Socio-economic Characteristics of the Skipjack Fishery in Indonesia

The skipjack fishery was introduced to Indonesia by Japanese fishermen and developed by the local fishermen and entrepreneurs in their own way. At present, Indonesia is the fourth largest producer of skipjack-tuna in the world. Although the bulk of catch is taken by the small scale skipjack-tuna fishery which plays an important role in Indonesian fisheries, little is known about the socio-economic situation of this fishery. For this reason, this study aims to explore the socio-economic characteristics of the small scale skipjack fishery in North Sulawesi, especially in Bitung which is the main fishing base. Traditions dominate this fishery. The structure is of the typical small scale fishery where the exploitation rate remains far below the MSY, fish middlemen control the domestic marketing, and laborer's attitude and way of life adhere essentially to subsistence