Seasonal variability of sea surface chlorophyll-a and abundance of pelagic fish in Lampung Bay, Southern Coastal Area of Sumatra, Indonesia

Abstract

An observation of sea surface chlorophyll-a in relation to the abundance of pelagic fish was conducted in Lampung Bay, Southern Coastal Area of Sumatra using MODIS satellite data of 2003-2004. The observation result shows the variability of sea surface chlorophyll-a in Lampung Bay seems to be correlated with the monsoonal system that influences on the variability of the meteorological and oceanographic situation. In the wet season (northwest monsoon), the concentration of chlorophyll-a is high. It was suspected due to high precipitation during this season in which the coastal area was enriched by the nutrient load from the upper land area through the rivers and coastal discharge. While in the dry season (southeast monsoon), high concentration of the chlorophyll-a is stimulated by increasing nutrient concentration due to the upwelling. During these seasons, the abundance of the pelagic fish was high within this region.Proceedings of 4th JSPS-VAST Joint Seminar on 'Coastal Marine Science', Hai Phong, Viet Nam, 26-28 October 2009Oceanograph