Established in 2013, North Buru is MDPI’s first project site to gain US Fair Trade (FT) certification. MDPI’s work in North Buru and South Buru spans 10 villages, 11 landing sites, and 14 fisher associations, directly supporting 420 fishers. The whole suite of MDPI’s fisheries and programmatic interventions are conducted in Buru, where MDPI has gained a local reputation as a trusted partner. In over 8 years, MDPI has worked alongside 14 suppliers, 322 vessels, 3 processors, and 500+ community members alike.

1. FISHERIES IMPROVEMENT

MDPI implements port-side data collection activities in 11 landing sites. On the water, MDPI deploys onboard observers, spot trace, time-lapse cameras (TLC), pelagic data systems (PDS), reolink and trekfish. In order to increase traceability, transparency and safety in the fishery, MDPI has registered Pas Kecil for 152 vessels and BPKP for 104 vessels. Data collected in Buru is uploaded into I-Fish, shared annually with fishers through a data sharing event, and bi-annually under a provincial-level management platform established by MDPI (an FCMC in Maluku province).

2. COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION

Understanding that increased availability of fisheries data is not enough, MDPI works on increasing local fishing communities’ welfare through capacity building and community organization. In Buru, MDPI has helped establish a cooperative (Koperasi Nelayan Bupolo Bersatu) and empowers coastal community member through the formation of local “champions”. MDPI has assisted 66 fishers in registering for their kusuka cards and 205 fishers with jasindo insurance.

3. CERTIFICATIONS – FTUSA AND MSC

MDPI has been implementing the FTUSA standard with Buru fishers for 6+ years. The FTUSA supply chain includes 14 suppliers and 3 processors. With over 6 years of implementation, the North Buru FT Committee has received Rp 3.314.947.631 in premium payments. In a global first, the Buru FTUSA fishers received MSC certified in May 2020.

4. BY THE NUMBERS

• Vessels: 322
• Fishers: 420
• Fisher Associations: 19
• Technology e-Monitoring: 556
• Total of port sampling: 389.812 kg