Seaweed farming and artisanal fisheries in an Indonesian seagrass bed - complementary or competitive usages?

Abstract

In Indonesia, coastal villages traditionally depend on artisanal fisheries. Increasing population density and fishing pressure make alternative sources of income become more important. One possibility is seaweed farming, which has been introduced in many communities. There, algae farming is restricted to shallow waters and their natural ecosystems, e. g. seagrass beds. Seagrass beds themselves are important habitats for many fish species are the basis for fisheries. If seaweed farming causes the seagrass ecosystem to change, its economical benefits might be outbalanced by losses in the fisheries sector. The field research for this thesis included investigations of seaweed farming and its economic importance, its influence on seagrass flora, the economic importance of artisanal fishery�s practices and implications for management, and the variation of fish stock and gill net fishery in the seagrass bed off Puntondo, a small village in district Takalar, South Sulawesi, Indonesia.