Prof Agus S Atmadipoera, IPB University Oceanography Expert: El Nino is a Good Sign for the Emergence of a Great Fish Harvest

Prof Agus S Atmadipoera, IPB University Oceanography Expert, said that the El Nino phenomenon is actually a good sign for the marine sector in Indonesia. El Nino will trigger the emergence of a bumper harvest of fish in the upwelling zone.

“On land, El Nino is a scourge in weakening national food security. On the contrary, in the sea, the El Nino phenomenon has a positive impact on increasing national fish stocks,” he said.

Prof Agus explained that the cause of this condition is the intensity of upwelling that strengthens and sea water temperatures tend to be cooler in El Nino years. This condition triggers maximum primary productivity of the sea.

“This condition also gives blessings to the fishermen of the archipelago. The harvest usually takes place a few months after the peak of El Nino, which is predicted to occur in August-September 2023,” he added.

The abundance of fish in this zone is closely related to the strengthening of upwelling intensity in the five upwelling zones of the archipelago, namely in the waters south of Java, Banda Sea, Maluku Sea and Aru Sea.

Upwelling is a phenomenon of rising seawater from the deep layers that brings nutrient-rich seawater and cooler temperatures to the surface. The stronger the intensity of upwelling is characterized by lower sea surface temperatures.

“The supply of nutrients near the surface triggers an intensive photosynthesis process by phytoplankton as primary producers in the sea,” said Prof Agus.

Prof Agus said that the abundance of phytoplankton is the beginning of the food chain in the sea, namely the predation process by zooplankton as the first level consumer. In short, the food chain continues until it reaches the level of predation by large pelagic fish, such as tuna and skipjack.

The upwelling phenomenon, he said, provides prospects for fishermen and the marine fishing industry to boost their fish catch production. But on the other hand, the government must also encourage the marine fisheries industry to optimize this condition.

“The government must encourage the marine fisheries industry and fishermen of the archipelago to optimize the production of capture and post-harvest fisheries in the El Nino 2023 fish harvest. Marine and fisheries subsidies also need to be disbursed to strengthen national food security, especially national fish barns,” he explained. (IAAS/ARD)