Defisherization: The political ecology of small-scale fisheries decline in Indonesia

In many coastal areas, the decline of small-scale fisheries is a daily reality for fishers. However, it is still framed as a technical issue, leaving unaddressed the power relations in marine governance that gradually erode fishers' livelihoods. This article develops the concept of defisherization to analyze how conservation-oriented coastal governance and ecological pressures cumulatively erode the livelihoods of small-scale fishers. Based on research in fishing communities along the coast of Buton, Southeast Sulawesi, the study employs observation, in-depth interviews (including a structured household questionnaire), and focus group discussions to examine the dynamics of this transformation. The findings suggest that defisherization occurs through the interplay of four main mechanisms: the narrowing of fishing spaces through permanent conservation zones; ecological pressures that drive household adaptation strategies without fully exiting the fisheries sector; symbolic persistence without adequate material reproduction; and the cumulative interaction between the three that gradually consolidates fisheries as a cultural identity but increasingly marginalizes it as a livelihood. This article offers defisherization as an analytical lens to move beyond explanations that view the decline of small-scale fisheries as an unintended consequence of conservation or environmental crises, demonstrating that environmental governance is vulnerable to undermining the material foundations of livelihoods. In this context, successful ecosystem protection often comes at the cost of compromising the sustainability of small-scale fishers' livelihoods. By offering an analytical lens to understand fisheries decline as a cumulative political-ecological process, this study emphasizes the importance of linking conservation agendas to the sustainable social reproduction of coastal communities.