Productivity and Catch Composition of the Handline Fishing Fleet at Palabuhanratu Nusantara Fishing Port, Sukabumi, Indonesia

Small-scale fisheries are the most dominant category of fishing fleet among all active fishermen in Indonesia. Various small-scale fishing fleets are also found at the Palabuhanratu Nusantara Fishing Port. Handline fishing is one of several small-scale fishing fleets (<5 GT) with outboard motor engine power and a one-day fishing trip duration. One of the problems in every small-scale capture fishery is that data collection is not considered correctly due to its low productivity. However, the dominance of small-scale fishing fleets certainly contributes to the supply of fish resources that are not bit. This study was conducted to evaluate the productivity and composition of the handline fishing fleet's catch at the Palabuhanratu Nusantara Fishing Port. Data on catches and the number of fishing trips from the handline fishing fleet were obtained from the Central Fisheries Statistics Agency of Palabuhanratu and fishing logbooks from handline fishing groups for the past five years, from 2019 to 2023. The presence of 15 species of catches from the handline fishing fleet, with the main catch composition being the ribbonfish (Trichiurus lepturus), which occupies 68.1 ± 10.3% of the total catch was recorded. Monthly analysis reveals the highest productivity value of the handline fishing fleet catch during the transition from the east season to the west season in October (100.6 ± 18.8kg/trip) and the lowest at the end of the west season in February (24.3 ± 8.9kg/trip). Meanwhile, the annual analysis shows a trend in the productivity value of handline catches, which is decreasing from year to year, with a decline rate of 4.26% per year.