Water properties at fish cage culture In Sulaman Bay, Tuaran

• Main Author: Shybron Jafferysin
• Format: Academic Exercise
• Language: English
• Published: 2012
• Subjects: SH Aquaculture. Fisheries. Angling
• Online Access: https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/13480/1/ae0000003036.pdf; https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/13480/

Sulaman Bay is one of the aquaculture sites in Sabah that located at the west coast of Sabah, facing to the South China Sea. Most of the fish farming activities are operating in small scales and located along the channel from Sulaman Bay to the South China Sea. The study was conducted to evaluate the current physiochemical properties of the water such as temperature, salinity, pH, dissolved oxygen, as well as the water current in the cage area. In addition, this study was investigated the environmental changes through the cage area during the extreme weather condition and also the relation between the water properties and the surrounding environment of the cage culture. The sampling spot was located at Pusat Pengumpulan dan Pemasaran Ikan Hidup Persatuan Nelayan Kawasan Tuaran at Kampung Sekudung, Sulaman. Two samplings were conducted where the first sampling was on 20 - 21 March 2012, while the second sampling was on 10 -11 April 2012. Field measurement were carried out within 24 hours with 1 hour interval for three different depths; 0.5m below the water surface, middle depth of the water and 0.5 above the water column. Daily data of water physiochemical (October 2010 - January 2011) was obtained from FELCRA. Data of rainfall was obtained from Meteorological Department while tide tables from IPMB Office also obtained to analyse their effect towards the water parameters. Water parameters measurement shows that the temperatures in different layers were almost similar and range from 28°C - 31°C. Water mixing was occurred at different layers of water. The mean of water pH was above 8.5 and affected by temperature and tidal changes. The concentration of dissolved oxygen at the bottom was high during night and morning. Daily water parameters measurement shows that the mean of the parameters was were fluctuated every month. The total mean of temperature was 32.39±0.86°C. Water salinity mean was 26.85±1.88 PSU, while for dissolved oxygen was 83.53±9.57%. Based on interview, the extreme weathers such as flood were rarely occurred but will bring destruction to the cages structures, disease to fish and rubbish into the cages area.