Abstract
The Arafura Sea hosts the commercially significant fish species, Lutjanus malabaricus, commonly known as the saddletail snapper. We devised a quota allocation approach for sustainably capturing this species. This approach involved estimating the species’ life history parameters through calculations of the size at 50% maturity, as well as life history ratios (M/K and Lm/L∞) to figure out the Total Allowable Catch (TAC). We based our calculations on the Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) that came from the catch and landing data from Probolinggo Port. This helped us set a fishing quota that fits the situation in Indonesia. Our analysis revealed that the size at 50% maturity was 52 cm, slightly lower compared to the neighborhood waters. Using the Length Based-Spawning Potential Ratio (LB-SPR) model, we determined the stock’s SPR to be approximately 17%, which falls below the targeted healthy fish stock SPR reference of 40%. The estimated MSY stood at 2,307 tons, and the TAC calculation slightly exceeded the approach based on time series fitting. Given the notably low SPR estimate, we suggest a cautious approach, recommending an MSY of 2,307 tons per year for Probolinggo Port, emphasizing the importance of maintaining the fishing mortality rate within the sustainable threshold.
Acknowledgements
This paper was prepared as part of the UNDP/PEMSEA ATSEA-2 Project, generously funded by the Global Environment Facility. The authors express their gratitude to country representatives from the Arafura and Timor Seas, UNDP and PEMSEA for their contributions. Special thanks are extended to the anonymous reviewers for their thorough review. Furthermore, the authors are deeply thankful to Suprapto, a senior researcher who provided mentorship and guidance to the enumerators during biological sampling, and to the field enumerators, Mishariyadi Sulasmono and Hariyanto, who conducted the daily monitoring. Lastly, the authors extend their sincere appreciation to Dr. Alan White and Dr. Alison Green for their invaluable guidance and support in preparing the paper.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).