Marine Policy 100 (2019) 238–248

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Marine Policy
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/marpol

Developing a functional definition of small-scale fisheries in support of T

marine capture fisheries management in Indonesia
⁎
Abdul Halima, , Budy Wiryawana, Neil R. Loneraganb,c,d, Adrian Hordykb,c,e, M. Fedi A. Sonditaa,
Alan T. Whitef, Sonny Koeshendrajanag, Toni Ruchimatg, Robert S. Pomeroyh, Christiana Yunif
a
Department of Fishery Resources Utilization, Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Sciences, Bogor Agricultural University, Bogor, Indonesia
b
School of Veterinary and Life Sciences, Murdoch University, Murdoch, Western Australia 6150, Australia
c
Centre for Sustainable Aquatic Ecosystems, Murdoch University, Murdoch, Western Australia 6150, Australia
d
Asia Research Centre, Murdoch University, Murdoch, Western Australia 6150, Australia
e
Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
f
USAID-Funded Sustainable Ecosystems Advanced (SEA) Project, Jakarta, Indonesia
g
Agency for Research and Human Resources of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, Jakarta, Indonesia
h
Department of Agriculture and Resource Economics, University of Connecticut, Groton, CT 06340, USA

A B S T R A C T

Small-scale capture fisheries have a very important place globally, but unfortunately are still mostly unregulated. Typically, they are defined based on capture
fisheries characteristics, technical attributes of fishing vessels, and socio-economic attributes of fishers. Indonesia uses the term ‘small-scale fisher’ (nelayan kecil),
currently defined to include fishing boats of < 10 gross tons (GT), which previously covered only boats of < 5 GT. Because small-scale fishers are by law granted a
privilege by government to be exempted from fisheries management measures (e.g. fisheries licensing system), its current definition jeopardizes fisheries sustain-
ability and significantly increases the size of unregulated and unreported fisheries. It is also unfair, as it legitimizes the payment of government support to relatively
well-off fishers. This paper aims to develop a functional definition of small-scale fisheries (perikanan skala kecil) to guide policy implementation to improve capture
fisheries management in Indonesia. A definition of small-scale fisheries is proposed as a fisheries operation, managed at the household level, fishing with or without a
fishing boat of < 5 GT, and using fishing gear that is operated by manpower alone. This definition combines attributes of the fishing vessel (GT), the fishing gear
(mechanization), and the unit of business decision making (household) to minimize unregulated and unreported fishing and focus government aid on people who are
truly poor and vulnerable to social and economic shocks. The terms small-scale fisheries and small-scale fishers must be legally differentiated as the former relates to
fisheries management and the latter relates to empowerment of marginalized fishers.

1. Introduction
Small-scale fisheries provide livelihood and food security for mil-
lions of small-scale fishers and local communities around the world
[1,2]. Reconstructed marine fish catch data from 1950 to 2013 in
southeast Asia, indicated that up until 2000, small-scale fisheries pro-
duced a greater proportion of fish used for human consumption than
industrial fisheries [3]. The term small-scale fisheries has been used to
characterize a sub-sector in fisheries to differentiate it from medium-
and large-scale fisheries. Because of the great diversity in small-scale
fisheries around the world, it is difficult to develop a definition that is
universally accepted [4,5]. The FAO has defined small-scale or artisanal
fisheries as “traditional fisheries involving fishing households (as opposed to
commercial companies), using relatively small amount of capital and energy,
relatively small fishing vessels (if any), making short fishing trips, close to
shore, mainly for local consumption. In practice, the definition varies
between countries, e.g. from gleaning or a one man canoe in poor developing
countries, to more than 20-m. trawlers, seiners, or long-liners in developed
ones. Artisanal fisheries can be subsistence or commercial fisheries, pro-
viding for local consumption or export” [6], Annex 5: Glossary. Definitions
often vary from one jurisdiction to another, so that small-scale fisheries
in one country might be considered large-scale in other country [7].
The description of small-scale fisheries is also challenging because of
the use of different attributes to describe them [8] and the inter-
changeable use of terms, such as small-scale fisher and small-scale
fisheries, subsistence and traditional.
Small-scale fisheries in Indonesia are currently not regulated and
are exempt from the existing fisheries management instruments – they
are: free from fishing licenses, known as Surat Izin Penangkapan Ikan/
SIPI (fishing license) (Article 27 (5) Fisheries Law No. 45/2009) and
Surat Izin Kapal Pengangkut Ikan/SIKPI (fishing vessel license) (Article
28 (4) Fisheries Law No. 45/2009); free to conduct fishing operations in

⁎
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: halimabdul1213@gmail.com (A. Halim).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2018.11.044
Received 23 April 2018; Received in revised form 21 November 2018; Accepted 30 November 2018
Available online 07 December 2018
0308-597X/ © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
A. Halim et al. Marine Policy 100 (2019) 238–248

Table 1
History of laws and amendments that include the definition of small-scale fishers in Indonesian.
No. Law Evolvement of small-scale fishers definition

1 Law No. 9/1985 concerning Fisheries
2 Law No. 31/2004 concerning Fisheries
3 Law No. 45/2009 concerning Amendment of Law No. 31/2004
concerning Fisheries
4 Law No. 23/2014 concerning Local Government
5 Law No. 7/2016 concerning Protection and Empowerment of
Fishers, Fish Farmers and Salt Farmers
– The term small-scale fisher mentioned in the legal consideration section but not specifically defined
under Article 1 that describes various terminologies used in the law.
– The term small-scale fisher appears only at the explanation section of the law defined as a “person who
catches fish to meet his/her daily needs”.
– The term fisher was defined as “a person whose livelihood is to catch fish”.
– The term small-scale fisher is not mentioned in the legal consideration section
– The term small-scale fisher was stated under Article 1 and defined as a “person whose livelihood is to
catch fish to meet his/her daily needs”.
– The term fisher was defined as a “person whose livelihood is to catch fish”.
– The term small-scale fisher was stated under Article 1 and defined as a “person whose livelihood is to
conduct fish catching to meet his/her daily needs using a fishing boat of at the largest 5 (five) GT”.
– The term small-scale fisher was stated under the explanatory section of Article 27 (5) and defined as
“Indonesia's traditional community fisher who utilizes traditional materials and fishing gear and who
is not subject to requirement of business license, exempted from tax, and unrestricted to fish in all
parts of Fisheries Management Areas of the Republic of Indonesia”.
– The term small-scale fisher was stated under Article 1 and defined as “a fisher who conducts fish
catching to meet his/her daily needs operating without or with a fishing boat at the largest 10 (ten)
GT”.

all Fisheries Management Areas (Article 61 (1) Fisheries Law No. 31/
2004); and obliged to register their vessel but do not pay a fee (Article
61 (5) Fisheries Law No. 31/2004). Small-scale fishers are generally
perceived by government as group of people who are poor, margin-
alized and vulnerable to social and economic shocks, and therefore
need some level of social and economic support and protection. The
government of Indonesia is obliged by the Constitution to provide
support and protection to people who are poor and incapable of
meeting their day-to-day basic needs, mandated by Article 34 (2) of the
Basic Constitution. It is therefore necessary and important to have a
clear, suitable, and functional definition of small-scale fisheries to en-
sure both sustainable fisheries management and effective government
support and protection programs for fishers.
Indonesia has been using the term small-scale fisher (nelayan kecil),
rather than small-scale fisheries (perikanan skala kecil) to describe the
category (scale) of its capture fisheries. The most recent law that defines
small-scale fisher is Law No. 7/2016 concerning Protection and
Empowerment of Fisher, Fish Farmer and Salt Farmer (Table 1). It is
defined as “a fisher who conducts fish catching to meet his/her daily needs
without or with a fishing boat measuring < 10 (ten) gross tonnage (GT)”.
This new definition revised the earlier definition of small-scale fisher
that limited the size of the small-scale fishing boat to < 5 GT (“a fisher
who conducts fish catching to meet his/her daily needs without or with a
fishing boat measuring less than 5 (five) gross tonnage (GT)”).
The measure of gross tonnage that is used to classify fishing vessels
and define whether they are small-scale (i.e. now < 10 GT), though
important, is unlikely to be sufficient, nor appropriate, as a differ-
entiating attribute for fisheries governance and management purposes.
Typically, the people who own boats between 5 and 10 GT are not the
poor and marginalized individuals intended in the law providing social
benefits and relative privilege (e.g., exempted from fishing licensing,
fishing vessel licensing and fishing vessel registration fees to larger
scale fisheries) to this sector. That definition potentially mis-
characterizes the true weak communities (i.e. small-scale fishers) who
are most vulnerable to social and economic shocks, as intended under
the Constitution. Consideration of what defines small-scale fishers and
small-scale fisheries is particularly important in Indonesia, as the
Ministry for Marine Affairs and Fisheries (MMAF) has reported a sig-
nificant increase of outboard and inboard fishing vessels < 5 GT – re-
garded as small-scale, every year since the 1970s until 2014 (Fig. 1). As
this definition does not regulate the type of fishing gears used, a fishing
vessel of this size is able to carry mechanized fishing gear to increase
their catch. This paper explores the nature of small-scale fisheries in
Indonesia and documents the history of laws governing them to propose
a functional definition of small-scale fisheries in Indonesia. The purpose
of this new definition is to guide the implementation of fisheries
management policies to achieve fisheries sustainability and to ensure
targeted government support and protection programs for the truly
impoverished and disempowered. The development of the definition
has been conducted through an analysis of existing information in the
literature and targeted interviews with experts to obtain their opinions
and perceptions on matters pertaining to small-scale fishers and fish-
eries in Indonesia.
2. Methods
A combination of different qualitative research methods were ap-
plied to assess the current definition and develop a new definition for
small-scale fisher (nelayan kecil), including: (a) legal content analysis,
(b) literature review, and (c) triangulation through expert group dis-
cussions. The development of the term ‘small-scale fisher’ and the
construction of the legal definition of small-scale fishers, including
explicit considerations used to define the term, were investigated from
an examination of the historical implementation of the relevant laws.
As the term small-scale fisher applies not only to fisheries (i.e. person
involved in fishing activities) but is also closely linked to social devel-
opment programs (i.e. identifying people who have a need for gov-
ernment support and empowerment programs), it was anticipated that
the term would also be found in the legal documents (laws) other than
those relating to fisheries. The definition and main criteria of small-
scale fishers should therefore take into account the aspects of: fairness,
functionality to support sustainable fisheries management, and align-
ment with both national and international laws and regulations. The
results of the legal content analysis were then compared and contrasted
with information from the literature on small-scale fisheries from
Indonesia and elsewhere around the world. From a synthesis of these
analyses, a new definition of small-scale fishers, suitable for the context
of Indonesian fisheries, is proposed. This concept was examined and
refined further through a series of expert group discussions and con-
sultations involving government, parliament, academia, non-govern-
ment organizations (NGOs) and practitioners.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Importance of small-scale marine capture fisheries
3.1.1. The extent of small-scale fisheries
Approximately 90% of the 38 million fishers globally are categor-
ized as small-scale and an additional more than 100 million people are
involved in the small-scale, post-harvest sector [9]. Indonesia's fisheries

239
A. Halim et al.
statistics reported that in 2014, more than 2 million people were en-
gaged in small-scale fisheries, more than five times the 360,000 people
reported to be engaged in medium- and large-scale fisheries combined
[10]. In the early 1970s, the Indonesian fishing fleet was predominantly
non-motorized boats (small-scale), with only relatively few fishing
vessels powered by outboard and inboard engines (Fig. 1). Four decades
later, along with the fishing fleet expansion, the Indonesian fishing fleet
composition has changed significantly with the presence of large-scale
fishing boats of 1000 GT (Fig. 1). Nonetheless, until 2010, the total
tonnage of fishing fleet of < 10 GT vessels was still slightly higher than
that ≥ 10 GT, with the smaller vessels making up ~ 52% of the total
fishing fleet (Fig. 1).
Industrial fishing with modern fishing fleets began in Indonesia in
the early 1960s. Since then, the total annual fish landings of industrial
fishing have steadily increased so that in 1973, in central and eastern
Indonesia, they surpassed the total fish landed by artisanal, subsistence
and recreational fisheries combined [11] (Fig. 2). Nevertheless, the
total combined landings of the artisanal, subsistence and recreational
fisheries are still relatively high. In 2010, for example, the re-
constructed fish landing data in central and eastern Indonesia showed
that these artisanal, subsistence and recreational fisheries contributed
to about one third of the total fish landings [11] (Fig. 2). This parallels
the findings for other countries in southeast Asia such as Cambodia,
Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam [3]. It is likely that the quantity of fish
landed by small-scale fishers is still higher than that estimated from the
reconstructed data, especially that landed by fishers in remote islands
Fig. 2. Reconstructed fisheries landings in central and eastern Indonesia by subsistence, artisanal, recreational and industrial sectors, 1950–2010 (Data taken from
Appendix A7, p.25 of Budimartono et al. [11]). Note that landings by subsistence and recreational fisheries are too small to appear in the graph.
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Marine Policy 100 (2019) 238–248
Fig. 1. Development of Indonesia fishing fleet period
1975–2014. Data for the period of 2004–2014 were ob-
tained from the Indonesian Capture Fisheries Statistics
series published regularly by Ministry of Marine Affairs
and Fisheries MMAF [10], which is also available at:
http://statistik.kkp.go.id/sidatik-dev/index.php?s = 3.
Data for the period of 1975–2003 were obtained from
Peter Mous of The Nature Conservancy, who compiled the
information from the earlier official Capture Fisheries
Statistics of Indonesia.
throughout Indonesia. In these places, significant quantities of fish are
caught by those who do not identify themselves as fishers (e.g. farmers,
traders, etc.) and fish seasonally or occasionally, and these catches are
not reported in the fisheries statistics. A significant proportion of these
catches are sold at domestic markets, as well as for household con-
sumption [12], and are therefore important for food security to meet
the nation's protein needs, with fish accounting for about 54% of In-
donesia's animal protein consumption in 2009 [13].
In terms of fisheries management, however, small-scale fisheries
have certain advantages over industrial fishing, such as considerably
lower levels of discarding [11]. For example, in central and eastern
Indonesia, the artisanal fishery discards less than 1% of the total catch
compared to about 18% of industrial fishing, especially trawl fishing.
However, improved surveillance and enforcement since 1993 has re-
sulted in a significant reduction in discards from the industrial fisheries
[14].
3.1.2. Attributes of small-scale fisheries in Indonesia
Small-scale fisheries have diverse ecological, economic, and social
attributes [15] and in Indonesia can be described by the following at-
tributes: (a) type of fishing gear and target species, (b) location of
fishing, (c) occupational diversity, (d) market orientation, (e) gender,
and (f) unit of business. Each of these attributes is briefly discussed
below (see also Tables 2 and 3).
a. Type of fishing gears and target species
A. Halim et al. Marine Policy 100 (2019) 238–248

Table 2
The current description of small-scale and large/industrial-scale fisheries category in southeast Asian countries and source of description (modified from list of
references).
Country Small-scale fisheries Large/industrial-scale fisheries Reference

Indonesia Fishing with or without fishing boat of less than
10 GT; fishing with boats relying on sail or
outboard engines for propulsion
Cambodia Family-scale fishing units, fishing up to depth of
20 m; with engine less than 10 HP
Malaysia Fishing with traditional gears (hook-and-line, bag
net, trammel net, lift net, and traps)
Thailand Boats < 5 GT that operate near shore, with
inboard or outboard engines, or are non-powered
Vietnam Near-shore fisheries
Philippines Boat < 3 GT; operating in coastal area < 15 km
from shore and under management of local
municipalities (municipal fishing).
Fishing with boat of equal to or above 10 GT Law No. 7/2017 on Protection and
Empowerment of Fishers, Fish Farmers and Salt
Farmers; Priyono and Sumiono [54]
Boats < 30 m World Bank [57]; Teh and Pauly [3].
Deep-sea fishing vessels > 70 GT that operate Teh and Pauly [3].
beyond 30 nautical miles from shore, and fishing with
commercial gears (trawl, purse-seine, driftnet, and gill net)
Inboard powered boats < 5 GT Teh and Pauly [3]
“Offshore” boats with engines < 90 hp Teh and Pauly [3]
Commercial small-scale using vessels of 3.1–20 GT; The Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998, Section 4
commercial medium scale using vessels of 20.1–150 GT and (10); World Bank [57]
commercial large-scale using vessels of more than 150 GT.

Small-scale fisheries utilize a variety of fishing gear including both
passive and active fishing gears, operated with or without a fishing
boat, to target different kinds of fish species covering diverse habi-
tats – pelagic, demersal, reefs. For example, fixed gillnets, hand
lines, lift nets, outboard gillnet and seine nets are used by small-
scale fishers to catch more than fifty (50) different pelagic species,
with some considered commercially valuable such as frigate tuna
(Auxis thazard), hairtail (Trichiurus spp.) and ponyfish (Leiognathus
spp.), in Pelabuhan Ratu, West Java province (Fig. 3, [16]). The
decision to use certain fishing gear is determined mainly by seasonal
variability and the abundance of target species [16]. Often different
gears, such as lift nets and fixed gillnets, are deployed at the same
time to target the same sardine fish species (Sardinella gibbosa) [16],
which exacerbates the pressure on the fish resources. Small-scale
fisheries were also reported to engage in lucrative large pelagic tuna
fisheries for mainly yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) and skipjack
(Katsuwonus pelamis) using hand-lines, as in Buru Island of Maluku
province [17]. A small-scale purse seine fishery operating around
Rote Island of East Nusa Tenggara targets small pelagics, mainly
Indian mackerel (Rastrelliger spp.), herring (Herklotsichthys spp.),
sardines (Sardinella spp.), and small tunas of the family Scombridae
(e.g. Auxis thazard) [18]. These fisheries are classified as small-scale
even though some vessels are 15 m long. However, they weigh less
than 10 GT and are relatively unmechanized, with many people
involved, for example with net handling done manually by a crew of
about 10–12 men [18].
In Saleh Bay of Sumbawa Island, West Nusa Tenggara Province
(Fig. 3), small-scale fisheries utilize different fishing gears: spear
guns, boat lift nets, gill nets (e.g.: drift gillnet, three-layer gillnet,
encircling gillnet, and set gillnet), purse seine, beach seine, hook
and line (e.g.: pole and line, kite line, troll line, hand line, bottom
long line, drift long line, and tuna long line) and traps, to fish for
more than seventy (70) different species, including high value spe-
cies such as grouper and snapper [19,20]. Different species of
grouper, including coral trout (Plectropomus spp), lyretail grouper
(Variola spp.) and seabass (Epinephelus spp.), and red snapper (Lut-
janus spp.) were reported landed by spear guns, boat lift nets, traps,
set gillnets, troll lines, hand lines, and bottom long lines fisheries
[19,20].
b. Location of fishing and landing places
The fishing grounds of small-scale fishers are mainly around coral
reefs and other associated near-shore fish habitats scattered along
the coast throughout Indonesia. In Sumbawa Island of West Nusa
Tenggara Province, a group of small-scale troll line fishers were
observed fishing up to six days at reefs areas around Saleh Bay,
before returning back in time for them to perform Friday prayers at

Table 3
List of potential attributes that differentiate small-scale fisheries from other fisheries categories in Indonesia, as proposed by the expert groups during the workshop
held in Jakarta in November 2017.
Criteria Attributes Description

Fairness
Functionality; measured against: (a) licensing system, (b)
access to fishing grounds, and (c) catch reporting
Enforceability and serviceability
Align with national and international regulations
Fishing motives
Nature of livelihood (fishing)
Location/area of fishing
Licensing (registration)
Catch recording
Location/area of catch being
sold (markets)
Fishing fleet (boats)
Number of boat crews
Fleet (boats) ownership
Subsistence fisheries (this includes activity to sell the catch to meet daily needs – so
long as it is not used to accumulate capital)
Whether main or secondary job (time dedicated to fishing)
Maximum 12 nautical miles (defined in accordance with the authority of local
government under Law No. 23/2014 on Local Government)
– All fishers are subject to licensing system. License is not equal retribution fees
(fisheries tax) but as a controlling mechanism.
– Small-scale fisheries are exempted from paying fisheries tax (retribution).
– Need to recognize specificity of fisheries such as: traditional fisheries with
historical relationship with resources, nomadic fishers who follow movement of
fish school, etc.
– License functions similar to car registration (required equally for all type of cars).
All categories of fishery and fisher must record their catch. Government could
provide incentives to increase compliance with recording catches.
Limit of area/territorial boundaries where the sale of catch (markets) taking place.
Physical measures of boats (could be GT of less than 5 GT) for easy regulation
enforcement in the sea.
Boat crews are family members of a maximum of 3 people
One owner could have a single boat < 5 GT or multiple boats that are
cumulatively less than 5 GT

241
A. Halim et al.
Fig. 3. Map of Indonesia that shows locations of small-scale fisheries mentioned in the text.
their village. However, there are small-scale fishers in Indonesia
who sail far away from the coast for several weeks, such as those
who collect sea cucumber in the Timor Sea bordering Indonesia and
Australia, known as MOU Box area [21] and shark fishers on the
island of Rote in east Nusa Tenggara and Osi in Maluku [22,23]
(Fig. 3). Although the MOU fishers are now using advanced tech-
nology, such as Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers, they
remain classed as small-scale, as they use only sail powered fishing
vessels to reach their fishing grounds and use non-motorized fishing
equipment, such as hand collection and free diving. These restric-
tions on vessel power and fishing equipment are preconditions for
fishing by Indonesian fishers in the MOU Box [21].
In Indonesia, it is also common to observe small-scale fishers mi-
grating from one island for periods of several months to follow the
seasonal migration of the target species. Bailey et al., [24] reported
that fishers from Buton Island of Southeast Sulawesi Province, mi-
grated to Raja Ampat of West Papua Province (Fig. 3) and stay in
temporary camps for four to five months to fish for anchovy (Sto-
lephorus spp.). This so-called anchovy lantern fishery is quite prof-
itable as it generates an average income of US $ 1835 per fisher per
year, twice the average income of local fishers in the area [24].
Duggan and Kochen [17] reported migrations of tuna fishers from
Central Sulawesi to Maluku at certain times of the year following the
tuna migration. Adhuri et al., [25] also observed the migration of
purse seine fishers from Waworada Bay of Bima district to Sanggar
Bay of Dompu district within the same island of Sumbawa, (Fig. 3)
staying for one to two months to follow the migration of their small,
pelagic target fish species. In short, fishing locations of small-scale
fishers are observed to switch between different islands, provinces
and places within the same island, to follow their target species.
Small-scale fishers landed their catch predominantly at small
wooden jetties or directly on the beaches along the coastal villages
throughout Indonesia where no fisheries authorities are present,
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Marine Policy 100 (2019) 238–248
which makes the recording of catch statistics very challenging and
contributes to the unreported landings in Indonesia and the region
[3].
Indonesia recognizes traditional fishers belonging to adat (tradi-
tional) communities fishing in their marine/coastal tenured areas,
especially along the coasts of Maluku Province and West Papua
Province. Customary laws/norms to regulate the utilization of
marine resources such as sasi are applied within these tenurial areas
by the adat communities to regulate the harvest of commercially
valuable species such as sea cucumber (Holothuroidea) and top shell
(Tectus [=Trochus] niloticus) [26]. Unless permission is given by the
head of the adat community, outside fishers who do not belong to
the community are not allowed to fish within the tenurial areas.
Fishing using poisonous plants and chemicals, explosives, and small
mesh lift-nets is prohibited under both government and adat reg-
ulations [26]. Compressor diving, especially in West Papua Pro-
vince, has now replaced the previous free diving used as a common
fishing technique to harvest top shell and sea cucumber [27]. In
addition, traditional communities, known as the boat-dwelling
Bajau people, live entirely sea-based lives – they are born, grow up,
marry and die on the sea – and specialize in fishing and other sea-
oriented activities as their way of life [28]. These people are scat-
tered mainly along the coasts of Kalimantan and Sulawesi.
c. Occupational diversity
Indonesia formally recognizes the categories of full-time and part-
time fishers in its fisheries statistics, with the part-time category
subdivided into part-time major and part-time minor. In 2011, more
than half of the 2.3 million Indonesian marine fishers were classified
as part-time fishers and resided mostly along the coasts of Sulawesi,
Maluku and West Papua [29]. As argued by Allison and Ellis [30],
part-time fishing has been the historical norm globally and full-time
professional fishers are mainly the product of the 20th century in-
dustrial fishing culture.
A. Halim et al.
In general, small-scale fishers are vulnerable as they have high ex-
posure to risks, shocks, stress, and are prone to food insecurity [30].
The threats to the small-scale fishing occupation comes from ex-
ternal sources, such as the risks from extreme weather, natural
disaster and market failures and internal sources, such as access to
food stores, and support from kin or community or government
support programs [30]. To cope with their vulnerability, small-scale
fishers in the provinces of North Sulawesi and Eastern Java also
engage in farming, trading, and construction [31,32]. In addition, in
Pantar Island, East Nusa Tenggara Province, the family members,
including mothers and children, are involved in activities such as
reef gleaning and post-harvest to bring additional income for the
family [33].
d. Market orientation of catch
The markets for fish landed by small-scale fishers are diverse, ran-
ging from self-consumption, local, national and export markets.
Small-scale tuna, grouper, and snapper fisheries are mainly aimed at
national and export markets [17,19,20,34] as these species are in
high demand nationally and globally. Grouper, such as coral trout
(Plectropomus spp.) and mouse grouper (Cromileptes altivelis) and
napoleon wrasse (Cheilinus undulates), are lucrative commodities
also traded live in the so-called Life Reef Food Fish Trade (LRFFT)
markets centered in China and Hong Kong, with a total estimated
LRFFT market value of almost US $1 billion per year [35]. Indonesia
is the major exporting country for live grouper and snapper, sup-
plying these markets along with the Philippines, Malaysia and
Australia [34,36].
It seems logical that small-scale fishers targeting species with high
international demand, such as tuna and grouper, orient their catch
for international markets as they could earn higher income. An
anecdotal story from grouper troll line fishers in Saleh Bay of
Sumbawa Island, interviewed in August 2017, said that ‘local people
here do not eat grouper and snapper as they feel too luxurious to eat
them’ [20]. In 2015, the price of frozen coral trout (Plectropomus
leopardus) intended for the export market from the first buyer in
Sumbawa Island ranged widely from 95.000 to 385.000 Indonesian
Rupiah per kilogram (≈ US $7 to $27.50), depending on size and
quality (Wiryawan, Bogor Agricultural University, unpublished
data). However, small-scale fishers often have poor post-harvest
handling techniques and lack access to basic facilities such as good
cold storage to maximize the value of their catch. In addition, recent
pressure to improve traceability in fish products could hamper ac-
cess to markets for small-scale fishers who lack mechanisms to re-
liably report their catch.
There are also small-scale fishers who supply local and national
markets, such as those targeting small pelagic fish around Sumbawa
Island of West Nusa Tenggara province [25]. These fishers usually
collaborate with specific fish traders within the fisheries supply
chain who specialize in marketing fish at local markets [25]. Though
no data/information are available on the number of small-scale
fishers targeting domestic markets, a substantial proportion would
not be able to meet the stringent quality standards required by fish
export markets and therefore supply mainly local and national
markets, as well as domestic fish processing industries.
e. Gender
Small-scale fisheries around the world involve both men and women
[37,38] who have different knowledge on marine resources, which
defines their different places to fish [39]. For example, in the Phi-
lippines women are knowledgeable about resources in the intertidal
zones, whereas men are familiar with resources in the coral reefs, as
demonstrated by a statement from a female fisher “the intertidal
zone is for women, the coral reef is for men; Shells are for women,
fish are for men” [39]. The role of women in small-scale fisheries in
contributing to family income and food security is important, but
often overlooked [33,37,38,40].
In Indonesia, although women are involved in fishing [33], men are
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predominantly involved in fish harvesting and women mainly en-
gage in post-harvesting activities including fish processing and
selling fish at local and distant markets. It is also common to observe
men, women and children in reef gleaning and seaweed culture
along the coastline of the islands scattered throughout the eastern
part of Indonesia, such as Sulawesi, Maluku, Bali and Nusa Tenggara
[33,41,42]. Although the contributions of women engaging in
fishing and seaweed culture in Indonesia has not been quantified,
their contributions to household income from working in post-har-
vest, especially fish processing is substantial. Women working as fish
processors to produce dried fish, fish crackers, fish meat balls make
a significant contribution to household incomes; estimated to be
39.5% in Bangka Belitung province, [43] and 31.3% in Pangan-
daran, West Java Province [44] of the total household income.
f. Unit of business
The business unit, in the sense of decision-making processes of
small-scale fisheries, takes place at the household level. In many in-
stances, small-scale fishers form fisher groups or cooperatives where
fishing-related decisions are made mutually by the group members
following the norms applied in their groups. Members of the small-scale
fisher's household, especially the husband and wife, jointly make de-
cisions on various aspect of their life. The decision making related to
income generating activities (fishing and non-fishing) and the extent
and scale of spending on these activities are made predominantly by
men [45,46]. Women usually make the decisions on social-community
related activities, especially participation at religious activities and
social gathering (arisan) [46]. Men and women share decision making
responsibilities on domestic activities, with men being more dominant
in decisions on education and women in decisions on household food
and health related expenses [46–48].
The fishers’ decision-making process in fishing activities considers
information on resource availability and income generated from their
previous trips [49]. In multi-species fisheries, this information informs
decisions to shift or select a new fisheries target. The decision of small-
scale fishers in Pelabuhan Ratu, West Java, to shift fishing gears is
determined by the climate and seasonal variability (mainly the abun-
dance) of their target species [16]. In May-October, fishers use seine
netting to catch frigate tuna (A. thazard), and increase their fishing trips
to maximize their revenues. By the time this season ends, fishers shift to
hand lines to catch hairtail (Trichiurus spp.) [16].
3.2. Evolution of the definition of small-scale fishers in Indonesia's fisheries
and other related laws
Small-scale fishers and fisheries have been identified explicitly in
laws relevant to Indonesian fisheries since 1985, when the first Law No.
9/1985 concerning Fisheries recognized that fisheries management
should prioritize job expansion and improve the living conditions of
small-scale fishers and fish farmers, as well as ensure the sustainable
exploitation of fisheries resources. Although the term small-scale fisher
was included in this legal consideration, it was not defined clearly –
e.g., Article 1 of Law No. 9/1985 concerning fisheries defines various
terminologies used in the law, but does not define small-scale fisher,
only fisher “orang yang mata pencahariannya melakukan penangkapan
ikan” (“a person whose livelihood is to catch fish”) (Table 1). However,
in the explanatory section of the law (Penjelasan Undang-Undang) for
Articles 10 (2) and 11(2), the term small-scale fisher appears and is
defined as “orang yang usahanya merupakan pencaharian untuk memenuhi
keperluan hidup sehari-hari” (“a person who catches fish to meet his/her
daily needs”) (Table 1).
In 2004, the Law No. 9/1985 concerning Fisheries was replaced
with Law No. 31/2004 concerning Fisheries (Table 1). Although the
term small-scale fisher was no longer found in the consideration section
of the law, under Article 3, it is recognized as one of the goals of
fisheries management “meningkatkan taraf hidup nelayan kecil dan
A. Halim et al.
pembudi daya ikan kecil” (“to improve the living condition of small-scale
fisher and fish farmers”). In this new law, a legal distinction between
fisher and small-scale fisher was introduced in Article 1: fisher was
defined as “orang yang mata pencahariannya melakukan penangkapan
ikan” (“a person whose livelihood is to catch fish”), whereas small-scale
fisher was defined as “orang yang mata pencahariannya melakukan pe-
nangkapan ikan untuk memenuhi kebutuhan hidup sehari-hari” (“a person
whose livelihood is to catch fish to meet his/her daily needs”) (Table 1).
The Law No. 31/2004 concerning Fisheries also includes a specific
section regarding the empowerment of small-scale fishers and fish
farmers in Chapter 10 of Articles 60–64 (Table 1). This signified the
importance of the matters to law makers at that time, especially for
those fishers who depend on fishing for their living. Article 62, for
example, states that “Pemerintah menyediakan dan mengusahakan dana
untuk memberdayakan nelayan kecil dan pembudi daya-ikan kecil, baik
dari sumber dalam negeri maupun sumber luar negeri, sesuai dengan ke-
tentuan peraturan perundang-undangan yang berlaku” (“government
provides and makes an effort to provide funding to empower small
fishers and small fish farmers either from domestic or foreign sources in
accordance with provisions of the existing laws”) (Table 1). This legal
article indicated that small-scale fishers might have been perceived by
the law makers as a group of people who are poor, powerless and
vulnerable, therefore needing support from government in order to
improve their standard of living.
In 2009, the Law No. 31/2004 concerning Fisheries was amended
through Law No. 45/2009 (Table 1). The definition of small-scale fisher
was amended to include a vessel size as “orang yang mata pencahar-
iannya melakukan penangkapan ikan untuk memenuhi kebutuhan hidup
sehari-hari yang menggunakan kapal perikanan berukuran paling besar 5
(lima) gross ton (GT)” (“person whose livelihood is to conduct fish
catching to meet his/her daily needs using a fishing boat of at the
largest 5 (five) GT”). There is no further explanation in the law about
the definition of small-scale fisher, except for one paragraph about the
intent of the new law to “stand by the side” of small-scale fishers and
fish farmers, and that they are exempt from the need for a fisheries
license, installing a vessel monitoring system, and paying fishing fees. It
creates a category of fishers under law who have no requirement for
reporting and regulation, thus potentially increasing the proportion of
fishing activities that are unregulated and unreported.
In 2016, the Government of Indonesia enacted Law No. 7/2016
concerning the Protection and Empowerment of Fishers, Fish Farmers
and Salt Farmers (Table 1). This law introduces a new definition of
small-scale fisher that increases the size of vessel to < 10 GT “Nelayan
yang melakukan penangkapan ikan untuk memenuhi kebutuhan hidup se-
hari-hari, baik yang tidak menggunakan kapal penangkap ikan maupun
yang menggunakan kapal penangkap ikan berukuran paling besar 10 (se-
puluh) gros ton (GT)” (“a fisher who conducts fish catching to meet his/
her daily needs operating without or with a fishing boat at the largest
10 (ten) GT”) (Table 1). In its legal consideration, the law states that the
government has responsibility, under the constitution, to achieve the
nation's goal of prosperity for the people, including the needs to protect
and empower fishers, fish farmers and salt farmers in a way that is well
planned, focused and continuous. Considering the privileges given to
small-scale fishers mentioned earlier, the result of this change in the
law contributes to increasing significantly the cumulative number and
tonnage of ‘unregulated and unreported’ fishing vessels in Indonesia,
from 917,115 GT to 1,278,240 GT in 2014 (Fig. 1). This contradicts the
current policy and efforts of the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries
to combat Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing. This
2016 definition was driven by the intent of the law makers (legislative)
for government (i.e. the Executive) to provide better protection and
empowerment for more fishers, especially small-scale fishers, and fish
farmers and salt farmers, who are perceived to be poor, marginalized
and vulnerable to social and economic shock, as mandated in the
Constitution (pers. comm. with Mr. Herman Khaeron, member of
Commission IV of Indonesian Parliament at a meeting with RBFM
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Marine Policy 100 (2019) 238–248
Interest group on 7 August 2017 in Bogor). Under Article 34 (2), the
Government of Indonesia is obliged to empower the weak and helpless
communities according to human dignity. This law is perceived,
therefore, as a legal document to develop and guide the implementation
of affirmative actions by the Government to support poor people.
Law No. 7/2016 also provides a definition of fisher (nelayan) and
recognizes four (4) categories of fisher namely: (1) small fisher (nelayan
kecil), (2) traditional fisher (nelayan tradisional), (3) worker fisher (ne-
layan buruh) and (4) owner fisher (nelayan pemilik). Fisher is defined as
“setiap orang yang mata pencahariannya melakukan penangkapan ikan”
(“person whose livelihood is catching fish”). Small fisher is defined as
“nelayan yang melakukan penangkapan ikan untuk memenuhi kebutuhan
hidup sehari-hari, baik yang tidak menggunakan kapal penangkap ikan
maupun yang menggunakan kapal penangkap ikan berukuran paling besar
10 (sepuluh) gros ton (GT)” (“fisher who conducts fish catching to meet
his/her daily needs operating without or with fishing boat of at the
largest 10 (ten) GT”). Traditional fisher is defined as “nelayan yang
melakukan penangkapan ikan di perairan yang merupakan hak perikanan
tradisional yang telah dimanfaatkan secara turun-temurun sesuai dengan
budaya dan kearifan lokal” (“fisher who conducts fish catching in the
waters of traditional fishing areas with rights that have been utilized
from generation to generation in accordance with local culture and
wisdom”). Worker fisher is defined as “nelayan yang menyediakan te-
naganya yang turut serta dalam usaha penangkapan ikan” (“fisher who
provides his/her work to participate in fish catching activity”). Finally,
owner fisher is defined as “nelayan yang memiliki kapal penangkap ikan
yang digunakan dalam usaha penangkapan ikan dan secara aktif mela-
kukan penangkapan ikan” (“fisher who owns a fishing boat used in fish
catching activity and actively conducting fish catching”).
Small-scale fisher has also been defined in the context of the divi-
sion of government authority over natural resource management as
described in the Law No. 23/2014 concerning Local Government. This
law grants authority to provincial governments to manage natural re-
sources in the sea up to 12 nautical miles, measured from the coastline
outwards into the ocean. However, that authority does not apply for
fishing activities conducted by small-scale fishers as stated in the Article
27 (5), which is defined in the explanatory section as “nelayan ma-
syarakat tradisional Indonesia yang menggunakan bahan dan alat pe-
nangkapan ikan secara tradisional, dan terhadapnya tidak dikenakan surat
izin usaha dan bebas dari pajak, serta bebas menangkap ikan di seluruh
pengelolaan perikanan dalam wilayah Republik Indonesia” (“Indonesian's
traditional community fisher who utilizes traditional materials and
fishing gear and who is not subject to requirement of business license,
exempted from tax, and unrestricted to fish in all parts of Fisheries
Management Areas of the Republic of Indonesia”). The responsible
government agency to empower small-scale fisher lies within District/
City government as depicted in the Appendix Y: Division of Affairs on
Marine and Fisheries; Sub-affairs: Capture Fisheries of Law No. 23/
2014 concerning Local Government.
3.3. Defining small-scale fisheries for enhanced fisheries management
3.3.1. Small-scale fisheries as it is defined in the literature and in southeast
Asian countries
A diverse range of definitions are found in the literature for small-
scale fisheries based on characteristics such as: nature of production
objectives (subsistence, artisanal or industrial), technological sophisti-
cation of the fleet and fishing gear, fleet size and ownership structure,
number of boat crew, community (historical) connections to resources,
seasonal migrations, operational ranges, and basis of operation (with or
without fishing boats) [30,50–53]. The term small-scale fishery has also
been used interchangeably with terms like: ‘artisanal’, ‘local’, ‘coastal’,
‘traditional’, ‘small’, ‘subsistence’, ‘non-industrial’, ‘low-tech’, and ‘poor’
fishery [53]. In Indonesia, the academic definition of small-scale fish-
eries and/or fishers has also been evolving since the mid-90s. According
to Priyono and Sumiono [54], in the mid-90s the Government of
A. Halim et al.
Fig. 4. Capture fishery characteristics in a “scale” of categories for marine
capture fisheries along a continuum, highlighting the challenges of defining
boundaries of capture fisheries scales (developed from description by Johnson
[55]).
Indonesia defined small-scale fisheries as all fishing boats relying on sail
or outboard engines for propulsion, whereas small-scale fishers were
those who operated fixed or mobile fishing gears, regardless of their
size, without the use of a boat.
Most, if not all, publications on small-scale fisheries acknowledge
the challenges of defining small-scale fisheries more precisely [8,50].
Defining the scale of small-scale fisheries is difficult as there are no
distinct boundaries of where they begin and end along the continuum of
fisheries categories (Fig. 4). A synthesis of information in the literature
revealed that fisheries categorization – especially the small-scale cate-
gory – is defined in two ways, namely based on a set of capture fisheries
characteristics [55] and specific (socio-economic and technical) attri-
butes, such as the nature of production, seasonal migration, fleet and
technological sophistication [50,52,53,56], that differentiate small-
scale fisheries from other fisheries.
Johnson [55] developed definitions of fisheries categories based on
the social organization of the fishery and space and time characteristics
of fishing operations (Fig. 4). His categories of social organization in-
clude components for 1) socio-economic considerations e.g., the nature
of fishing unit, nature of work, ownership, and investment; 2) level of
knowledge and technology e.g., fishing gears and fishing capacity; and
3) a fisheries management component that includes fisheries authority,
management unit and regulations. In addition, space and time char-
acteristics were defined by the fishing base, fishing location, fishing
duration and seasonality in fishing activities (Fig. 4). Each of these
characteristics were further described in relation to different scales of
the fisheries in the capture fisheries categories continuum (Fig. 4). In
some instances, the relationships might be clearly described and based
on scientific evidence, but in others, the relationship might be less
clear, depending on the level of knowledge of the fishery [55]. Often,
small-scale fisheries are seen as an activity of low productivity, low
yield and low value but that is not always true as they can be eco-
nomically efficient and produce high value fish for international mar-
kets [57].
An alternative method of defining small-scale fisheries is through
the association of selected specific (technical) attributes unique to
small-scale fisheries. Priyono and Sumiono [54] for example, defined
small-scale fisheries in Indonesia by the use of fishing boats relying on
sail or outboard engines for propulsion (Table 2). Fishers fishing with
gears without a boat are classified as small-scale, regardless of the size
or mobility of their gears. In other cases, Ruttan et al. [56], used in-
formation on annual catch-per-vessel, with low catches assumed to be a
characteristic of smaller boats that travel shorter distances and there-
fore are small-scale in terms of vessel movement. Carvalho et al. [52]
used the size of the vessel to differentiate small- from larger-scale
fisheries and defined small-scale fisheries in the Azores as all fishing
vessels measuring up to 12 m in length, which were still dominated by
small, old, wooden vessels of low power. Natale et al. [53] defined
small-scale fisheries in the European Union (EU) on the basis of their
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Marine Policy 100 (2019) 238–248
operational ranges of fishing activities – small-scale fisheries operating
closer to home ports with more limited time at sea. In summary, dis-
tinctive attributes used to define small-scale fisheries appear to vary
from country to country (Table 2).
Countries within the southeast Asian region also have a diverse
range of definitions for small-scale fisheries based on three different
criteria which are (a) technical criteria, (b) fishing ground and man-
agement factors, and (c) conceptual (e.g. socio-economic) considera-
tions ([57], Table 2). Technical criteria, such as engine power and
vessel size, are used by Thailand and Cambodia; fishing ground and
management factors are used by the Philippines; and socio-economic
considerations, combined with technical criteria, are used by Indonesia
([57], Table 2).
3.3.2. Developing a functional definition of small-scale fisheries in
Indonesia
The need to define small-scale fisheries becomes more evident as
fisheries modernize, increase investment in fishing, and expand their
activities, for example by increasing the size of fishing boats, making
longer fishing trips and fishing further from the home port. The ex-
pansion of fisheries modernization is a global phenomenon – even
small-scale fishers are modernizing so that the previously defined small-
scale fisheries may now include commercial operations. Johnson [55]
has argued eloquently that the power of defining the small-scale fish-
eries category lies in explicitly recognizing the values of social justice
and ecological sustainability, an argument that is particularly pertinent
to small-scale fisheries in Indonesia. A functional definition of small-
scale fisheries and small-scale fisher in Indonesia should be developed
to include these values.
Around the world, the small-scale fisheries category is generally
understood from the perspective of the scale (measure) of operation or
equipment (Table 2). In Indonesia, the present legal definition of small-
scale fishers specifies a boat measurement (gross tonnage/GT) to define
the fisheries category (Table 2). However, currently a person who owns
more than one fishing boat, with each vessel < 10 GT, is also cate-
gorized as a small-scale fisher, together with people who own one non-
motorized fishing boat. This is not equitable as the latter person is in a
far worse financial and social position than the multiple boat owner.
In developing a functional definition of small-scale fisheries and
small-scale fishers, specific attributes that differentiate them from other
capture fisheries categories and are unique to Indonesia fisheries should
be considered. These attributes must be clear enough to minimize dif-
ferent interpretations of the category by fisheries managers and en-
forcement officers. Therefore, technical and socio-economic attributes,
such as measure of fishing boat and unit where fishing-related decision
making takes place, are more likely to provide this clarity than those
based on conceptual attributes alone, such as ‘fishing as livelihood to
meet their daily life or daily necessity’ (see World Bank [57]).
3.3.3. The attributes that define small-scale fisher and categories of fishery
A workshop in 2017, organized by the MMAF, discussed and agreed
on a number of criteria to inform potential attributes for defining small-
scale fisheries and small-scale fishers in Indonesia (Table 3). In addition
to its functionality, the other main criteria were based on the ob-
servations that the Government used the term small-scale fishers not
only to define a segment of the fisheries, but also to decide on a target
group for government support and empowerment programs. The
workshop participants also agreed that the small-scale fisheries cate-
gory should be subject to suitable management measures to comply
with global market requirements (e.g., traceability), as some small-scale
fisheries in Indonesia target commercial species such as grouper (Ser-
ranidae) and tuna (Scombridae) that are in high demand by interna-
tional markets [17,35]. Suitable and innovative management options
for fisheries involving small-scale fishers (e.g., rights-based fisheries
management based on coastal area communal ownership claim, known
as ‘sasi’ in Maluku islands and eastern Indonesia [58], should therefore
A. Halim et al.
be explored to ensure that small-scale fishers still enjoy their privileges
and comply with management measures. Four main criteria were then
selected: (a) fairness, (b) functionality, (c) enforceability and service-
ability, and (d) alignment with national and international regulations,
which were used as the basis for identifying small-scale fisheries and
the attributes of small-scale fishers. The functionality criteria are
measured against: (i) licensing system, (ii) access to fishing grounds,
and (iii) catch reporting. As a result, the participants listed nine po-
tential attributes used to define small-scale fisheries in Indonesia
(Table 3).
As described earlier, Indonesian fisheries law No. 45/2009 has been
using the term small-scale fishers (nelayan kecil) rather than ‘small-scale
fisheries’ (perikanan skala kecil), which is in common use around the
world. It is argued that these two terms differ quite significantly: small-
scale fisher refers to the people who derive their livelihood from
fishing, whereas small-scale fisheries refers to the fisheries system in
which fishers are an integral component of the system. As this paper
focuses on defining small-scale fisheries, the analysis has focused on the
fisheries system involving a segment of people who are perceived to be
poor (small-scale). Consequently, the definition is focused mainly on
the attributes of fisheries (and fishing), rather than social attributes,
such as gender. The proposed definition is therefore mainly relevant for
managing fisheries systems involving poor, small-scale fishers in
Indonesia. A more precise and functional definition of small-scale
fisher, to identify those people for government support and empower-
ment programs to fisher communities, for example, should be devel-
oped separately for potential incorporation in relevant laws, other than
the fisheries law.
Based on the discussions from the workshops, review of the litera-
ture and purpose of this paper, a new definition of small-scale fisheries
is proposed for Indonesia as: “a fisheries operation, managed at the
household level, fishing without or with a fishing boat of < 5 GT and
using fishing gear that is operated by manpower alone”. This definition
incorporates three main attributes: fisheries are managed at the
household level, fishing with or without a boat using gears that are not
mechanized, and size of fishing boat less than 5 GT are clear and dis-
tinctive to differentiate the small-scale category from other capture
fisheries categories. Managing fisheries and their operations at the
household level means that all decision making processes in all related
fishing activities, including decisions on the use of certain fishing gears,
target species, fishing locations, market orientation, etc., are done by
the household. The decision making could also be made jointly, in-
volving more than one household, e.g., by fisher households belonging
to a fisher group. In a case where a fishing company (business/industry)
or cooperative employs, and or invests in ‘small-scale fishers’ to conduct
fishing, these small-scale fishers would not qualify as small-scale fishers
under the proposed definition. The attributes of fishing without or with
a fishing boat of less than 5 GT and using fishing gears that are not
highly mechanized (i.e. mainly operated by manpower) means that the
measure of fishing boat must be less than 5 GT and the fishing gears
used on the boat are operated by manpower.
The conventional stratification of subsistence, artisanal and com-
mercial fisheries in relation to boat size cannot be used as a differ-
entiating attribute as small outboard-powered fishing boats, especially
in the waters off eastern Indonesian, with deeper water immediately
adjacent to coastlines, could fish for tuna intended for export markets.
The capacity of fishing boats to travel further distances from the coast is
also not a strong differentiating factor, as demonstrated by the
Indonesian fishers collecting sea cucumber in the Timor Sea bordering
Australian waters, located far from their home port on Rote Island,
Indonesia [21]. Although these vessels are not under power, they use
sail and GPS to travel long distances and target specific fishing grounds.
Traditional fisheries – as defined by law described earlier – could be-
come a subset of small-scale fisheries, so long as they consistently
conduct fishing based on their traditions, including using traditional
fishing gears, operated mostly without mechanization.
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Marine Policy 100 (2019) 238–248
Finally, some reactions from both the government and the fisheries
sector to this proposed definition were anticipated in the workshop
discussions. A possible concern from government is that this definition
implies a major increase in vessels subject to fisheries management:
based on data from 2014, an additional approximately 48,000 boats, or
the equivalent total tonnage of 360,000 GT of fishing boats, measuring
from 5.1 to 10 GT, would be subject to fisheries management. A
stronger reaction might come from the fisheries sector, especially those
that will no-longer qualify as small-scale fishers, and thus would not be
eligible for government empowerment and support programs and
would now be subject to the requirements of fishing licenses and catch
reporting. However, there are no other options, even for ‘real’ small-
scale fisheries, but to comply with some level of fisheries management
measures, such as catch reporting in the future. Currently, all fish
products aimed at global (export) markets must demonstrate some level
of traceability (e.g., information on location of fishing ground and gear
used), therefore the government and all fisheries stakeholders in
Indonesia need to work hand in hand to raise awareness about these
market requirements, including the local small-scale fishers. Achieving
long-term, sustainable fisheries in Indonesia will require the manage-
ment of all types of fisheries, including small-scale fisheries.
4. Conclusions and recommendations
The main contribution of this paper to policy is a new definition of
small-scale fisheries in Indonesia and the methods applied to define it.
A list of attributes (Table 3) were developed to distinguish ‘real’ small-
scale fisheries from larger-scale fishers based on: (a) literature (in-
cluding legal documents), (b) discussions with relevant individuals in-
volved in the development of an earlier version of the definition, (c)
years of field observation, and (d) triangulation (confirmation) through
discussions and workshops involving relevant experts. Four criteria
were applied to develop the definition: fairness, functionality, en-
forceability and serviceability, along with alignment with national and
international regulations. These criteria ensure that the proposed defi-
nition is acceptable, applicable, suitable, manageable and enforceable.
Small-scale fisheries in Indonesia are characterized by very diverse
fishing gears, target species, fishing grounds, employment of mainly
part-time people, market orientation, genders and household members
involved, including that in the day-to-day fishing decision making
processes. In the coastal areas of Indonesia's West Papua and Maluku,
communities of traditional (adat) fisher still practice their customary
marine tenure areas and this has been acknowledged by local and
central governments. These traditions are still practiced today, to
varying degrees, to regulate the utilization of fisheries resources in their
tenure areas.
The current legal definition of small-scale fishers, as depicted in the
Indonesian Law No. 7/2016 (that includes all fishing vessels < 10 GT),
increases the size of the unregulated and unreported fishing fleet in
Indonesia, which conflicts with the goal of managing fisheries sus-
tainably and compromises Indonesia's legislated responsibility to em-
power the weak and poor fisher communities, as mandated by the
Constitution. These small-scale fishers are not regulated nor restricted
to fish anywhere in Indonesian waters, exempted from fisheries licen-
sing and tax and are only required to report on their presence to the
local authority where they reside. Small-scale fishers are the main
target of various regular government support and protection programs
as they fall within the government category of weak and poor people.
The owner of a fishing boat of 9.9 GT, for example, is a relatively,
wealthy person by “small scale fisheries standards” – as the annual
operating costs of such a vessel are in the order of hundreds of millions
of rupiah (~ tens of thousands of US$).
The suggested new definition of small-scale fisheries for Indonesia,
based on fishing gears that are not operated by engines, fisheries de-
cision making that takes place at the household level and fishing boats
of < 5 GT, would bring greater social justice as it ensures that small-
A. Halim et al.
scale fishers are the truly poor and disadvantaged people. It may also
enhance ecological sustainability as it intends to reduce the number of
unregulated fishing boats and increase catch reporting. It is also func-
tional and serviceable, as the attributes that define small-scale fisheries
are stated explicitly and are measurable, therefore enforceable at sea.
It is recommended that law makers, governments, and relevant
stakeholders consider including the above definition into the fisheries
law and other fisheries related policies to improve fisheries manage-
ment and better target government support and protection programs to
those most in need and empower and improve the well-being of small-
scale fishers in Indonesia.
Acknowledgement
The contribution of researchers from Socioeconomic Research
Agency of the Ministry of Marine Affaires and Fisheries (MMAF) is
acknowledged, including Tukul Rameo Adi and Tenny Apriliani during
the development of this paper. The Socioeconomic Research Agency of
MMAF is also acknowledged for hosting the small-scale fisheries
workshop on 29 November 2017 held in Jakarta and the participants of
the workshop: Prof. Sonny Koeshendrajana, Prof. Zahri Nasution, Dr.
Toni Ruchimat, Abdul Halim, Tenny Apriliani, Christiana Yuni, Harry
Christiyanto, Maulana Firdaus, Fatri Yandi, Dr. Arisetiarso
Soemodinoto, Veda Santiaji, Hikmah, Radityo Pramoda., Christina
Yuliaty, Nurlaili, Dr. Achmad Zamroni, Agung MS., Agung Prawiro, M.
Wildan, Ari Perbowo, and Yusuf Zainal, were thanked for their inputs
on the potential attributes to define small-scale fisheries. The United
States Agency for International Development (USAID)-Funded
Sustainable Ecosystems Advanced (SEA) Project (Contract Number:
AID-497-C-16-00008) in Indonesia that provided financial support to
the first author and for the series of meetings and consultations among
the authors and other stakeholders that led to the development of this
paper is also acknowledged. Although this document is made possible
by the support of the American people through the USAID, the contents
are the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the
views of USAID or the United States Government. This paper is part of
dissertation of the first author at the Marine Fisheries Technology
Program of the Graduate School of Bogor Agricultural University,
Bogor, Indonesia.
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