We present data on the seasonal variability of small pelagic fish catches and their relation to the coastal processes responsible for them around the island of Java. This study uses long fish-catch records (up to twenty years) collected at various points around Java that were selected from the best-quality harbor records. Seven years of ocean color satellite data were also used in this study. The study selected four regions that represent the four edges of Java. Data analysis shows that the annual fish-catch pattern is determined by monsoonal activity. The monsoon greatly influences the appearance of warm and rich surface currents in the Java Sea, surface water transport and upwelling in the Sunda Strait, upwelling in the Indian Ocean, and indirect upwelling in the Bali Strait (for details on the regional oceanography, see Gordon [this issue]). These coastal processes, which differ for each region, influence fish catch and fish distribution. The natural fish stock of the entire Indonesian seas (including the Exclusive Economic Zone [EEZ]) is estimated to be 6.4 million ton/year, of which 63.5 percent are caught annually (Agency of Marine and Fisheries Research [AMFR], 2001). That fish stock consists of 5.14 million ton/year in Indonesian waters and 1.26 million ton/year in the Indonesian EEZ. Pelagic fish play an important role in the economics of fisherman in Indonesia; approximately 75 percent of the total fish stock, or 4.8 million ton/year, is pelagic fish. In particular, we investigated the waters around Java because most people live near the coast and an abundance of pelagic fish is caught under a variety of coastal oceanographic conditions.

Hendiarti, N., Suwarso, E. Aldrian, K. Amri, R. Andiastuti, S.I. Sachoemar, and I.B. Wahyono. 2005. Seasonal variation of pelagic fish catch around Java. Oceanography 18(4):112–123, https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2005.12.

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