Socio-Economic Profile and Monthly Income of Fishermen in Marang, Terengganu

Abstract

This study was carried out in Marang, Terengganu. The objective of this study is to analyse the socio-economic profile of fishermen and their monthly income. The Slovin’s formula was used to calculate the number of respondents in Marang and the data was collected through a survey involving 50 respondents consisting of Malay fishermen. The results of the study showed that the dominant types of fishing gear used were hooks and lines, gillnets and purse seines. The socio-economic profile showed that a majority of the fishermen (35%) were aged between 40-49 years, 36% of the fishermen had between 10-19 years of experience, and 55% of the fishermen had between 2-5 children. The average monthly income of the fishermen was MYR1853.49 for those using hooks and lines, MYR2105.09 for gillnets and MYR2595.39 for purse seines. It appears that the use of purse seines generated the highest income for the fishermen. Generally, the income was not fixed as it depended on the amount of catch for each fisherman’s trip, which was also affected by the season.