Model of skipjack (Katsuwonus pelamis) production based on social and economic aspects in the Buhung Pitue Island, Indonesia

One of the fisheries resources with big potential and high economic value is skipjack tuna
(Katsuwonus pelamis). Skipjack tuna is a valuable commercial fish, sold fresh, frozen, or processed as
canned fish, dried fish, or smoked fish. The study aims to analyze a model of increasing the production
of skipjack with employing variables of social and economic aspects on Buhung Pitue Island. The
analytical method used in this research was the inferential statistical analysis using the SEM (Structural
Equation Modeling) approach. Respondents were 270 fishermen who caught skipjack tuna on Buhung
Pitue Island, Indonesia. The results showed that the average profit of fishermen in the peak season
was IDR 41,812,500, while the regular season was IDR 23,062,500. Meanwhile, the average of fishing
trip was at around 16 days to 20 days per trip. The results of the hypothesis analysis show that there
are two unproven hypotheses, namely the H2 hypothesis (the mediating variable did not significantly
influence the increase of skipjack tuna fishing production in the Buhung Pitoe Island), and hypothesis
H6 regarding social factor variables. Futhermore, a model of the relationship between fisherman
characteristics and catch output through economic considerations could be inferred for enhancing
skipjack tuna production in the Buhung Pitoe Island.