The Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) stated that Buru Island, in Buru Regency, Maluku Province was chosen as the location for the development of the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification activity because it has several advantages. "First, in terms of stocks of fish resources, especially tuna, it is still at a very good level, meaning that it is not yet under fishing pressure," said the Director of Fish Resources Management at the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Dr. Ridwan Mulyana, at a media briefing received in Bogor, Tuesday.
This statement was conveyed by Ridwan Mulyana through his streaming television channel, Neptune TV, which broadcast a documentary entitled "Buru Island Tuna" detailing the MSC certification process for tuna fishermen on Buru Island, Maluku Province. The film tells about the benefits and added value of fish products caught by tuna fishermen on Buru Island who are able to penetrate export markets to various countries such as Japan and countries in Europe and America. MSC is an international non-profit organization that focuses on sustainable fisheries and protect the future supply of seafood and care for the health of the world's oceans by respecting and recognizing sustainable fishing practices. The second advantage, according to Ridwan Mulyana, is that tuna fishing by the people of Buru Island is known for its good, environmentally friendly fishing. Meanwhile, thirdly, there is no negative impact from the tuna fishery there on the environment or natural resources, because fishermen on Buru Island carry out traditional tuna fishing.
Head of the Buru District Fisheries Service, Ufairah Thahir said that Buru Island has considerable fishery potential because it is located in two WPPs (Fisheries Management Areas), namely in WPPs at 714 and 715, with capture fisheries production of 11,090 tonnes out of a potential of around 13 thousand tonnes. and tuna is the main type of caught fish on Buru Island. As stipulated in the Regulation of the Minister of MMAF Number 18/Permen-KP/2014, Indonesia is divided into 11 WPPs, namely WPP 571, 572, 573, 711, 712, 713, 714, 715, 716, 717, and 718.
He stated that since 2014 until the end of 2022, there are already 146 fishermen on Buru Island who have received MSC certificates. "We build cooperation and intensively monitor the post-harvest development of fishermen who already have certificates. The main support we provide is of course facilities and infrastructure, in order to maintain quality, at the highest grade," said Ufairah. MSC Standards Regional Director for Asia Pacific MSC, Patrick Caleo stated that MSC in providing certificates and ecolabels, has two standards.
First, are fisheries standards designed to encourage sustainable fishing and well-managed fisheries. Second, is the chain-of-custody standard, to ensure MSC certified products are stored separately from non-certified products. "Fisheries need to be able to demonstrate robust, outstanding and transparent processes, that they can maintain healthy stocks, while minimizing their impact on marine ecosystems, and have strong and effective management. That's the most important part," he said. He emphasized that fisheries must be able to implement or fulfill all local and national regulations in the country, but also comply with international law and be able to meet MSC requirements. "This provides assurance that when someone takes an MSC certified product, the product can be traced back to a sustainable fishery as well as certified where they came from," he said. Ridwan Mulyana added that MSC certification is very important to ensure that Indonesian fishery products that are exported are in good quality and traceable, meaning that starting from the fishing process, then the treatment on board to the treatment at the port, all of them fulfill the elements of responsible fisheries. .
"This is important considering that the requirements for export, especially to European Union countries, are very strict and require traceability and very good quality," he said. The process to obtain a certificate from MSC, he said, must pass various stages. -assessment, covering three things, namely there are fish stocks that are sustainable and safe, do not have a negative impact on the aquatic environment, fishing management is carried out properly and responsibly, starting from the time of catching, then handling it on board the ship and until its landing at the port The second stage is making a management action plan, looking at the gaps or discrepancies between the current condition of the fishery and what is expected, so that future action plans for improvement can be identified.
