Sustaining livelihoods from the seas : Sama Bajo vulnerabilities and resilience

Indonesia is the largest archipelagic state in the world, with the fourth largest population (260 million). It is therefore unsurprising that the fisheries sector is a vitally important segment of the national economy. Over six million people are engaged directly with inland and wild-caught marine fishing and fish farming (FAO 2014). The majority of small-scale operators utilise low technology equipment and vessels (<10 gross tonnes). All remain tied in varying degrees to seafood-based trading and consumption to sustain their livelihoods. But many more Indonesians are dependent on the fisheries catch for their sustenance, with fish and seafood consumption now providing 50 per cent of the national protein supply, and per capita consumption rising over fourfold, from 10.6 kg/year in the 1970s to 46.49 kg/year in 2017 (CEA 2018). In addition to freshly harvested fish, an important proportion of the catch (eight per cent) is also consumed in dried, salted, smoked and fermented forms (FAO 2014). Urbanisation is one of the driving forces underlying the trend of growing demand (Foale et al. 2013).