Proceedings National Symposium on Ecohydrology Jakarta, March 24, 2011

INTRODUCTION OF FLOATING BRUSH PARK FISHERY (RASAU TERAPUNG) TO ANTICIPATE WATER LEVEL FLUCTUATION IN CAPTURE FISHERY MANAGEMENT IN LAKE MANINJAU, WEST SUMATRA Triyanto 1), Dede Irving Hartoto 1), Sutrisno2), Agus Hamdani2) and Sulastri1)
1)

Research Center for Limnology-LIPI 2) Research Station for Limnology-LIPI Email: triyanto@limnologi.lipi.go.id

ABSTRACT The floating brush park namely rasau terapung was introduced to anticipate the fluctuation of water level in Lake Maninjau during August to December 2010. This was a collaboration of four of fishermen groups. The construction was employing bamboos which were filled with branches of tree, coconut leaves and bamboo sticks. The size was 5x5 m2 using floating plastic drums. The construction of rasau enabled it to move along water fluctuation. A number of rasau terapung were 38 units located around the lake. It would function after residing in the water for a month. Some of aquatic vegetations and some of invertebrate organisms were attached in rasau terapung. Therefore the fishes could be attracted and stayed in rasau terapung area. Fish production in rasau terapung was 97-117 kg (0.6-0.8 kg/m2). Not only had the fish production increased, but also the daily fish catch of fishermen around the rasau terapung had risen. Keyword: water level fluctuation, floating brush park, Lake Maninjau

INTRODUCTION Lake Maninjau is one of the inland waters located in the province of West Sumatra. It is a tecto-volcanic lake with an area of 9737.5 ha, and maximum depth 165 m. Lake Maninjau has good potencies for fisheries. Fishery activities in Lake Maninjau are mostly aquaculture and capture fisheries. Capture fishery of Lake Maninjau has an economic contribution to the people. Some types of native fish of Lake Maninjau have a high economic value, such as bada (Rasbora argyrotaenia), rinua, gariang (Tor soro), barau (Hampala macrolepidota), and asang (Osteochilus haselti). They are often included in targeted fish by fishermen. Fishing gear used is also quite varied consisting of nets, fishing rods, scoop and trap, and rasau. Based on data from the West Sumatra provincial fisheries department in 2003, it was recorded that the production of capture fisheries in Lake Maninjau reached 111.7 tons (Triyanto et al. 2007). Rasau is commonly known as traditional FADs that serves to collect fish in fishing activities by fishermen of Lake Maninjau for a long period. Rasau was made
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from a collection of wooden twigs, and midrib of palm trees embedded in the edge of the lake. The use of this rasau is effective enough to help fishermen catch fish in the lake. Based on the information of fisherman that used rasau, fish catch around rasau can reach 1-2 kg/day or depend on the number of fish that gather at these rasau areas. Fish production on a similar system called the brush park which varies between 0.01 to 3.8 kg/m2/year (ICLARM-GTZ, 1991; Welcomme and Kapetsky, 1981 in Herb et al. 2003). Fish capture system with rasau is less used. Rasau that exist at this time are not functioning optimally, due to fluctuations in lakes water level which is high. Fluctuations in water level of Lake Maninjau appear at an elevation of 462-464 m asl (Fakhrudin et al. 2002). When low water level occurs, rasau is on the top of water surface so that its function as a means of collecting fish is ineffective. In addition as a means of collecting fish, rasau has ecological function because it can be the protected areas, where spawning and foraging exist. Ecological function is the result from the formation of the food chain systems that supports life functions for fish communities. Its placement on the edge of the lake is to support the role of productivity in the littoral waters of the lake. Introduction of rasau float is one of the efforts made to anticipate fluctuations in water level in order to enhance fisheries production and improve the productivity of the littoral zone. This paper submits the introduction of rasau terapung conducted in August-December 2010 with the purpose of estimating rasau production and composition of fish catches using rasau terapung.

MATERIALS AND METHODS Rasau terapung (FBPF: Floating Brush Park Fishery) introduced, was a collection of sticks made of wood and bamboo and was placed and tied in a square frame size of 5x5 m2 made of bamboo. Rasau framework consists of 4 pieces of plastic drum that served as a buoy (Figure 1). On the basis was laid pieces of bamboo or concrete pipes. Placement rasau terapung (Figure 2) was located on the edge of the lake at a depth of 25 m with ballast anchors so that the movement rasau can follow the movement of lakes water level. Rasau terapung was made of 38 pieces placed in four locations around Lake
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Maninjau, namely location 1: Tampang River (10 pieces), location 2: Sigiran (10 pieces), location 3: Rangeh River (6 pieces): and location 4: Batang River (12 pieces). Introduction of rasau terapung was done by direct engagement with groups of fishermen in Lake Maninjau. Rasau terapung management system conducted jointly was carried out, by dividing into three parts of rasau region, namely rasau lindung/rasau for conservation (3 pieces), rasau produksi/rasau for production (6 pieces) and rasau sosial/rasau for social purpose (1 piece). Fishing was allowed only on rasau production and rasau social. Catching fish was done after seeing the condition of many fish collected in the area of rasau. The fish caught were weighed and identified to determine its species.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Description of Lake Maninjau Lake Maninjau is surrounded by hills located at Tanjung Raya District, West Sumatera. Lake Maninjau is a volcano-tectonic lake. Since it was used for power generation in 1983, lake-water discharge system was unnatural. For the purposes of hydro electric power, there have been built a DAM at the outlet of Lake Maninjau. The DAM is located on the River Antokan which has an altitude of 462 m asl. DAM is raising the water level of the lake from 462 m asl to 464 m asl (Fakhrudin et al. 2002). With the operation of hydro electric power, the lake water level fluctuations are also influenced by the operational activities of the turbine in the electricity production process.

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bamboo
water surface

20 cm
plastic drum (floating drum)

Bundles of branches of bamboo, and coconut leaf

line and anchor (6 mm)

concrete pipe with holes

Figure 1. Specification of rasau terapung: FBPF, size 5x5 m2

Location 3

Map of Lake Maninjau

Location 2 Location 1

Location of Rasau Terapung

Location 4

Figure 2. Placement location of rasau terapung in Lake Maninjau

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Lake Maninjau has been experiencing eutrophication mainly due to the input of organic load from the floating cage net fishery activities (Sulastri, 2001; Triyanto et al. 2007). The transparency of waters is very low with the range of 1-2 m. The level of light penetration is reduced due to algae bloom due to the enrichment processes that occurs in Lake Maninjau. According to Meutia et al. 2003 low levels of light penetration is thought to have caused several species of aquatic plants in littoral area and is reduced and even no longer exist as small jariamun (Najas sp.) and big jarimun (Potamogeton sp.). Lake water level fluctuation can also cause death to aquatic plants that exist, because of the effect on drying time in the littoral area of the lake. Diminishing water plants in the littoral area of the lake can cause a decrease in the level of productivity of the lake waters. According to Zalewski (1998) littoral lake is a habitat for many kinds of aquatic organisms and plays an important role in supporting the productivity of lake waters. Littoral zone may also function in the improvement of water quality conditions in shallow lakes area (Numazawa et al. 2008). Fisheries rasau and problems Fisheries rasau is one of local wisdom that utilizes high-productivity waters in the littoral area of the lake. Rasau placed on the edge of the lake serves as a shelter can entice the fish to congregate in or around the area of rasau (Figure 3). This fishing method is quite effective to help fisherman around the lake to get the daily catch of fish, without damaging the habitat and water of the lake.

Figure 3. Traditional rasau in Lake Maninjau made from a collection of wooden twigs and branches of coconut trees, located on the beach of the lake.
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The use of traditional rasau has not been optimal when, the rasau physically are not submerged in the water. The placement of a static traditional rasau at the beach of the lake causes rasau always on the edge of the lake without being immersed by water. Thus, the functional of traditional rasau is highly dependent of the lake water level when normal. A water level fluctuation in the lake now highly affects on traditional rasau function, so the method of fishing using this system is gradually reduced.

Rasau terapung and management Rasau terapung was developed based on the problems that occur in traditional rasau whose function depends on the water level of the lake when it reaches ideal condition for rasau so that it is always immersed in the water. A technical requirement of rasau terapung is as follows: 1. the rasau should float so that it remains submerged in water according to water level 2. it has a binding anchor heavy enough so it does not move 3. It has ecological structure (shade structure from excessive water temperature: the sticks above the surface; trappers and retaining structures: a collection of twigs and branches; structure where attached algae: a string of ropes and leafs. 4. if necessary, the addition of additional elements may be applied such as :
Lights:

mounted at night to gather zooplankton and aquatic insects which will

attract fish to come because of the food source.

Place

as a stimulant advent of artificial food fish. plants: helping the bio-ecology to improve the condition of waters in

Aquatic

the area of rasau. Introduction of rasau terapung directly involved fishermen groups on several locations in Lake Maninjau. This means that the rate of adoption to the fishermen could take place quickly, considering that they have known natural rasau fishery system properly. Placement of the rasau terapung on the shores of the lake with a depth of 2-5
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m. Management of the rasau terapung was conducted jointly by groups of fishermen so that supervision and treatment could be more effective. Management of the rasau terapung was divided into three parts, namely the production rasau (6 pieces), protection rasau (3 pieces) and social rasau (1 piece) technically the rasau system (10 pieces of rasau) named Rasau Limnotek 7.0. Placement of protection rasau was in between or in the middle of the rasau terapung area, with the parallel patterns to the shoreline or circular system (Figure 4). Catching fish was done when the rasau terapung had been in the lake for 1 month for minimum period. The next catching was periodically followed by, in accordance to mutual agreement and the conditions of existence of the fish in the area of rasau terapung. The fish caught were in the area of production rasau and social rasau, while for protection rasau were left as a conservation for the existing fish community. The existence of fish in the protection rasau areas were expected to maintain fish stocks in the waters. The fish yielded from the social rasau were used for groups of fishermen for any purpose. The fish yielded from the production rasau were used to increase the income of group members. In addition to fishing on the rasau terapung area, every member of the fishermen was allowed to fish individually near area of rasau terapung. Whereas the other fishermen who were not members of the fishermen groups, could still catch fish around the area of rasau terapung at a minimum distance of 50 m, or by mutual agreement. The rasau terapung that managed by groups of fishermen could be seen in Figure 5.

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Production Rasau

Production Rasau

Production Rasau

Production Rasau Production Rasau

Production Rasau

shoreline

Production Rasau

Social Rasau Protection Rasau

shoreline

Protection Rasau

Protection Rasau

Protection Rasau

Protection Rasau

Protection Rasau

Production Rasau

Production Rasau

(B) Production Rasau

Social Rasau

Production Rasau Production Rasau

Figure 4. Pattern of placement the rasau terapung in Lake Maninjau (A. Circular (B) (A) pattern; B. Parallel to the shoreline)

Figure 5. Rasau terapung managed by one group of fishermen at Sigiran in Lake Maninjau

Production and composition of fish caught on rasau terapung Production of rasau was determined based on fish catch directly in the area of production rasau. The fish catched by nets with encircle the net in rasau area. The fish stayed in rasau should be out of the rasau. Fish yielded from twice capture were obtained respectively at 98 and 117 kg, or the fish production level reached 0.6 to 0.8 kg/m2. The fish commonly caught were culture fish, such as carp (Cyprinus carpio) and
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tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus). The catch and composition of fish caught were presented in Table 1 and 2.

Table 1. Species composition and total fish catch on production rasau at location 1 in October 19, 2010.

No. Fish Species (local name)

Number (pieces)

Total Weight (kg) 3 2 23 62 5 2 1 98

Size (gr) 3000 50-150 250-1500 1000-2000 100-250 2000 500 -

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

Pangasius sp. Hampala macrolepidota Oreochromis niloticus Cyprinus carpio Oxyeleotris marmorata Chana striata Osphronemus goramy Rasbora argyrotaenia

Patin Barau Nila Mas Betutu Gabus Gurame Bada Total

1 12 18 30 12 1 2 -

Table 2. Species composition and total fish catch on production rasau at location 4 in December 11, 2010. No. Fish Species (local name) Total Weight (kg) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Hampala macrolepidota Oreochromis niloticus Cyprinus carpio Oxyeleotris marmorata Osteochilus haselti Osphronemus goramy Rasbora argyrotaenia Barau Nila Mas Betutu 5 65 30 3 Size (gr) 750 250 1000 250 1000 250 5000 300 -700 3000 10
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Asang/Nilem 3 Gurame Bada 2,5 7,5

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8.

Clarias sp.

Lele Total

1 117

1000

Fish harvest was still constrained by an effective technique for catching fish in rasau. According to the fishermen, there were still a lot of fish that could not be caught in rasau and the production might have reached twice than that of the captured fish. When viewed from the composition of fish catches, fish caught were dominated by carp and tilapia. Both of these fish were the commodity that a lot of fish reared in floating net cages. By using this rasau, fish that escaped from the cages would be easy to collect in rasau terapung area. While barau fish, patin/catfish and gabus/snake head were native fish of the lake. Those fish were predatory fish that generally ate small fish settled in the rasau area and beyond. In addition to the catch of rasau managed by groups, fishermen catch around the rasau was also increased, in number. And the length of time to catch fish became increasingly shorter. However, to calculate how much profit they had earned by rasau terapung system on their daily catch was still under further review. As a comparison of fish production in Bangladesh River utilizing shelter from aquatic plants fish production reached 750 kg/ha/year, equivalent to 0.075 kg/m2/year (Ahmed and Akhter, 2008). While the fish production in Lake Malawi with brush park system over the past five months, reached 0.07 to 1.27 kg/m2 (Jamu et al. 2003). Rasau terapung system is also a substrate for the growth of jariamun, a species of aquatic plants that lives in bottom in the littoral area of the lake (Fig. 6). Jariamun (Najas sp and Potamogeton sp) is an aquatic plant that can be used as food by herbivorous fish and a place to lay eggs or hiding places of any kind of fish in the lake. Jariamun can grow under rasau within depth depending on the level of light penetration needed and is always immersed in water. Jariamun has ecological function as a plant nutrient absorber, water purifier and a habitat for small fish. However its population is reduced due to pollution, water level fluctuations and environmentally destruction as the effect of fishing activities.

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Figure 6. Aquatic plants (Jariamun: Najas sp and Potamogeton sp.) attached in to rasau terapung.

CONCLUSION Rasau terapung is effective to anticipate fluctuations in water level of the lake. Its function as a means of collecting fish can take up the production level approximately 0.6 to 0.8 kg/m2. In addition, this rasau may act as fish attractor/collector as well as artificial habitat for many aquatic organisms.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Acknowledgements submitted to the XIII-LIPI IPTEKDA Program 2010, which had funded this activity and to the group of fishermen in Lake Maninjau who had provided respectable help during this research.

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REFERENCES Ahmed M.D.S., dan Akhter H. 2008. Brush and Vegetation Park Fishery in the River Titas, Brahmanbaria, Bangladesh. Notes South Pacific Studies Vol.29, No.1: 6371 Fakhrudin, M, Wibowo H., Subehi L., and I. Ridwansyah 2002. Characterization of the lake hydrology Maninjau West Sumatra. Proceedings of National Seminar Limnology. Research Center for Limnology- LIPI. 65-75 (in Indonesia) Jamu D.M., Chaula K., dan Hunga H. 2003. A Preliminary Study on the Feasibility of Using Fenced Brushparks for Fish Production in Lake Chilwa, Malawi. Naga, WorldFish Center Quartely Vol. 26 No. 1 Jan-mar 2003 Meutia A., Haryani G.S., Aiman, S., and Triyanto. 2003. Community Empowerment on Maninjau: Alternative Business through Fisheries Development and Double Cages Net. Final Report Dissemination of Science and Technology Activities in Lake Maninjau. Research Center for Limnology-LIPI. (In Indonesia not publish) Numazawa A., Ichimura K., Takishita T., and Ito H. 2008. Limnologycal Evaluation of Artificila Development in Littoral Zone of Lake Kasumigaura, A Typical Maritime Lagoon Lake in Japan. Proceedings of Taal 2007: The 12 World Lake Conference: 756-759 Sulastri, 2001. Problems of Lake Maninjau and Approaches Solved, Final Report of Research Center for Limnology. LIPI. (In Indonesia not publish) Triyanto., Hartoto IN,, Henny C., Sulawesty F., Yuniarti I., Sutrisno, Satryo SN, Mardiati Y., and Sugiarti. 2007. Characteristics of Study Lakes Limnology Maninjau. Technical Report Research Center for Limnology-LIPI (in Indonesia not publish) Zalewski, Maciej. 1998. Ecohydrology and Fisheries Management. Italian Journal of Zoology, 65: 1, 501 506

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