Fishermen's perceptions of destructive fishing in the Pangkep regency, South Sulawesi, Indonesia

Abstract

To date, destructive fishing practices continue in the waters of South Sulawesi, particularly in the North Liukang Tuppabbiring District of the Pangkep Region. The fishermen's ability to reduce harmful fishing heavily depends on how they interpret destructive fishing and its impact on marine resources. The aim of this study is to examine fishermen's attitudes toward damaging fishing in the waters of South Sulawesi in the North Liukang Tuppabiring District. This study was carried out in two locations i.e. fishermen living on the coast and fishermen living on the islands. The method used in this study is a field survey using questionnaires on 50 respondents, consisted of 20 fishermen living in the coastal area and 30 fishermen living in the island area. The sampling technique utilizes the disproportionate stratified random sampling method. Data were analyzed by measuring index values, then categorization was done by using a composite index. The results showed that island fishermen had a lower perception level than coastal fishermen on economic aspects (3.52 vs 3.81), law enforcement (2.47 vs 2.81) and social conflict (2.69 vs 2.81). However, island fishermen have a higher level of perception than coastal fishermen on aspects of environmental preservation of natural resources (1.38 vs 1.06).