Mangroves and the Sustainability of Longtail Shad Fish (Tenualosa macroura) in Riau Province Water, Indonesia

Abstract

Mangroves are crucial to fisheries as nurseries; they can be used as spawning and feeding grounds for fish, including Longtail Shad fish (Tenualosa macroura). The objective of the study was to analyze the mangrove vegetation used as Longtail Shad fish spawning ground. It was carried out from January to May 2021, using a checkered line method with six sampling stations. Each station was placed in three transects with three plots for each transect. Density, relative density, frequency, relative frequency, dominance, relative dominance, and importance value index were included in the vegetation analysis. There were 13 true mangrove types and 1 mangrove associate type at the study locations. The highest mangrove density was found at Station 3 with 3300.48 Ind/Ha, categorized as good. The highest mangrove coverage was found at Station 2, with an exceptionally dense category (76.34%). The regression analysis revealed a substantial relationship between density and mangrove and the water salinity at a 0.002 significance value (<0.05). Based on the gut content analysis in establishing the fish's eating habits, the type of food consumed by the Longtail Shad fish was mostly mangrove litter, representing 44.66% of the total stomach contents. The result of the study clearly shows that mangroves are crucial for Longtail Shad fish. A good mangrove ecosystem will provide good water quality for the migration process of longtail shad fish and produce mangrove litter as fish food. Mangrove ecosystem management can support the management of Terubuk fisheries.