Seaweed Farming: An Alternative Livelihood for Small-Scale Fishers?

Development of alternative livelihoods has become a popular policy to uplift the socio-economic status of small-scale fishers and to reduce fishing pressure on overexploitedfisheries. Seaweed farming has been incorporated into many community-based coastalresources management projects and fisheries management initiatives as an alternativelivelihood option for fishers in tropical developing countries. This is typically based onseveral assumptions, either unstated or explicit, of program designers, project managersand senior policy makers. First, it is often assumed that small-scale fishers are poor andthat this is related in many cases to the overexploited nature of the resource. Secondly, itis assumed that fishers are willing to give up fishing in favor of more lucrative economicopportunities, such as seaweed farming. Lastly, it is assumed that as fishers take upalternative livelihoods such as seaweed farming, this will reduce pressure on the fisheries.This is an excellent example of a project logic framework whereby certain inputs (e.g.promotion of seaweed farming) will lead to specific outputs (e.g. improved socio-economic status of fishers, reduced fishing pressure and improved resource status). Thispaper will examine the evidence underlying these assumptions and the extent to whichdevelopment of seaweed farming as an alternative livelihood can increase socio-economic status of fishers and reduce fishing pressure based on a number of examplesfrom coastal communities in North Sulawesi, Indonesia