Jellyfish in Makassar coastal waters, new challenges?

Abstract

Jellyfish are generally regarded as disturbing animals in the waters by most fishermen because they can hinder the speed of the ship when blooming. This study aims to obtain information on the types of jellyfish and their use in Makassar. This research was conducted in July-December 2018, which carried out a sampling of types of jellyfish in the coastal waters of Makassar, identification of types in the Laboratory of Water Productivity and Quality of the Department of Fisheries, Faculty of Marine and Fisheries, Hasanuddin University. The economic potential of the identified jellyfish was calculated by a business feasibility analysis. The results of the study show that there are four genera jellyfish found, namely Aurelia, Porpita, Aequorea, and Salpa. Aurelia, with the largest amount, was found during sampling in coastal waters of Makassar. For sampling a day, there were 215 individuals. This number is relatively small because it is not a period of blooming. But this has become a benchmark for the existence of viable resources for entrepreneurship. The economic potential of jellyfish is estimated from a daily catch of 2.15 million. This is very challenging as a new economic source where jellyfish culinary is a healthy snack in the future and currently has been glimpsed by millennial businessmen.