Socio-economic influences and government support programs on the survival decisions of small-scale coastal fishers during the COVID-19 pandemic and the new normal

Abstract

Socio-economic conditions and government program policies are critical to the probability of fisher survival decisions during the COVID-19 pandemic and the New Normal. The data analysis technique is a logit model regression estimation. The results found that during the COVID-19 pandemic, the fishing infrastructure assistance program provided the most significant opportunity for the decision to survive as a fisherman. In contrast, the age of the fisherman and the number of family dependents provided the slightest opportunity. On the other hand, during the New Normal period, the fishing experience provides the most significant change for the fisher's decision, while the slightest chance is the fisher's age. This decision becomes his survival choice in working as a fisherman to fulfill the economic needs of his household. A sustainable mentoring program must continue to be implemented to overcome the uncertainty of fishermen's income.