The livelihoods of Sundanese fishermen in Cijulang Indonesia and their implications for fisheries management

This thesis investigates the livelihoods of fishermen in the villages in Cijulang, West Java, Indonesia. The research used community based coastal resource management and participatory coastal resource assessment to provide an indepth look at three small fishing communities. It addresses the perceived low income and standard of living of small-scale fishers in Indonesia and, by doing so, informs on the validity of these problems, factors that may be causing these problems, and possible fisheries management interventions that may be considered to improve the situation of fishers in one area of Indonesia. The thesis presents the results of research conducted in the three fishing villages in 2004 and 2005, the economic and social impact of an 85% fuel price rise and its relationship to fishing gear ownership and use. The thesis looks at the assumption that fishermen are the ‘poorest of the poor’, discusses the large disparity between the incomes of fishers from both an inter- and intra- village perspective, and highlights that ownership and use of different types of fishing gears has a strong impact on the earning power of small-scale fishermen. The thesis also investigates the impact of the environment on fishing frequency and challenges the assumption that research conducted in one part of Indonesia is valid for other areas. It does this through describing the concepts of an ‘angry ocean’ and ‘calm sea’, how these impact on fishing frequency, and the need to take meteorological and oceanic conditions into consideration when assessing managerial interventions and programs for small-scale fisheries in Indonesia.