CONSTRUCTION OF MARINE RESOURCE DATABASE FOR EMPOWERING SMALL SCALE FISHERMEN

Abstract

The problem of ma,ine fisheries development in Indonesia, among othem is that fishing capture is dominated .1y small scale ships (small scale fishernien) which are charactericzed with low input of technology and low productivity. To empower them, the provision of intgrated information on marine resources and its utiLization is considered to he important. This paper will describe the effort in construction of marine resource database in Riau Province and its potential uses to empower small scale-fishermen as well as to improve marine resource management. The database covers information on characteristics of marine fish species, available technologies for fishing capture, fithing gound, statistics of catching efforts and yields, and statistics offish production. The potential uses of the database will include guidlines for fishermen to determine the appropriate fishing ground and season as well as the appropriate technology to be used, also the guidelines for marine authority to determine Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) of certain fishing ground and its consequences in policy making Considering the limited access offishermen to inforrnation technolqgies, a realistic mechanism of information dissemination will be discussed.