Fish larvae spatial distribution and composition in FMA 711

Abstract

The South China Sea is the western part of Sunda Shelf, divided into shallow water in the southern part and deeper in the north. The Indonesian Fishery Management Area (FMA) 711, located in the southern part of this area inside the country’s territorial waters, was one of fertile and high in biodiversity in terms of fish species. The collection of fish larvae was conducted as part of biological parameters on a stock assessment cruise survey in October 2017 using the Baruna Jaya IV research vessel. Results showed that there were 47 families of fish larvae found in 31 sampling stations. Abundance ranges from 16,2 – 2342,2 ind/1000 m3 with an average of 413.6 ind/1000 m3. The number of Families varies in every station from 2 – 22 with an average of 11. The dominant taxon was Engraulidae with 21.47%; followed by Nemipteridae, Scaridae, and Pomacentridae with 11,55%, 7,72%, and 7,34% respectively. Family with the highest distribution was Nemipteridae and Pomacentridae which cover 80,65 % of the sampling area. Others that also have high coverage are Carangidae, Scaridae, and Labridae with 64,52 %, 61,29 %, and 58,06 % respectively. This result indicates the high biodiversity of the area.