This study investigates the effects of fishermen’s competence and catch management capability on income improvement among coastal fishing communities in East and West Manokwari, Indonesia. A quantitative survey was conducted with 100 active fishermen selected through purposive sampling. Data were analyzed using validity and reliability tests, multiple linear regression, t-tests, F-tests, and coefficient of determination analysis. The results reveal that both fishermen’s competence and catch management capability have positive and significant effects on income improvement. Catch management capability is the more dominant predictor, highlighting the importance of post-harvest handling, storage, distribution, and marketing in generating higher economic value from fishery products. The model explains 74.1% of the variation in fishermen’s income improvement, indicating strong explanatory power. These findings suggest that improving coastal livelihoods requires an integrated strategy that combines human capital development with operational capability strengthening across the fisheries value chain. The study contributes to small-scale fisheries and coastal development literature by showing that fishermen’s welfare depends not only on catching capacity, but also on the ability to manage, process, and market catches more effectively.
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