CHANGES TO THE RED SNAPPER FISHERIES IN THE ARAFURA SEA FISI . IERIES MANAGEMENT AREA

Red snappers are target species and exploited by industrial fisheries off the Bottom longline, trap and as by product of fish net in Arafura Sea. This study proposed to identify effect of industrial fishing on red snapper fishery; on size and catch composition. Data used in this study were catch data of bottom longline and trap landed in October-December 2004; landing data of the bottom longline and trap in 2005-2007, fish net catch data landed in Merauke. Information on day trips, number of vessel, nurnber of fishing gears was gathered from fishing port Tenau, Kupang, Fisheries District of Probolinggo, and interviews to the captain and crew of bottom longline. Changes in the fishery of red snapper is define by comparing present fishery to those off ACIAR/RCCF Red Snapper research collaboration 1999-2002. Results of the study showed changes in the vessel size, gear size and number, and trip duration in red snapper fishery. The fishing vessels sized of bottom longline changes from higher than 70 GT to lower than 50 GT. Hook size from no.4-5 shift to 5-8. Day at sea decline from approximately 3-4 months per trip to aproximaly one month per trip. In total number of trip decrease from 3-4 trips per year decline to 4-6 trips per year. The catch composition of red snapper, L. malabaricus was decline from 47lo in 2005 to 24.3% in 2007 of the total catch. Deep sea snapper, Pistipomoides multidens was caught 16J% in 2005 increased to 36% in 2007. The length at firts capture of L. malabaricus decreased from 50"7 cm in 2001 to 41 cm in 2007.


INTRODUCTION
Red snappers species are belong to the family Lutjanidae. The fresh fish are easy to recognise from their colour, started from jellow to reddish, bright red, dark red to brownish. The family of Lutjanidae consisted of I genera, which include Lutjanus, Pristipomoides, Pinjalo, Aphareus, Etelis, Aprion, Symphorus, Symphorichthys, and Macolor (Allen, 1985), Except for the last genus with only one species called Macolor niger which is black in colour, other genera having several colour pattern from bright reddish, yellowish/greenish to dark brownish. In most part of the Indonesian waters the first two genera provide the most dominant catch. The term red snapper or'kakap merah' in the field seem to be applied only to the genera Lutjanus and Pinjalo. Mc Pherson et al. (1992) categorized three species of snapper as the red snapper; i.e. red emperor (L. sebae), Scarlet sea perch (L. malabaricus) and Saddletail sea perch (L. erythropterus). Other genera such as Pristipomoides, Aph a reus, Etelis, Aprion, Symphoru s, Symphorichfhys, and Macolor are never considered as red snapper even though the colour is bright reddish, such as Etelis carbunculus. Goldband snapper, (Pristipomoides sp.) ordeep-water snapper with its popular name as kurisi bali that by some fishers called as anggoli, is likely come from the Singapore market name as angkoh li.
Lutjanids are key species in the coral reef ecosystems (Parish, '1987) and major resources for tropical fisheries. They are exploited by industrial line fisheries for local and export market in Indonesia, Australia and Caribbean (Clark & Loyd, 2002', Mendoza & Larez, 1996Badrudin ef al., 2004;Nuraini, 2007). Exploitation by artisanal fisheries directed on them with moderate and heavy fishing pressure being both selective and powerfull active gears in reefs (Herianti & Djamal 1993;Munro , 1967) and seagrass beds.
Ind.Fish Res.J. Vol.15 No.1 Juny-2009: 9-16 In the framework of the ACIAR/RCCF Red Snapper It is likely that for all of the licensed fishing vessel using fishing gear listed in the Table 1, the target species are not stated in each of the license, The license just only listed of one or more species group, such as pelagics group, demersal; but not for example, red snappers, groupers, and scads except shrimp.
Concern sometimes proposed by the shrimp trawlers regarding their catch. lt is commonly known that the shrimp tralwers are not allowed to catch and to land or to unload fish in substantial amount according to the inspectors. On the other hand, the catch of fish trawl or fish net consisted of many species group including pelagic fish, demersalfish, shrimp, squids, and others.
Arafura Sea fisheries as a whole were dominated by the fish net (fish trawl), shrirnp trawl, and oceanic gill net fisheries. Fish net and shrimp net operate their gear in almost overlapping fishing ground, while the oceanic gill net seems to be operated in the offshore waters and targetted for large pelagics species.
Except for fish net, shrimp net, and bottom longline, Sources: Anonymus (2007) no catch sample collected frorn the others fisheries secoondly by the increase of fuel price that tend to that can be used as an anchor point for further inrease operational cost. lt is likely that aproximately assessment of the fisherv" half of the total number vessels were stop fishing.
Looking at the total number of licensed fishing vessel of 1,137 boats, it is likely that these number ts considered high compare to licensed fishing vessel operated in the Australian sector of the Arafura Sea. Apart from the licensed fishing vessel, it is concerned that untilthe end af 2AA7 or probably untilthe present time there were sorne illegal fishing vesseloperated in theArafura Sea.

Developrnent of Tnap and Bottom Longline Fleets
The trap fishery in Arafura Sea by the fleets from Reduction in number of bottom longline fishing vessels due to firstly they were caught by the of Australian Goverment as entered the Australian waters. and Effect of fuel increase altered the bottom longline fishery system has caused decreased in the size of fishing vessels, fishing day, hook size, and its number (Table 3). The size of catcher of bottom longline changes from 70-'120 GT to 30-70 GT, as cost operation of large vessels is higher than small boats.
With the lower capacity of fishing vessels, catches were transshipped in the sea or in harbor into a fish carrier and transported to Probolinggo. This activities were carried boats out at sea or in Wanam (the ex Jayanti Group fishing base)or in Kupang fishing port.
Total number of hooks showed increase between 2,500-3,000 hooks, with most of them used 3,000 hooks. The size of hook varied for no.5"5-8.
The total number of fishing days of bottom longline in the sea decrease from three to four months to 8-30 days per trip. ln 2007, bottom longline made about 4-6 trrps per year, formerly they made 3-4 trips per year. On average bottom longline managed 17.6t6.74 days per trip (Syahasta et a|.,2007) with one setting per day, in the evening or in the morning. Fishing trip in theArafura Sea usually carry out in DecembertoApril.   -2009: 9-16 trawl have almost operated in the same fishing ground.
The fishing ground of bottom longline fisheries that can be considered as selective fishing gear are usually operated in the muddy coral habitat with a relatively larger size demersal finfish as the target species group.
The fishing ground of the bottom longline landed in Probolinggo covered the waters of the Arafura Sea, Aru Sea, Seram Sea, Dobo, Avona, Timor Sea, Flores Sea, and Java Sea. They usually covered three or four fishing grounds in one trip in coral reef flat or slope with a relatively larger size demersal finfish as the target species group. The fishing ground of trap fishery covered the reef slopes and shelves waters of the Arafura Sea, Aru Sea, Timor Sea, and Java Sea In Merauke, as the capital city of the Merauke District, there are some branch office or agents of some fishing companies. These agents usually managed license supply all necessary provision needed to support fishing operations. Some biological data of red snappers have been collected during this study in Merauke. Most fish were caught by fish trawlers, some of fish were collected from the Laboratory of Fish Quality Controle.
Wanam is a fishing base built by Jayanti Group. lt is likely that nowdays this port has been used by some others fishing boats from different companies either for unloading catch, fish/catch collectors, and to get some provisions (drink water, ice, vegetables ofn \ Sorong is one of the large fishing base for shrimp trawlers since theArafura Sea shrimpfisheries began in the 1968-70th. lt is also provide the fishing base of the former PT. Usaha Mina, the tuna/skipjack fishing 12 base that in the late 1980 has also operate their boat ton catch red snappers and some large demersalfish. Kupang and Probolinggo provide a transit fishing base of bottom longline fisheries operated by their headquaters in Tanjung   A similar result was reporled by Badrudin ef a/., (2004). They stated that sea breams (Nemipteridae)' lizard fish (Synodontidae), and cat fish (Scianidae) were caught dominant among demersalfishes in fish net in Arafura, whilst Chub mackerel (Rastreligerspp') and Cephalopods dominated pelagicfish. Red snapper was caught for less than 2"/" of the total catch' Similarly, fish net in Arafura Sea of the Australian license dominated by Sea breams groups in 1972' 1979(Ram & Xiao, 1996.    (Ralstone, 1990). Large size of hook tend to catch larger fish and smaller hook size caught smaller fish.
The red snapper species collected in landing base, were between22-75 cm in TL. The dominant snapper L. malabaricus were recorded al 22.5-75 cm: L. erythropterus between 30.5-50.5 cm, and L. sebae between 38.5-64.5 cm in FL. Deep sea snapper of the species P multidense recorded at size between 26.5-65 cm and smallest size was p. typus between 22.5-52.5 cm in TL.
Length at first capture (Lc), with assumption that the samples were proportion to the fish population, it is likely that size structure of snappers decline in the last decade ( Figure 3, Table 5). Looking at Lcuo"r" of each red snapper species, it appeared that most of red snapper caught were of immature fish and young brood stock. In contrast to catches in the period 1999_ 2002, most of the snapper that caught were old brood stock at size higher than 6Ocm in TL (Badru din et at..

2OO4).
Unlike off bottom longline, red snapper catches in fish net in Merauke showed similar size ranged in recent study to eadier study reported by Badrudin & Blabber (2003). At present, the red snapper size ranged between 22-TBcm,with modus at length class al26-27 cm contribut edfor 23/o. Badrudin & Blabber  Figure 3. Changes to the Red Snapper ,.... in the Arafura Sea Fisheries Management Area (Nuraini, S. & ll Ernawati) The length (cm in TL) at 50% capture of the L. malabaricuq L" erythropterus, and P multidense caught in Arafura Sea in landing site in Probolinggo, East Java