Dedi Supriadi Adhuri

The root causes of illegal fishing internationally are numerous and diverse, but is predominantly framed in the literature and media as a security threat and/or crime. This casts illegal fishers as rational decision-makers who perceive the benefits of engaging in unlawful fishing as likely to outweigh the perceived risks and costs. However, a growing scholarship indicates that fisher decision-making is likely to be much more nuanced and be motivated by much more specific ‘illegal fishing drivers’. These actor-based drivers are enabled by the broader social, economic and political contexts in the environment where people live and work. This has led to the emergence of new conceptualizations of illegal fishing, for example, as a ‘wicked problem’, and/or as a product of opportunity rather than underlying motivation. In this paper, we share the results of a collaborative Australian–Indonesian research study into the multiple drivers of the high levels of illegal Indonesian small-scale (including artisanal) transboundary fishing in northern Australian waters since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. We use a conceptual framework of non-compliance that captures a dynamic interplay of behavioral drivers that appear to facilitate the recent spike in illegal Indonesian small-scale fishing in the Australian Fishing Zone. Drawing on mixed methods research conducted in four communities of Nusa Tenggara Timur Province, Indonesia, we identify seven behavioral driver categories: economic and livelihood; COVID-19 related; psychological; environmental; cultural and historical; social; and policy and management. These drivers and their 28 dimensions reveal some of the contextual enablers that appear to underpin Indonesian small-scale transboundary fishing. These findings help our understanding of the resurgence of illicit fishing incursions and support identifying long-term solutions for viable community development and policy alternatives for enforcing Australia’s borders. Our study contributes more broadly to the study of non-compliance in small-scale transboundary fishing and small-scale fishing livelihoods.

Small-scale fisheries are globally important to food security, nutrition, culture, ecosystem health, and livelihoods for millions of people. They also face considerable ecological, and economic pressures, including climate change, privatization, and top-down decision-making. Historically, processes of exclusion (e.g. industrialization, market forces, and settler colonialism) have persisted in the global food system. To mitigate against such processes and protect the livelihoods and human rights of small-scale fishers, the socially responsible seafood movement has emerged. This paper examines the local relationships in a seafood value chain in Indonesia, which extends from village fishers to international export markets. We present a case study from Sumbawa Indonesia, where a foreign direct seafood exporter is focused on sourcing socially responsible seafood from waters worked by small-scale fishers. Applying a systems lens, we analyse how a system driven by market forces and underpinned by western values can integrate with a system driven by traditional customs, social ties, and trust. The findings demonstrate that social connections and feedbacks within the value chain play a key role. Systems thinking reveals pathways to help synergize the two systems. This research shows that to deliver on the promise of socially responsible seafood, better understanding is needed of the interconnected social, cultural, and economic ties of small-scale fishers.

Concern over illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing has led to a number of policy, trade and surveillance measures. While much attention has been given to the impact of IUU regulation on industrial fleets, recognition of the distinct impacts on small‐scale fisheries is conspicuously lacking from the policy and research debate. In this paper, we outline three ways in which the application of IUU discourse and regulation undermines small‐scale fisheries. First, the mainstream construction of “illegal,” “unreported” and “unregulated” fishing, and also the categorical use of “IUU” in an all‐inclusive sense, disregards the diversity, legitimacy and sustainability of small‐scale fisheries practices and their governing systems. Second, we explore how the recent trade‐related measures to counter IUU fishing mask and reinforce existing inequalities between different sectors and countries, creating an unfair burden on small‐scale fisheries and countries who depend on them. Third, as IUU fishing is increasingly approached as “organized crime,” there is a risk of inappropriately targeting small‐scale fisheries, at times violently. Reflecting on these three trends, we propose three strategies by which a more sensitive and ultimately more equitable incorporation of small‐scale fisheries can be supported in the global fight against IUU fishing.

Krueck, N. C., A. Y. Abdurrahim, D. S. Adhuri, P. J. Mumby, and H. Ross. 2019. Quantitative decision support tools facilitate social-ecological alignment in community-based marine protected area design. Ecology and Society 24(4):6. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-11209-240406

Indonesia is a country of rich maritime culture. One of the reasons for this is the archipelagic nature of the country. Indonesia is a country with 5.8 millions m2 of its territory is marine water. Our sea is three times larger than the land, which is only 1.9 millions m2. These waters—located in the tropical zone which support high biodiversity—is also the location where around 17,000 islands, mostly small in size, sit. This makes Indonesia as the second longest country in the world in term of coastline (95.181 km). With these geo-spatial characteristics, it is a nature call for Indonesians, particularly coastal people to adapt their live and livelihoods to marine environment. Thus, for us to develop maritime culture is essential. Further, it is not just a maritime culture but a culture that should be adapted to tropical waters— with mega bio-diversity—, shallow and deep water of and between Idian and Pacific Oceans. Hence, it’s logical if our maritime culture is so rich.