Light Traps Fishing in Sungai Sipai Flood Swamp of Indonesia: Recommendations for Future Study

Abstract

Trapping experiments in Sungai Sipai flood swamp, South Kalimantan during rainy season are described in this paper. A set of traditional fishing gears (e.g. lukah, tempirai bamboo, kruing) associated with LED and incandescent light was used as sampling tools. Trials consisted of 161-trap hauls/light type using 1-night submersion time of 14 h. Light trap samples were standardized to a catch per unit effort (CPUE) of total catch (g) per 7-nighttrip. Light traps sampling accounted for 403 specimens assigned to 13 species of 11 families. All the shrimp catch was of the species Macrobrachium sintangense, while the fish catch was dominated by Trichogaster trichopterus, and Pila scutata from the mollusc group. This sampling technique clearly displayed gear selectivity. Colour incandescent Lukah has significantly higher the amount of catches than colour LED Lukah for the most part. Tempirai-bamboo trap fishing with colour LED had a significantly different result from control trap. Comparative fishing trials showed that LED Tempirai­ bamboo trap collected specimens were four times higher than that of LED Lukah trap. The performance of light traps had an effect on the number of catches. The use of blinking LED traps was more effective than that of blinking incandescent traps. The collection of detailed species composition from swampy areas is still hindered by technical obstacles that have yet to be completely resolved to support future research. For future applications, the use of LED traps is strongly recommended.