Socio-economic Conditions of Small-scale Fishers in Trang Province and Their Blue Swimming Crab (Portunus pelagicus) Fishing

Abstract

     The results from this study showed that there were 752 Blue Swimming Crab (BSC) fishers in Trang province. Five fishing gears are mainly employed, i.e., crab gill net (CGN), red crab trap (RCT), collapsible crab trap (CCT), traditional crab trap (TCT), and crab dip-net (CDN). Households of fishermen particularly crab gill net fishers are located near the islands while the other fishers lived near the coastal areas. Average age of fishers was 40 years old and primary school was the education level for the majority of them. The fishers were local domicile, their household revenues and household expenses per month were 5,846 and 5,148 baht, respectively. The number of fishing days per month of CGN was lowest. Highest catch and fishing cost were generated by CCT. There was no significant difference in the catch generated by CGN, RCT, and TCT. However, CGN generated fishing cost higher than RCT and TCT in a case of loss of fishing gear because the cost per unit of CGN is higher than those gears. The main problems of BSC fishery were monsoon, loss of fishing gear, low revenue, and low fish price. The recommendations for BSC fishery development were: 1) the policies making should consider the 2 main factors that influenced the fishermen using the different types of gear. These factors were fishing ground and living area of fishermen. 2) Creating coordination network among local fishers. 3) The simple management programs, and 4) the management programs should be harmonized with their economic condition.