The vulnerability of small-scale fisheries is a serious concern and creating tourism as an alternative livelihood strategy to reduce vulnerability in small scale fisheries. The benefits of tourism to the livelihoods of vulnerable small-scale fishing communities suggest livelihood transition from fishing to tourism can be used as the alternative solution to reduce poverty. It is not explored how the socio cultural and biophysical setting contribute to the vulnerability and viable adaptation strategy for livelihoods of small-scale fisher communities. The paper examines how the various social economic and biophysical factors contribute to the livelihoods of small-scale fishers in Malaysia. Livelihood asset framework is utilized to understand the contribution of various assets on livelihood of fisher households. Data was collected from small scale fisher households from Langkawi Island of West Coast of Peninsular Malaysia, using a structured questionnaire. The results show that the contribution of social factors, trust, job skills and financial factors are important factors contributing to fishers' household income. The results show that the contribution of social factors is significant to household income, indicating that socio cultural factors are essential in improving the well-being of small-scale fisher households in Malaysia. The study provides valuable insights for decision-makers and practitioners to give priority to investments in social, economic and human capital assets for livelihood improvement of small-scale fisheries in Malaysia