Lymer D., Funge-Smith S., and Greboval D. (2009). The fishing fleet in Aceh Province, Indonesia. FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok, Thailand. RAP Publication 2009/09, 39 pp.

The fishing fleet of Aceh Province (Provinsi Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam) in Indonesia has been subject to much scrutiny over the last five years. In response to the impact of the tsunami in 2004 a considerable national and international effort has been directed to restoring the fishing fleet to post-tsunami levels through a variety of fishing vessel building schemes. Furthermore, there have been complementary activities to assess the success of this fleet rehabilitation and development activity and associated issues.

The main characteristics of the fleet in Aceh Province, as found in the census, are that it comprises relatively newly built and highly motorized vessels, most of which have inboard engines. The fleet is largely privately owned and the vessels were acquired by private funding, although in 2005 and 2006 a large proportion of the new boats were provided by donors. The vessels mainly operate nearshore, between 0 and 3 nautical miles offshore, and are not usually equipped with navigation or communication equipment, although a large share of the larger vessels carry both. There are also minor differences between the east and west coast fleets. The fishing fleet in Aceh Province can be summarized as comprising largely small boats (average 3.2 GT) with relatively small motors (average 16 Hp). There is a general trend of these small boats being replaced by larger vessels and hence the fleet tonnage has increased in recent years.

This document provides an overview of the status of the fishing fleet in Aceh Province at the end of 2006 based on a fishing vessel census that was carried out in the province. It is hoped that this can be used as a reference in the sustainable restoration of the small-scale fisheries subsector in the province of Aceh, Indonesia.