Fisheries decline, local livelihoods and conflicted governance: An Indonesian case

• Published in: Ocean & coastal management 2021-03, Vol.202, p.105498, Article 105498
• Main Authors: Warren, Carol, Steenbergen, Dirk J.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: case studies; coastal zone management; Commercial capture fishery; Conflicted governance; decline; fisheries statistics; food security; governance; Indonesia; issues and policy; livelihood; Livelihoods; longitudinal studies; marine resources; markets; Overfishing; politics; resource management; sardines; Small-scale fishery; Sustainability; sustainable development; traditional technology; villages
• ISSN: 0964-5691; 1873-524X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2020.105498

This study investigates the social and environmental impacts of the rise and decline of the fishing industry in an Indonesian coastal community as a case study of the conflicted role of governance in marine resource management. It analyses the relationship between two distinct but intersecting fisheries in west Bali: the traditional small-scale artisanal fishery targeting diverse near shore species for the local market, and the large-scale commercial purse seine fleet that exploits the once rich Bali Strait sardine fishery. The recent collapse of the sardine fishery has had a marked impact on the livelihoods of fishers in both the artisanal and commercial sectors. A significant issue for the future of fisheries dependent communities is the need to raise the priority of equity and sustainability in resource governance. The failure of regulatory regimes to control overfishing is found to be a key factor in the unravelling of the local economy and presents an instructive case for analysing the wider implications of a fundamental conflict in the political economy of the global system between unevenly matched market-driven resource use and sustainable development practices. Methodologically, the research combines qualitative and quantitative approaches to compensate for the dearth of data available for the artisanal and commercial fishery sectors respectively. Catch statistics on the rise and decline of the commercial sardine fishery are linked to qualitative information from a longitudinal study on the livelihood impacts of resource decline in a community engaged in both fisheries. In connecting interview data on village level livelihood issues with commercial fishery data, the study highlights the imperative of good governance across scales for policy makers and development practitioners concerned with equity and sustainability of fisheries as a critically important component of global food security. [Display omitted] •Research on the inter-relationship between commercial and artisanal fisheries is essential for good resource governance.•Conflicted governance is a critical feature of the Indonesian government's management of capture fisheries.•Economic development and social protection policies cannot be divorced from the need for sustainable resource management.•Policy-makers need to consider long-term resource degradation in livelihood enhancement programs.•Integration of quantitative and qualitative data is needed for improved fisheries management in devel