This paper analyses the failure of social policy implementation for rural coastal communities. We focus on the comparison of two social policies for fishermen communities. This research was carried out in rural coastal areas in Natuna and Bintan, Kepulauan Riau, Indonesia. We used a qualitative approach to explore both the content and the context of the policies. A series of participants were approached through an in-depth interview. This study shows that the stressing on the policy content has ignored the policy context, causing policy failure. Theoretically, this research adds to the body of literature on policy implementation by offering a comparative case study. In the process of implementing public policy, we practically suggest to the government to provide special attention to the context of where the policy is implemented to minimize the policy failure.