Characterising small-scale tuna fisheries from Indonesia and the Philippines: A review

Small-scale tuna fisheries in the Philippines and Indonesia depend largely on the intensive use of fish aggregating devices (FADs), which are called payaos in the Philippines and rumpons in Indonesia. The popularity of payaos and rumpons is based on the associative behaviour of fish to floating objects such as logs or man-made structures. By capitalizing on this relationship, fishers exploit tuna strategically. More than 20 persen of the total tuna production from the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (WCPO) comes from Indonesia and the Philippines, meaning improving our understanding of fisheries in these countries has never been more relevant. Using fisher knowledge and local interviews among fishers in Bitung (Indonesia) and General Santos City (Philippines), and secondary data from different fishing grounds in both countries, updates on the types of vessels and fishing gears associated with tuna fishing, fisher behaviour, and tactics in exploiting tuna stocks are provided. This research is an effort to better understand the incentives, from an efficiency standpoint, that FAD fishing provides, and to explain how fishers operate to consolidate their fishing effort around FADs. We also report on the various fish species that are commonly targeted by fishers around FADs. Given the importance of tuna for domestic food consumption, the export market and the ecosystem, there is increasing pressure to manage these fisheries more sustainability. Regulations on FAD fishing, which would focus on fisher behaviour instead of just focusing on the fish alone, may be one management option. Proceeding in the 7th MARE People and the Sea conference 2013