Kualiti Hidup Nelayan di Sumatera Barat: Kekangan dan Adaptasi

This study explorers the environmental constraints and adaptation strategies of the fishing community to improve their quality of life. The study was conducted in Padang, West Sumatera, Indonesia. The design of this study takes a quantitative approach. Data were collected through questionnaire surveys on 271 fishing community households representing urban and rural areas. The physical and social environments are the main constraints of the quality of life of the fishing community. The result reveals that to improve the quality of economy, the strategy adopted is through involvement of members of household in the work force. About 36.9 percent of the fishermen do a side job other than fishing. To contribute to the family income, about 44.3 percent of the wives are working and so are about 17.3 percent of the children. It is suggested that in order to improve the quality of life of the fishing communities, the government should focus on empowering the fishing community by taking into consideration the environmental aspects of the settlement of fishing communities who live in rural and urban areas.