Professor of IPB University: Oceanography Science Able to Reveal the Mysteries of the Archipelago’s Sea
Prof Agus S Atmadipoera, Professor of IPB University said, the science of oceanography can reveal the mysteries of the sea in the archipelago, one of which determines the time to harvest fish. He conveyed this to the media crew during the Press Conference of the Professor's Pre-Scientific Oration, (25/5) online.
Furthermore, he said various important oceanographic phenomena that occurred in the Archipelago Sea (NHS) had a direct impact on the weather, ecosystems and fishery resources, as well as other maritime activities.
"LKN oceanography is a multidisciplinary scientific study involving the use of advanced technology and methods to reveal various aspects of the ocean, including the physical processes and dynamics of ocean circulation, ecosystems, and ocean-atmosphere interactions," he said.
In his study, Prof. Agus revealed that the Java Sea in the December-February period formed currents which generally flows eastward. It turns out that this current also controls the migration of dominant small pelagic fish that like to live in fairly low salinity, such as the siro fish.
"Meanwhile, during the June-August period, monsoon currents flow westward and replace it with water with a fairly high salinity from Makassar. This current movement is followed by the male mackerel, tembang and swallowfish which are dominant this season," he added.
This pattern of fishing movements, he said, was evident from the pattern of shifting positions of fishing vessels detected by the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) satellite.
At that moment Prof Agus also alluded to the El Nino anomaly phenomenon which is predicted to appear in 2023. From the results of previous studies, it was revealed that at sea, El Nino events had a positive impact on marine fisheries. The occurrence of El Nino is strongly correlated with the emergence of marine fish harvests.
"This is because the intensity of upwelling currents which normally carry plankton and nutrients (upwelling) has increased drastically. It is hoped that fishing areas such as Palabuhanratu, Cilacap will soon receive the blessings of the sea from this El Nino incident," he explained.
The upwelling phenomenon itself is the rise of low temperature and nutrient-rich water from the depths to the surface in response to the push of surface currents by the monsoon winds. Spots upwelling has high marine primary productivity and correlates with high marine fisheries production. Prof Agus said the location, mechanism and period of upwelling in several LKN seas had been successfully quantified. (dh/Rz)
