This paper examines the ecological cognition of Sama-Bajau fishermen by analyzing the naming of fish, fishing grounds, and landmarks used by those who engage mainly in open-sea fishing in the Banggai Islands, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. The field survey assumed that reef rocks and celestial bodies are landmarks used only by Sama-Bajau fishermen because their Sama-Bajau names have been shared among the fishermen until the present day along with their detailed origins. Compared to these landmarks, capes and bays are spread over relatively long distances, so minute differences are difficult to discern. Sama-Bajau fishermen have an equal interest in the names of capes, bays, and reef rocks. The study also clarifies that the background to the naming and folk taxonomy of landmarks is related to differences in the appearance of landmarks and living spaces used by Sama-Bajau and non-Sama-Bajau groups. Therefore, folk taxonomies attract greater and lesser interest or an intermediate level of interest. The study clarifies that Sama-Bajau folk taxonomies have similar features to landscape recognition from a fisherman’s perspective. This is the first attempt to comprehensively classify fish, fishing grounds, and targets based on indigenous knowledge of the sea.
