Species Use Database

Bonitos
Auxis spp.

Used for Food and feed in Jawa

A. Species

Scientific name: Auxis spp.

Common name(s): Bonitos

Global IUCN Red List Threat Status:


B. Location of use

Geographic location(s):

  • Jawa

Country/Region: Indonesia / East Java Province


C. Scale of assessment

Scale of assessment: Sub-national / Sub-region / Sub-State

Name/Details of location: Trenggalek Regency / Fishing Port of Prigi


D. Timescale of use

Start Year: 2005

End Year: 2019


E. Information about the use

How is the wild species sourced?: Wild species sourced from its natural habitat

Type of use: Extractive

Practice of use: Targeted fishing harvesting/exploiting or collecting wild aquatic resources

Lethal or non-lethal: Lethal

Does this use involve take/extraction of: The whole entire organism

Purpose(s) of end use: Food and feed

Motivation of use: Basic subsistence, Income generation from trade (individual/household/community) and Largescale commercial exploitation for trade

Is this use legal or illegal?: Legal under national law


F. Information about the Users

Which stakeholder(s) does the record primarily focus on?: Local people and National external


G. Information about the sustainability of use

Is there evidence that the use is having an impact on the target species?: Wild species sourced from its natural habitat

Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an ecological perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered unsustainable

Details of assessment carried out: This study

Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: Falling catch per unit effort (CPUE) (but remediated through best practice recommendations).

Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an economic perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered unsustainable

Details of assessment carried out: This study

Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: This study reports a complex interaction between ecological, social and economic sustainability. Falling CPUE suggests the available stock of bonitos is being depleted faster than it can renew (ecological population decline). Sociologically, fishers are compensating by making more trips, and even catching more fish than in previous years, but in so doing, their attempts to maintain medium term sustainability for their businesses incurs greater costs, lowers profits, and involves catching smaller, younger fish, which is ultimately likely to worsen the potential for ecological decline. The study then provides recommendations that the authors anticipate would make this bonitos fishery socio-economically sustainable.

Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from a social perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered unsustainable

Details of assessment carried out: This study

Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: This study reports a complex interaction between ecological, social and economic sustainability. Falling CPUE suggests the available stock of bonitos is being depleted faster than it can renew (ecological population decline). Sociologically, fishers are compensating by making more trips, and even catching more fish than in previous years, but in so doing, their attempts to maintain medium term sustainability for their businesses incurs greater costs, lowers profits, and involves catching smaller, younger fish, which is ultimately likely to worsen the potential for ecological decline. The study then provides recommendations that the authors anticipate would make this bonitos fishery socio-economically sustainable.

Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from a human health perspective been recorded?: not recorded

Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an animal health/welfare perspective been recorded?: not recorded


Recommendations provided in the record to maintain or enhance the sustainability of the use of the target species

The study suggests educing fishing efforts as a precautionary management approach, calculating that maintaining the status quo level of 2018 levels should maintain stable bonitos stocks and generate optimum economic profits. The port authority could achieve this in part through a moratorium program on new vessel licenses. Fisheries management also needs to improve compliance levels regarding regulations related to the use of fishing gear. Small fish should be released to benefit the fishery in the longer term. Currently, excessive utilization increases total cost, which decrease net profit. If uncontrolled fishing continues, it will lead to the regime of open access-fisheries. It was no longer profitable from a business perspective.


Record source

Information about the record source: scientific_pub

Date of publication/issue/production: 2021-01-01T00:00:00+0000

Source Reference(s):

Wujdi, A., Setyadji, B., Hartaty, H., & Sulistyaningsih, R. K. (2021). Characteristic and evaluation of sustainability artisanal bonito (Auxis spp.) fisheries in the Prigi Bay and surrounding waters. In E3S Web of Conferences (Vol. 322, p. 05003). EDP Sciences.

Date of record entry: 2022-12-16