In West Nusa Tenggara Province, our work focuses on Tanjung Luar in East Lombok and Lunyuk in Sumbawa, with Lunyuk located within the Southern Sumbawa Important Shark and Ray Area (ISRA). In East Lombok, we collaborate with approximately 150 longline fishers operating around 58 vessels—typically crewed by 3 people per vessel in Maringkik and 5 per vessel in Tanjung Luar. These fishers specifically target sharks and rays within Fisheries Management Areas (FMAs) 573 and 713, using vessels ranging from 3 to 28 GT. We collect daily landing data on sharks and rays at the main landing site to improve species monitoring and management. Much of the shark and ray catch is destined for the domestic market, particularly Surabaya.
In Lunyuk, we work closely with 31 fishers from Emang Lestari and Perung Village, where sharks and rays play an important role in local food security and provide critical subsistence economic value. Although these fishers primarily target pelagic species such as little tuna (Euthynnus affinis), silver-stripe round herring (Spratelloides gracilis), tuna (Thunnus spp.), as well as demersal species like silver-biddy (Gerres spp.), snapper (Lutjanus spp.), giant trevally (Caranx ignobilis), lemuru (Sardinella lemuru), and grouper (Epinephelus spp.), sharks and rays are often caught as bycatch. Fishers in this area use multiple gear types, including handlines, longlines, and gillnets, reflecting the diverse fishing strategies in the community. In addition to their fishing efforts, female fishers play a vital role in the post-harvest process by helping their husbands sell the catch—either to local inns, to small-scale traders, or directly to households through door-to-door sales. Our work in Lunyuk focuses on understanding these local practices and co-designing pay-to-release programs in partnership with communities to reduce shark and ray mortality—particularly for the Critically Endangered scalloped hammerhead and bottlenose wedgefish.
