January 3, 2024 — Small-scale fishers who have better access to financing, the support of a peer group, and a general awareness of environmental problems tend to be more likely to adopt eco-friendly fishing gear, a new study from Indonesia has found.
In turn, these same fishers largely enjoy better catches, improving both their welfare and the sustainability of the stocks they target, according to the findings by researchers from the Indonesian fisheries ministry and the national research agency.
“The results of our work are very relevant to the current management of sustainable fisheries in Indonesia,” corresponding author Carunia Mulya Firdausy, from the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) and Tarumanagara University in Jakarta, told Mongabay in an email.
The study looked at 647 fishers who target blue swimming crabs off the north coast of the island of Java, the heart of Indonesia’s fishing industry. They found that fishers who opted to switch to less-destructive gear tended to be those who were involved in fisheries groups or cooperatives, had access to loans or a higher degree of financial capability, and were more aware of uncertainties in the climate, weather, and currents.