South Pagai Island, facing the Indian Ocean, is a fish-producing area in Mentawai Islands Regency, West Sumatra Province, Indonesia.
Sinaka village in this sub-district is famous as an octopus producer. In 2007, sales of octopus caught by traditional fishermen reached IDR 4 billion (USD $267,151), with each fisherman earning an average of IDR 1 million (USD $66.79) per day.
However, in the last five years, fish catches have declined sharply. By 2022, fishers' income from octopus was expected to be only IDR 300,000 (USD $20.04) per day. The cause of this decline is due to overly exploitative fishing.
This project explores the efforts of the Sinaka village government and residents to protect their traditional fishing grounds. It looks into their struggle to maintain, control, and monitor the marine environment in their village so that fish resources remain sustainably available.
