Analysis of Water Suitability for Ecotourism Development on Several Beaches in Morella Village, Central Maluku Regency, Maluku Province

Abstract

Maluku is known as an archipelago and most of its territory is coastal and marine. Coastal areas play an important role in economic activities, such as tourism. The attractive and touristic value of coastal areas must be managed and developed for sustainable welfare through marine tourism. The Lubang Buaya Beach tourist attraction located in Morella Village, Leihitu District, Central Maluku Regency has several advantages including an easily accessible location, the beauty of the blue-black sea water, various coral reefs with various colors and shapes (both soft and hard), and various colorful fish that adorn the sea of ​​Lubang Buaya Beach. In addition, one of the areas that has the potential to become an ecotourism destination in Maluku is Moki Beach located in Morella Village, the beach is very supportive for marine tourism locations because it has an exotic beach and a sea that contains a lot of biodiversity. In an aquatic environment, the levels of essential nutrients generally fluctuate greatly because they are influenced by various complex factors such as intake by biological processes, adsorption, release and sedimentation by suspended particles, input from land (allogenic elements) and the influence of the hydrodynamic conditions of the waters themselves. Analysis of the chemical characteristics of essential nutrients in the waters of Lubang Buaya Beach and Moki Beach will provide an overview of the suitability of the waters for ecotourism development. Indirectly related to the productivity and carrying capacity of the waters concerned, which are tourist areas in Maluku Province.Maluku is an archipelago whose territory is coastal and marine which is suitable for tourism. The tourism value and attractiveness of coastal areas should be developed through marine tourism. This study aims to analyze current speed, water depth, pH, DO, temperature, salinity, sigma-t, chlorophyll-a, and turbidity-m as physical, chemical, and biological indicators in the Lubang Buaya and Moki Beach ecotourism areas. Water sampling was carried out using Kemmerer bottles at different depths, namely at the surface and at a depth of 20 meters.Water samples are used to analyze chemical elements both horizontally and vertically. Sample analysis was carried out at the Oceanology Laboratory and Basic Biology Laboratory of Pattimura University.The test parameters in this study were water depth, temperature, salinity, sigma-t, chlorophyll-a, turbidity-m using conductivity, temperature, and depth (CTD), current speed using a current meter, pH using a pH meter, and dissolved oxygen (DO) using a DO meter. The waters of Lubang Buaya Beach and Moki Beach, Morella Village, Central Maluku Regency, Maluku Province have water conditions, namely pH, temperature, salinity, sigma-t, chlorophyll-a, turbidity-m, and brightness with appropriate categories, while DO with an inappropriate category based on water assessment standards. The assessment results show the waters\u27 suitability for ecotourism development at a surface depth of 0 meters and a bottom depth of 3 to 25 meters. The minimum current speed of 0.003 m/s and the maximum current speed of 0.36 m/s are suitable for boating, banana boating and jet skiing activities