Suitability water quality parameters for seaweed culture at Muara Gembong coastal area, Bekasi District

Abstract

Seaweed is one of the vital export aquaculture commodities in West Java of Indonesia. Since 2013, seaweed production in Muara Gembong Sub-District, especially Pantai Mekar Beach and Pantai Sederhana Villages, can be produced 7.000 tons from total 10.000 seaweed culture fisheries of Bekasi District (80%) that was developed with a polyculture system. To ensure the long-term success of providing seaweed production, evaluation of suitable location is an essential step in any aquaculture operation. This study was conducted to analyze suitable sites for seaweed aquaculture in the coastal area of Muara Gembong based on the condition of water quality. Water quality data were collected from 11 stations during field surveys in March, July, and October 2018. Water quality parameters were observed with physical parameters (Secchi disk transparency, temperature, and depth) and chemical parameters (salinity, pH, DO, phosphate, and nitrate). Evaluation of water quality data included compile of matrix suitability design through some works of literature. The suitability coastal areas were analyzed to get suitable location used GIS software from coordinate data and water quality parameters, which were compared. The class “suitable” has a score of 4, the “suitable enough” class has a score of 3, the “suitable with conditionals” class has a score of 2, and the class “not suitable” has a score of 1. Based on the measurement result, the “suitable” areas were Station 7 (Front of Muara Mati), Station 8 (Outermost Muara Mati), Station 11 (Muara Kuntul), and Station 12 (Front of Muara Kuntul). The coverage area that was in a suitable area category is 962.72 Ha (9.63 km2). The location also linear with the result based on salinity, DO, and transparency (Secchi dish transparency). There are selected locations compared with other stations in Muara Gembong coastal waters because those locations face waste problems from Citarum Watershed and Jakarta Bay. Also, the sites serve as a source of livelihood for the community.