REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry, in cooperation with the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), has launched an oceanography expedition to record information and data on the maritime conditions in eastern Indonesian.
The expedition involves over 25 researchers and is using the Baruna Jaya research boat owned by LIPI, Zulficar Mochtar, head of the ministry's Research and Development Department, said on Monday (29/8).
The expedition team had set sail from the Benoa seaport in Bali on August 27 and will take a route divided into three cruises: the Banda Sea Cruise, from August 27 to September 5; Maluku Sea Cruise, from September 6 to 15; and Makasar Strait and Lombok Strait, from September 20 to October 1.
During the expedition, the researchers will observe the maritime environmental conditions, and the activities will include taking measurements of the physical, chemical, and biological parameters.
They will also studying the impacts of La Nina on capture fishery activities, analyzing the maritime phenomenon, and forecasting maritime conditions.
Beside that, the team also hopes to gain a better understanding of the monsoon phenomenon, which is an extreme climatic change occurring in the southeastern region from July to September.
The researchers will also validate fishing boats and ships operating in eastern Indonesian waters in connection with illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing activities there. With regard to IUU fishing activities, the team will validate the types and presence of boats by using radar data and field validation, he remarked.
The researchers will also record the distribution or spread of rumpon (fads) for fishing in eastern Indonesian waters. The ministry had earlier identified areas, such as the Banda Sea in Maluku that has faced overfishing and ecosystem as well as environmental degradation problems, as its coral reefs were damaged.
The team joining the expedition also includes researchers from the Bandung Institute of Technology and the University of Deponegoro.
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