Vulnerability and Livelihood Adaptation Strategies of Small Island Fishers under Environmental Change: A Case Study of the Barrang Caddi, Spermonde Islands, Indonesia

Abstract

The changing climate brings various challenges to the fisheries industry, especially to those who depend their livelihood on fish in the small island. Through selective adaptation and mitigation strategies, many households may survive facing the unpredicted climate and weather conditions. Here we study how a small-scale fishers household in Indonesia struggled and searched their ways to face climate change which often resulted in a decrease in catch and income. Using a collective method of quantitative and qualitative, the study showed that the livelihood vulnerability level of Spermonde fishers is 0.56 (highly vulnerable). Three adaptation mechanisms such as ecological, economic and social, were discovered. The fishers often change their fishing ground location and add more fishing gear to catch the declining stock of fish or to make it easier for them to fish in the unpredicted weather. They used an ‘intensification’ strategy in dealing with climate change effects. This strategy is chosen due to the limited capital they have and a full dependency on the natural resources (fish) as their main source of food and income.