Biodiversity of important commercial fish in Lhok Bengkuang fish landing, Tapaktuan regency, southern part of Aceh, Indonesia

Department of Fisheries Resources Utilization, Faculty of Marine and Fisheries, Universitas Syiah Kuala, Banda Aceh 23111, Indonesia

^* Corresponding author: tee.hariss@usk.ac.id

Abstract

This study was conducted at the Lhok Bengkuang fish landing in Tapaktuan regency, located in the southern part of Aceh Province, Indonesia, throughout May 2024. Fish samples were collected daily from wild catches using a bottom gill net with a 2.5-inch mesh size. The collected fish were sorted, identified, and recorded for the total number of each species. Over the study period, a total of 2,880 fish specimens from 24 different species were recorded. Notably, 80.66% of the total catch was dominated by three species: Eubleekeria splendens (56.94%), Selaroides leptolepis (12.78%), and Gerres oyena (10.94%). The least abundant species included Loligo vulgaris (0.14%), Carcharhinus amblyrhynchoides (0.10%), and Arius thalassinus (0.07%). The conservation status of these species revealed that 19 species (79.18%) were classified as Least Concern (LC), 2 species (8.33%) as Near Threatened (NT), 2 species (8.33%) as Vulnerable (VU), and 1 species (4.16%) as Data Deficient (DD). The study highlights the impact of environmental factors, seasonal fish migrations, and nutrient availability on fish diversity. These findings provide valuable insights into the composition and community structure of fish species in Lhok Bengkuang coastal waters.