<![CDATA[The marine debris crisis confronting Jaring Halus, a community-based mangrove and marine tourism village in Secanggang District, Langkat Regency, North Sumatra, threatens not only its ecological condition but also its reputation as a tourism destination; this study analyzes the crisis communication strategies applied to manage that reputation, using Situational Crisis Communication Theory and Image Restoration Theory. Using a qualitative case study design, the study collected secondary data through document analysis and non-participant observation of digital content, news coverage, social media discourse, and government records, and analyzed them using Miles' interactive technique. The waste problem in Jaring Halus is predominantly a victim cluster crisis, since most debris originates from land-based and transboundary sources carried by the Malacca Strait current rather than the local community; however, media framing still places reputational risk on the destination. Effective responses combine rebuilding strategies (community-based waste banks and mangrove rehabilitation), bolstering strategies rooted in local wisdom, particularly the jamu laut ritual and mangrove biodiversity narratives, and diminishment messaging clarifying the transboundary origin of the debris. These findings extend crisis communication and image restoration research, previously focused mainly on large-scale disasters and internally caused crises, to an externally caused, small-scale, community-managed destination; the novelty lies in the resulting integrated multi-stakeholder crisis communication model combining diminishment, rebuilding, and bolstering strategies for environmentally caused reputational threats, offering practical implications for village governments, tourism agencies, and community tourism groups in designing evidence-based, culturally grounded communication responses.]]>
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