Socioeconomic profile of fishermen in Marang, Terengganu

Abstract

The job as a fisherman is one of the famous job in the east coast state in Malaysia such as Terengganu because it is located near to the coastal area. Marang is one of the districts which have a quit large number of people who working as a fishermen. But there are some problems faced by the fishermen such as having low income, problem in the assistance provided by the government and so on. The overall objective of the study was to identify and analyse the socio-economic profile of fishermen in Marang, Terengganu. To attain this, a few secondary objectives were taken which include: ( 1) to identify and analyse the factors that could affect the total household income of the fishermen, (2) to explore and analyse the living condition of the fishermen and infrastructure facilities provided in their area, and (3) to make some policy recommendations that can improve the socio-economic profile of those fishermen. This study conducted a survey among the people in Marang and collected primary data by interviewing 120 fishermen using a set of structured questionnaire. The study used multiple linear regression model and some other descriptive analysis to come up with empirical findings. The study, however, found that the independent factors such as education of the respondent, income of the respondent as a fisherman, income from other source or economic activities, income receive from other family member and experience of the respondent are significantly affecting the dependent variable which is monthly total household income. The study revealed that the total household income of fishermen is important in determining their socioeconomic profile. There are some policies such as Fishermen Entrepreneur Development Programme; Fishermen Income Improvement Programme and so on are recommended to improve the fishermen income and also their socioeconomic profile.