on the importance of marine conservation to protect the BSC, as well as other marine biodiversity, from extinction due to habitat loss and population decline.

For the BMC topics, CTC asked all participants to discuss and analyze the existing small enterprises in their respective village by using nine elements of BMC such as customer segments, value proposition, channels, customer relationship, revenue streams, key resource, key activities, key partnership and cost culture. In Kuala Teladas, for example, there are women groups who are already producing crackers made from leftover fish and BSC meat. However, they only sell the products inside the village due to the limited production and lack of license from related authorities.

Lastly, participants also learned about food hygiene and packaging, as well as improving food ingredients and nutrition. The MAF Agency of Lampung Province promised to assist these women fishers groups in accessing capital loans from local banks or other governmental bodies. Participants were also suggested to form a joint small enterprise to make it easier for the local government to help them obtain food licenses and other legal certifications. Through these initiatives, women fishers will be more empowered in improving the local economy.

Most training participants felt that the training has provided new knowledge and skills in product and business development. Some participants in the Sungai Burung Village are enthusiastic to expand their products from only making fish-based crackers to creating dried BSC paste, floss and handicraft from BSC carapaces and other shells. Through the empowerment of women fishers in Lampung, it is hoped that local coastal residents will be able to generate alternative income during the low catch season of BSC, so that the species will not be overexploited.

Capacity building

From September 13 to 16, 2021, CTC successfully conducted an online capacity building training for managers of the BSC fishery and members of the KPPRB in Lampung. The overall activity covered various topics about leadership, particularly on organizational management and communication. The virtual training was attended by 20 participants (seven females and 13 males), representing the KPPRB Lampung Secretariat and its divisions, working group I, II, III, IV and V. The overall objective of the training was to deepen participants’ knowledge and understanding of the management and communication procedures in a multi-stakeholder organization like the KPPRB Lampung.

The training materials consisted of two main parts, namely: 1) Organizational Management, covering envisioning (visualization of organizational goals), effective meetings, becoming a facilitative meeting leader, negotiating in meetings, managing group dynamics, making participatory decisions, planning development, introduction the fundamentals of monitoring and evaluation,and stakeholder management; and 2) Communication, consisting of non-verbal communication (listening and observing) and verbal communication (asking and digging for in-depth information).

Moreover, the training also used various exciting approaches, such as adult learning, contextual learning, appreciative inquiry, asset-based learning, and rite facilitation. These approaches built the participants’ engagement by using practical topics based on personal experiences and existing knowledge.

In general, the training has resulted in increasing participants’ knowledge about organizational management and communication. Some indicators that can be used as main references include: (i) an increased score of post-test results from all participants; (ii) an increased understanding of all participants in expressing various knowledge to manage meetings and communicate through several in-groups practice opportunities; and (iii) an increased confidence level of some participants who were not used to lead a meeting in the practice of leading meetings and building communication.

Despite the fact that the majority of participants felt the training was very useful and all trainers were professional in delivering the training materials, the online training method had brought technical difficulties to the participants, especially about the use of devices and internet connection. However, CTC is looking forward to improving the methodology and will combine it with offline training when possible.

As part of the GEF/FAO ISLME project, public awareness sessions were also held to (1) promote the use of e-logbook for real-time, accurate reporting of fishing activities and (2) strengthen compliance to regulations. Another key support is enhancing fisheries actors’ capacity for data collection to ensure availability of quality data for policy analysis and decisions. The joint BSC-related activities were conducted in close consultation and engagement of the stakeholders (central and regional government, I/NGOs, academia, etc). The activities conducted in pilot sites: including best practices and lessons learned, are to be adapted for replication across Indonesia to accelerate efforts and progress towards sustainability.

On another note, as a form of CTC’s support for capacity building for blue swimming crab fishery managers in Central Java Province, CTC held a training on Organizational Management and Communication. The training aimed at the Blue Swimming Crab Committee or the Facilitation Team and the Blue Swimming Crab Fishery Management/ Conservation Team of Central Java Province is expected to strengthen and streamline the processes within the Committee so that BSC management becomes more effective.

During the training, participants gained knowledge and skills in managing the organization and communication techniques, which will be valuable to help them run the Committee better in the future. In addition to the increase in the knowledge aspect, the improvement in the skills and attitudes of the participants are already evident when they carry out managing and leading meetings and other communication tasks.

Organizational Management and Communication Training © CTC

Another equally important support from the Consortium is through MSC’s Fish for Good project. A four-year project, funded by the Dutch Postcode Lottery, which aims to guide fisheries in Indonesia, Mexico, and South Africa towards more sustainable fishing practices and, eventually, MSC certification. The Pathway Project approach engages with multiple fisheries in each country. Pathway Project’s impact extends beyond the immediate project, with the purpose of influencing management at a more holistic level than the immediate fisheries that may initially pursue MSC certification.

Hirmen Syofyanto, MSC’s Program Director for Indonesia, shared that the identification and mapping phase (Stage 1, 2019) analyzed fisheries by scoring essential criteria related to the species, gears, fleets, landing volumes, market demand, and government priorities. The mapping guided the selection of Indonesian priority species fisheries for Fish for Goodfunded, MSC pre-assessment (Stage 2, 2019-2020), including blue swimming crab fisheries. In the last phase of the project, the Fish for Good program supported and facilitated each fishery to develop an agreed FIP Action Plan (Stage 3, 2020-2021).

Based on the SAG feedback and consultation with APRI, BSC caught by crab trap in Madura Island with KUB Berkah Capit Biru was selected to represent APRI’s larger FIP in WPP 712. This area entered Full Assessment, progressing further than other APRI BSC sites. The MSC funded the FIP to enter the In-Transition to MSC (ITM) and was selected to receive a substantial Ocean Stewardship Fund (OSF) in March 2021.

To better understand their programs and standards, MSC also supported Indonesia’s stakeholders, including MMAF and DKP Provinsi officials, university academics, fishery scientists, NGOs, fishers groups, and the private sector in various training sessions.

In late December 2020, the National Blue Swimming Crab Fishers Network (Forkom Nelangsa) was officially registered through a Notary Deed while also receiving its legal entity through the ratification of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights. Sustainable Fisheries Management (SFP) then facilitated Forkom Nelangsa to have an audience with MMAF on 5th May 2021. The network has begun to receive recognition and was invited in some meetings and principal discussions of reviewing the BSC Fishery Management Plan (FMP) in June and July of 2021.

Despite the challenges to provide direct assistance to Forkom Nelangsa due to the COVID- 19 pandemic restrictions, during October–December 2021, SFP and UNDP (GMC Project) supported Forkom Nelangsa to conduct a series of online trainings for its members. Training topics were: 1) legality of fishing vessels, 2) importance of KUSUKA card (fishers’ insurance), 3) benefits of joining a Kelompok Usaha Bersama (KUB, cooperative), 4) business identification number (Nomor Induk Berusaha, NIB), 4) logbook submission, and 5) introduction and membership to Forkom Nelangsa. These online training sessions were attended by BSC fishers from Kuala Langsa City (Aceh), Bangka Belitung, Lampung, Jepara, Demak, Sumenep – Madura, and Pangkajene Islands (South Sulawesi). The average number of participants in each session was around 100 fishers.

Supported by UNDP and facilitated by local NGO partners in each site, SFP also assisted about 400 Forkom Nelangsa members (from Lampung, Central Java, East Java and South Sulawesi) to process their vessel registration in November-December 2021.

The role of media in conservation work

CTC, in collaboration with the KPPRB Lampung Province and other partners, conducted a media short course for journalists in Lampung themed “Media Contribution in Sustaining BSC Fisheries in Indonesia.” The short course is part of the Rajungan untuk Masyarakat Sejahtera (JUARA) campaign aiming to mainstream the sustainable BSC capture fishery and other general capture fishery issues to the media at local and national levels.

Fourteen local journalists from print and online media attended the half-day event, ffrom News Lampung Terkini, Radar Lampung, Media Lampung, MNC Group/Sindonews, Tribun Lampung, LKBN Antara, Kupas Tuntas, Fajar Sumatera, Lampung Post, Warta Lampung, Teras Lampung, Saibumi, Suara Lampung and Lingkar Utama.

The event was successful in bringing competent resource persons before the media, representing DGFC MMAF, DKP Lampung Province, NGOs, APRI and the BSC Fishers Communication Forum of Lampung Province. Through each presentation, participants were exposed to the importance of communicating the BSC fishery narratives and key messages to the public.

Towards the end of the training, journalists outlined a comprehensive media coverage proposal incorporating narratives and key messages. Some crucial elements included in the proposal were the proposed theme, title, background, type of news, news angle, resource persons, questions and timeline. After assessing 14 submitted proposals thoroughly, five proposals were granted the “JUARA Awards”. CTC also created a WhatsApp communication forum between the media and BSC fisheries stakeholders in Lampung to facilitate more discussions and coordinate future media coverage.

To conclude the current run of the JUARA campaign in Indonesia, CTC held an online short course for national media on November 13, 2021. The JUARA activity series have so far been of interest to both local and national media in mainstreaming the key narrative on the importance of sustainable BSC fishery practices in Indonesia to preserve its economic value and natural stock protection for the long run. National media, including Kompas, Investor Daily Indonesia and Mongabay, were enthusiastic participants in the

JUARA Media Short Course. CTC and Terra Komunika co-facilitated the event in collaboration with DGCF MMAF, DKP Lampung Province, Head of Communication Forum of BSC Fishermen in Lampung, APRI and EDF.

Through various presentations and interactive discussions with the speakers, participants shared that they had received sufficient information about the current state of BSC fisheries in Indonesia, as well as key messages on collaborative efforts made by multiple stakeholders to promote and protect this valuable species. Great media exposure is intended to maintain the harmonization of BSC-related policies and regulations between central and regional governments, as well as good compliance among small-scale fishers and private sectors.

While members of the Consortium work uniquely, their commitments to achieve a more sustainable BSC industry in Indonesia are evident through collaborative efforts and their individual different engagements in this arena.

EDF has been studying opportunities to develop value-added products by using crab waste for community alternative livelihoods. © EDF