8. Compliance
On an average, compliance with fisheries rules has not changed significantly, but the variance
in answers is wide. Some respondents felt that compliance is lower now, while others felt it
is actually higher compared to the past. This last group of fishers thought that compliance is
high because of the sanctions and control, tighter rules, and awareness. It was mentioned
that compliance depends highly on the village government (dusun head) and the church.
Considering the absence of an enforcement body, these comments are confusing.
It was noted that compliance depends on economic needs that may force people to break the
rules. One-third of the respondents agreed that it was acceptable for a fisher to break the rules.
14.8.3 Social sustainability
9. Family well-being and income
Family well-being has improved over the last years, but no further improvements are expected
in the future. The notes from Seri showed a very diverse picture. Increasing competition is an
important factor influencing well-being. Competition often has a negative connotation but
some felt that their increased efforts improved their well-being. However, in most cases, the
improvements were counterbalanced by increased economic needs.
10. Income
The income of fishers was reported to have significantly increased over the past 15 years. Development
programs, improved infrastructure, and higher catches from large-scale fishing techniques have a
positive effect on the household income. The fishers’ future perspective is generally positive too, but
some small-scale fishers expected a future decline of their income once the fish stock is depleted.
11. Tradition of collective action
Communal activities in the village were significantly less compared to the past and are
expected to drop even more in the future. The main cause is said to be the introduction of the
“rental system”. This change refers to the fees that people nowadays ask for services that
they would deliver for free before. Loss of tradition, individualism, conflicts in the village,
alcohol abuse and TVs were also mentioned as negatively affecting communal activities. The
fishers rate past performance as very high (mostly 10s) but opinion on future performance is
extremely divided with scores ranging from 1 to 9.
12. Discussion of village issues
Discussion of issues in the village has decreased significantly compared to the past, and further
decrease is expected.
13. Community harmony
Harmony in the community is perceived as being significantly less now than in the past and
further deterioration is expected. The score on village harmony was not only very low
compared to other villages (5.07), but nearly all respondents also made notes about conflicts
in the village, a clear indicator that this issue is on people’s minds. Alcohol abuse, primarily
by youths, is a major problem. Leadership is another important reason for conflicts. Minor
192 An Institutional Analysis of Sasi Laut in Maluku, Indonesia