Indonesian coastal areas are continually experiencing pressures that affect their sustainability. Beginning in the 1980s, the Indonesian government has introduced numerous development programs to address this problem. One type of program is seaweed farming projects. The aim of these projects is to provide the fishing community with alternative, environmentally-friendly fishing activities, as well as improving its livelihood. The objective of this paper is to assess the opportunities and constraints of seaweed farming projects with regard to sustainable coastal management in Indonesia. This study was conducted in the South Sulawesi province of Indonesia (the largest producer of seaweed in the country) by administering semi-structured and structured questionnaires to 200 fishermen. The results demonstrate that seaweed farming, mainly of the species Eucheuma cottonii, has become the main means of livelihood for these fishermen. As a result, destructive fishing has been considerably reduced and awareness has increased regarding the need to conserve the mangrove areas that protect the coastal ecosystem from degradation. Seaweed farming plays an important role in improving the socioeconomic conditions of fishers' communities, such as increasing their income and enhancing family and community participation, particularly that of women. However, constraints hinder the development of this activity. These constraints include diseases and post-harvest difficulties, problems of farm ownership, shifts in the monsoon season and marketing limitations. The marketing system that is in place has provided important services. One of the most important of these services is the quick delivery by middlemen of investment funds and money for daily Sustainable Development and Planning V 505
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Zamroni et al. (2011) studied this question.