BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Mangrove ecosystems are fundamental to coastal fisheries and food systems. Despite their importance, a critical knowledge gap remains regarding their precise impact on fisheries productivity and multidimensional food security in small island socio-ecological systems. The study objectives were to investigate how mangrove ecosystem integrity regulates environmental stability, trophic productivity, fisheries performance, livelihood resilience, and household food security in Tanakeke Island, Indonesia.METHODS: The study integrated mangrove vegetation analysis, soil and water quality measurements, plankton-benthos assessments, fisheries observations. It also included governance analysis, rapid appraisal for fisheries multidimensional scaling and dynamic systems modelling. The household dietary diversity score and household food insecurity access scale were utilized to conduct food security surveys among 336 households.FINDINGS: The results revealed a strong ecological gradient from intact mangrove ecosystems to pond-dominated degraded landscapes. Healthy mangrove systems exhibited higher biodiversity, more stable trophic structures, improved environmental regulation, and greater plankton, benthos, and fisheries productivity. Conversely, degraded systems demonstrated a clear trend toward trophic simplification and nutrient imbalance, which directly correlated with declining fisheries productivity and rising livelihood vulnerability. Tanakeke Island currently consists of approximately 40 percent mangrove and 60 percent aquaculture ponds, suggesting that the current landscape composition may be approaching ecological carrying capacity limits. This condition compromises the ecosystem''''s capacity to regulate nutrient cycling, maintain habitat stability, and sustain fisheries productivity. Despite continued fish availability, low dietary diversity (4.0-4.7) and 92.85 percent of households experienced food insecurity. These data suggest that food insecurity is driven by systemic vulnerabilities—specifically ecological degradation, livelihood instability, and restricted socio-economic resilience—rather than being solely a function of agricultural yields.CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that mangrove ecosystem integrity regulates fisheries productivity and food security through cascading socio-ecological pathways linking environmental regulation, trophic productivity, livelihoods, and food access. The study integrates ecological integrity, trophic dynamics, fisheries productivity, and livelihood resilience into a socio-ecological framework for small island systems. The framework also incorporates multidimensional food security, and ecological carrying capacity. The findings emphasize that achieving sustainable food systems in small island contexts relies fundamentally on preserving ecological integrity across the landscape. The study also emphasizes the urgent need for ecosystem-based mangrove-fisheries management to restore resilience and long-term sustainability.
Fadilah et al. (Wed,) studied this question.