TECHNICAL WORKSHIP IN THE STATUS, LIMITATIONS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVING THE MONITORING OF SHARK FISHERIES AND TRADE: INDONESIA

摘要

Elasmobranch fishing in Indonesia, especially for sharks, has occurred since the 1970s as bycatch of tuna longline fisheries. This activity became more popular with the increasing price of fins in the world market in 1988, and sharks became the main targets of fishing at several landing sites in Indonesia, mostly in artisanal fisheries (Anung and Widodo, 2002). In less than a decade, the trend in shark fishmg has developed from small-scale longline shark fishing to commercial fishing and from bycatchto target fisheries for some valuable species such as guitarfishes and squaloids. Nowadays sharks are usually caught locally as target fisheries and also as bycatch. Target fisheries use a variety of fishing methods, such as gill and tangle nets, long lines and harpoons (Dharmadi and Fahmi, 2003). Sharks are caught as bycatch in tuna long lines, trawls, seine nets, trammel nets, hand lines and other bottom gear. These fisheries involve various sizes of fishing boats. For instance, a fishery at TanjungLuar Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara is one of Indonesian artisanal fisheries targeting sharks using bottom and pelagic long lines. The most common species being caught from this fishery are squaloids, carcharhinids {Carcharhinus falciformis, C. sorrah, C. limbatus, C. brevipinna, C. amblyrhynchos, C. obscurus, Prionace glauca), and sphymid, Sphyma lewini. In commercial tuna long line fisheries, some carcharhinids and mako sharks are commonly caught as bycatch. They were usually landed without fins. While inthe tuna gillnet fishery operating in south of Java, thresher and blue sharks are the most common sharks in the bycatch. Catch composition varies accordmg to the fishing areas. Large sharks are usually caught from south of Indonesia (Indian Ocean), from west Sumatra to south of Nusa Tenggara, while batoids are commonly caught from the Java Sea to the South China Sea.