A cost benefit analysis of blue swimming crab gillnet fishery in Pangkajene Island, South Sulawesi

Abstract

Blue swimming crabs (Portunus pelagicus) are an important capture of the gillnet fisheries practiced around Pangkajene waters. The fisheries have been monitored by the Indonesian Blue Swimming Crab Association (APRI) by deploying enumerators who collect some data on the volume and size of crabs captured by fishermen. Information on the economic aspect of the fisheries, i.e., the business feasibility, has not been studied. The method in this study is observation and interviews. Based on monitoring data for 5 fishing units, the financial performance of the crab fisheries was evaluated. The fishing units were selected on the basis of records on eligible crabs. The available data collected from June 25th to July 5th, 2022, were processed and analyzed for calculations of business profit/loss analysis, benefit-cost ratio (B/C), break even point (BEP), and payback period (PP). The results showed that the blue swimming crab-catching business using net fishing gear is, on average feasible and profitable fishing gear with a Benefit Cost Ratio value of 1.36. Based on the calculation of the pay pack, the average period is 1, which means that fishermen only need one year to return the total capital. It is concluded that the crab fishing business is generally feasible financially.