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The study of artisanal fishermen in Merchang Lagoon, Marang, Terengganu and their
sustainability livelihood

1
* 2
1 Miza Nursyazwin Shuamai, Alfian Zein , Yuary Farradia

1 Faculty of Fisheries and Food Science, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu,
21030 Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, Malaysia.
2 Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Development, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu,
21030 Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, Malaysia.

* Corresponding author: alfian.zein@umt.edu.my

Abstract:

Merchang is a coastal village in Terengganu and it is located to the south of Marang, Terengganu,
Malaysia. Fishery is the main economic activity of the community there. The objective of this research
was to focus on artisanal fishermen in Merchang Lagoon, to study the socio-economic profile, income,
determinants of welfare, and sustainable livelihood. Data collection was conducted from December
2019 to January 2020 regarding their socio-economic profile, income, livelihood, and welfare. Slovin’s
formula was used to obtain a sample size of 65 respondents. The analysis method that had been used
was descriptive, income, welfare, and sustainable livelihood analysis. Smart PLS software was utilized
to determine the factors influencing welfare. The results of the study show that all respondents in the
study area are Muslim men, who mostly are married (81.5%) and aged above 51 years old (47.7%). The
average income of fishermen was MYR1,709.23, while the average household income was
MYR3,338.77. The welfare level of fishermen’s households is found to be prosperous because it exceeds
the poverty threshold, the Malaysian Poverty Line Income (PLI) (MYR2,208) and the absolute poverty
line (MYR7.96/day) issued by World Bank. The result of PLS-SEM analysis proves that the factors that
influence fishermen’s welfare are expenditure (β = -.323, t = 2.838, p = .005), income (β = .309, t =
3.028, p = .003) and production factors (β = -.414, t = 5.489, p = < .001). The livelihood of fishermen
in Merchang Lagoon is sustainable enough for physical, human, social, and financial capital assets, but
less sustainable for natural capital assets.

Keywords: Artisanal fishermen, Income, PLS-SEM, Socio-economic, Sustainable livelihood