The Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) is once again refining fisheries management regulations through a review of the Fisheries Management Plan (RPP) for Fisheries Management Areas of the Republic of Indonesia (WPPNRI) 715, 717, and 718. This review is facilitated through the GEF 6 CFI Indonesia grant program as part of a project within WPPNRI.

Fisheries management, as mandated by Government Regulation No. 27 of 2021 on the Implementation of Marine and Fisheries Affairs, specifically Article 1, Clause 55, aims to achieve optimal and sustainable benefits while ensuring the conservation of fishery resources. This management is carried out within the fisheries management areas of the Republic of Indonesia, which are divided into 11 WPPNRI, as stipulated in Ministerial Regulation No. 18/PERMEN-KP/2014.

The government has developed fisheries management strategies for each WPPNRI through the RPP documents. These documents outline the status of fisheries and strategic fisheries management plans, which have been established through Ministerial Decrees as a reference for all stakeholders, both at the national and regional levels, in accordance with their respective roles and responsibilities.

The first meeting to update data for the RPP review of WPPNRI 715 and 717 was coordinated by the Directorate of Fishery Resource Management (PSDI) under the Directorate General of Capture Fisheries (DJPT). Held in mid-to-late July, the meeting aimed to gather the latest fisheries data and relevant information for the RPP review document. The primary focus was updating the fisheries status, issues, and challenges that were previously established in Ministerial Decree No. 82/KEPMEN-KP/2016 for WPPNRI 715 and No. 84/KEPMEN-KP/2016 for WPPNRI 717, along with a five-year action plan. A similar review meeting was conducted last year on the Ministerial Decree No. 54/KEPMEN-KP/2014 for the RPP of WPPNRI 718.

"The evaluation by the KKP Inspectorate General on RPP WPPNRI, such as WPPNRI 715, indicates that its target achievement was only 20%, only 9.2% of the action plan implementation was supported by evidence while it was confirmed that 27.5% of the implementations were carried out with no supporting evidence. Moving forward, action plans should be measurable and feasible with available funding," said Dr. Fery Sutyawan, Head of the Management Task Force of SDI LTPK, as a speaker at the event.

The final drafts of the three RPP documents had been prepared and publicly consulted with various stakeholders. The next step was the finalization, incorporating feedback from public consultations. This finalization process involved the KKP Legal Bureau over three days in Bogor (November 13-15, 2024) to expedite the approval of these three region-based RPPs. It was expected that by the end of 2024 or early 2025, the Fisheries Management Plans for WPPNRI 715, 717, and 718 would be officially issued through a Ministerial Decree by the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries of the Republic of Indonesia.