| dc.description.abstract | Wedgefish has been included in the CITES Appendix II list since 2019. The
conservation status of wedgefish based on IUCN as "Critically Endangered" due
to population decline by fishing activities. The over-exploitation is due to the high
price of wedgefish fins. Indonesia is one of the biggest countries that caught
wedgefish globally, with one of the landing sites at Tegalsari Coastal Fishing Port.
However, in Indonesia, the study on wedgefish fisheries is still limited. The
scientific information is important to achieve sustainable management.
The aims of this study were (1) to describe the conditions of the wedgefish
fishery based on the Tegalsari Coastal Fishing Port; (2) to assess the utilization
status of wedgefish fishery based on Tegalsari Coastal Fishing Port; (3) to prove
whether wedgefish are the main catch target by cantrang based on Tegalsari
Coastal Fishing Port; and (4) to provide scientific recommendations for the
sustainable management of the wedgefish fishery.
The field study was conducted from January to February 2020 at the
Tegalsari Coastal Fishing Port, Central Java. Types of data collected were boat
size, fishing method, number of vessels, number of fishermen, fishing area
location, trade chain, economic value, species type, total length (cmTL),
Frequency (No. Inds.), and wedgefish sex. In addition, data from monitoring the
catch of wedgefish from April to December 2019 sourced from the Wildlife
Conservation Society (WCS) and the Rekam Nusantara Foundation were used in
this study.
The results showed that wedgefish landed based on Tegalsari Coastal
Fishing Port get caught by cantrang as fishing gear. There were three (3) species
of the wedgefish, namely: Rhynchobatus springeri, R. laevis, and R. australiae.
All part of the wedgefish bodies (fins, meat, skin, and bones) have a market value.
The fin has the highest price of Rp3.000.000,00/kg in the local market. The
fishing grounds of the wedgefish were in the Java Sea, Bangka Belitung Waters,
and Karimata Strait. The utilization status of wedgefish species based on the
exploitation rate parameter (E) were: R. springeri with E = 0,80 (overfishing), R.
laevis at E= 0,82 (overfishing), and R. australiae at E= 0,81 (overfishing).
Wedgefish was not the main target of cantrang, but squid as the primary target.
Wedgefish was a bycatch that has high economic value.
The recommendations for wedgefish management based on this study are:
establishing a marine protected area (MPA), particularly in the spawning and
nursery areas, implementing a regulation of allowable catch quota, collaboration
among stakeholders for wedgefish management, implementing the allowable
catch of wedgefish: (R. springeri males >120 cmTL and females >158 cmTL, R.
laevis males >131 cmTL and females >174 cmTL, and R. australiae males >129
cmTL and females >171 cmTL), limiting fishing activities, close during the
mating season (indicate in the August to November), reducing wedgefish as
bycatch of the seine net (cantrang), and increasing capacity of the fishers on
bycatch handling. | id |
