The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has awarded a grant to expand the efforts of the Fishing and Living initiative.
The program — organized by Anova Foods, the World Wildlife Fund, local and national governments and other entities — promotes sustainable fisheries and enhanced living conditions for fishing communities. The fisheries have gone through Marine Stewardship Council pre-assessment and are engaged in a verified active Fisheries Improvement Program (FIP) to provide sustainable tuna to Anova.
The grant will focus on the handline tuna fisheries in Indonesia and funds will allow for the expansion of successful programs already implemented. The programs include:
• Setting up six additional field offices on new landing sites
• Setting up centers that teach alternative livelihoods to fishermen, and reduce the total fishing fleet
• On-site training of data collectors for each new landing site
• On-site training of additional observers for data verification on the fishing vessels
• Engagement of all stakeholders including suppliers, processors and the Indonesian fisheries ministry to discuss activities and compiled data
The program also includes a comprehensive assessment of the health of the fish stocks. Each landing site office collects data on total catch, catch composition, fish maturity, bait and interactions with Endangered, Threatened or Protected species.
