Title: Improving profitability of low profit fishermen's associations in Malaysia

There are 87 fishermen’s associations (FAs) operating throughout Malaysia. Their aim is to uplift the living status of the fishing communities. Because of their importance in national food production, the associations are also concerned with the development and the social and economic status of the Malaysian fishermen. Their performance is evaluated by the Fisheries Development Authority of Malaysia (FDAM), a government statutory body that is in charge of governing and controlling the FAs. The FAs are analysed and categorised based on the efficiency of their operations according to their profitability. However, data proves that some of the enterprises are running at below acceptable performance. The FDAM, which is also the Registrar of FAs in Malaysia, is responsible for identifying these problems and seeking solutions, actions or changes in operations that can be suggested for the less profitable FAs in Malaysia in order to improve their performance towards establishing strong, viable and capable fishermen’s organisations, and hence, their profitability. When profit margins of an FA are decreasing, the need for a reliable and efficient profitability analysis model becomes more important. In this paper, a relevant and suitable model of profitability ratios will be developed and used to evaluate the present situation and to test the management operating effectiveness. This study is a descriptive analysis where primary and secondary data and information are gathered.