International Journal of Marine Science 2015, Vol.5, No.20, 1-16
6
Figure 4 The trend of the number of fishing gear in Jembrana
Note: NPS: Non-purse seine, PS: Purse seine, NPB: Non-powered boat, PB: Powered boat; Source: and Bali Marine and Fisheries
Agency, 2009; 2010
The definition of fisheries collapse is a debatable and
contentious one. To illustrate this complexity, Branch
(2008) opined that the fisheries are “not collapsed”
and may never have collapsed or may have recovered
from collapse, effectively contributing to its nebulous
definition. In the case of fisheries in the Bali Strait,
S.
lemuru
appears to have disappeared from the Bali
Strait from 2010 to mid-2011. This disappearance has
affected both the production and marketing of fish,
particularly for
S. lemuru
as it is the main source of
raw material for the fish processing plants in
Pengambengan and Muncar. This scenario also
occurred in 1976-1983, 1984-1986, and 1991-2006, in
which a significant decline in production was noted. It
was presumed to have occurred because of the effects
of climate change caused mainly by the El Niño and
La Niña phenomena (Ghofar et al., 1999; Merta et al.,
2000). In 2011, it was shown that the number of
mackerel scads, Indian mackerel, spotted chub
mackerel, and eastern little tuna were more than the
number of
S. lemuru
. Worm et al. (2006) drew a
relationship between the rates of resource collapse
increasing with stability and water quality decreasing
sharply side by side with declining biodiversity.
Varjopuro et al. (2008) stated that the fish stock crises
and adverse conditions in the ecosystem have
prompted society to show more concern for the
ecosystem. Recently, stakeholders relying heavily on
Bali sardinella have expressed more concern towards
the state of the Bali Strait ecosystem by looking for
causes as to why
S. lemuru
drastically disappeared.
The fishing season in the Bali Strait is divided into
two time frames: the east and west monsoon seasons.
The east monsoon season occurs from April to
December, in which the fish is concentrated in high
density in the upper neritic zones, i.e., < 1 meter
below the water surface. During this season, the
fishermen use “
gadangan”
techniques without the aid
of light. The average catch is between 10 to 50 tons.
However, during the west monsoon season, the
fishermen use lights to attract and catch the fish
because they are in deeper waters. This season lasts
from January to March, and the catches average only 5
to 10 tons. The volume of monthly production during
the period from 2003-2011 is listed in Figure 5.
