Nearshore Fish Aggregating Devices Show Positive Outcomes for Sustainable Fisheries Development in Timor-Leste

Abstract

Capture fisheries in small island developing states (SIDS) have the capacity to increase access to vital micronutrient-rich food to tackle malnutrition, but when fishers are restricted to nearshore habitats by limited capacity (boats, engines, fishing gear), fisheries production can be low. This is the case of coastal Timor-Leste, where some of the world's most diverse coral reefs are juxtaposed with one of the world's most undernourished populations. In these settings, interventions that have successfully improved livelihoods from fishing and reduced threats to biodiversity are rare. Elsewhere in the Pacific, nearshore anchored fish aggregating devices (FADs) have shown success in improving catch rates by making pelagic stocks more accessible to small-scale fishers. Here we test the effects of FADs at increasing capture fish production, by deploying eight experimental FADs at four sites around the country and recording catch and effort data from FAD and non-FAD fishing trips. We assess the effects of FADs on catch rates and catch assemblage and the rate of 100% return on investment (RoI). The average longevity of FADs was 11 months. Results show a significant positive effect of FADs on catch rates when controlling for random site variation, with FADs paying for themselves in ∼5 months or less at three out of four sites. Across all sites and fishing types, 63 species were identified, but FAD catches significantly reduced overall assemblage diversity, with three species (Sardinella spp., Decapterus macarellus, Rastrelliger brachysoma) representing 96% of the catch. Despite the relatively short longevity of FADs deployed in Timor-Leste, the fast RoI seen at most sites indicates that FADs are effective in providing livelihood benefits in certain locations. Catch rates were highest where fishers were specialized, invested in FAD fishing, and formed catch sharing groups with access rights to specific FADs. National level investment into a FAD programme by the government could realistically increase overall fish production in the country, thereby improving availability of micronutrient rich fish to combat malnutrition. A deployment program should be coupled with capacity building around group formation and defining access rights to ensure equitable community benefits.

PeskAAS: A near-real-time, open-source monitoring and analytics system for small-scale fisheries

“…Catch data was recorded for 29,251 trips, resulting in 32,872 landings records representing a total catch weight of 298.5 tonnes. PeskAAS has already been utilised to test the effectiveness of fish aggregating devices at the boosting catch rates of nearshore artisanal fishers [27] and enabled the first calculation of national fisheries production for the Timor-Leste SSF fleet [20]. The full adoption of PeskAAS as the official national fisheries monitoring system of the Timorese government in 2019 suggests legitimacy and the potential for sustainable fisheries on a national level.…”

“…Rather than be an off-the-shelf solution, we envision PeskAAS to be a software framework that external NGOs or multilateral agencies can utilise to establish a highly contextualised, user-centred system for obtaining and using data from small-scale fisheries to guide decision-making. Data generated by PeskAAS were used to show how fishing technology could improve fisher incomes and fish availability in Timor-Leste [27], which substantiates government investment in interventions that are more cognisant and sensitive to SSF. Future work will focus on developing modules and templates that can be populated by local actors in new fisheries contexts to reduce the coding workload and streamline implementation, but we anticipate some level of technical assistance will continue to be required.…”

PeskAAS: A near-real-time, open-source monitoring and analytics system for small-scale fisheries

“…Catch data was recorded for 29,251 trips, resulting in 32,872 landings records representing a total catch weight of 298.5 tonnes. has already been utilised to test the effectiveness of fish aggregating devices at the boosting catch rates of nearshore artisanal fishers [27] and enabled the first calculation of national fisheries production for the Timor-Leste SSF fleet [20]. The full adoption of as the official national fisheries monitoring system of the Timorese government in 2019 suggests legitimacy and the potential for sustainability on a national level.…”

“…Rather than be an off-the-shelf solution, we envisage to be a software framework that external NGOs or multilateral agencies can utilise to establish a highly contextualised, user-centred system for obtaining and using data from small-scale fisheries to guide decision-making. Data generated by were used to show how fishing technology could improve fisher incomes and fish availability in Timor-Leste [27], which substantiates government investment in interventions that are more cognisant and sensitive to SSF. Future work will focus on developing modules and templates that can be populated by local actors in new fisheries contexts to reduce the coding workload and streamline implementation, but we anticipate some level of technical assistance will continue to be required.…”

Contribution of women’s fisheries substantial, but overlooked, in Timor-Leste

“…Women fishers' activity coefficient (AC) by location was estimated to compare with vessel activity coefficients from men's fishing reported in (Tilley et al 2019b), by calculating the proportion of days fished from the total number of days in the sampling period. This was then reported as the number of days per month fishing.…”