Indonesia is a vast archipelago of over 17,000 islands situated between the eastern Indian
Ocean and the western Pacific. The region is characterized by a variety of highly productive
coastal ecosystems, which support one of the largest marine fisheries in the world (Hopley
and Suharsono 2000). Over 80% of Indonesia’s estimated 240 million people live within
50 km of the coast. Artisanal fisheries play an important role in the country, making up more
than 95% of its total marine fisheries production (Burke, Selig, and Spalding 2002). Human
interactions with coral reefs in Indonesia date back to prehistoric times (Polunin 1983).
Some current reef fisheries, such as the collection of sea cucumbers, have been ongoing for
several centuries, and have since long ago linked Indonesian fishing communities to distant
markets (Butcher 2004; Schwerdtner M
́
a
̃
nez and Ferse 2010). However, the unsustainable
use of resources has risen dramatically over the past decades with increasing demands from
growing populations, international trade and changing consumption patterns (Miclat, Ingles,
and Dumaup 2006). Cyanide fishing for the live food and aquarium fish trades, blast fishing,
coral mining for construction materials and the aquarium trade, land-based pollution and
general overfishing have had considerable cumulative impacts on reefs over time (Barber