Reafirmation of archipelagic state principle through the establishment of archipelagic region law in Indonesia

Archipelagic regions characterized by vast ocean area and groups of small islands are dominant factor in affirming the identity of the Republic of Indonesia as an archipelagic state. However, it has not been sufficiently accommodated in Indonesian national legislation. The principle of an archipelagic state should be adopted mutatis-mutandis to be formulated in the management of autonomous regions, not only in Law Number 23 of 2014 concerning Regional Government which is lex generalis in nature, but also in the specificity of the administration of regional governance in archipelagic regions which is lex specialis. The “Principle of Archipelagic State” needs to be implemented into “Principle of Archipelagic Region” for regions with archipelagic characteristics. In this context, an Archipelagic Regional Law is very much needed to reinforce the identity of the Republic of Indonesia as an archipelagic country, and to overcome extraordinary development disparities between eastern Indonesia dominated by islands regions and western Indonesia dominated by large islands.

Characterisation of the chaotic variability of the regional sea level and its components over 1993-2015 at interannual time scales

<p>Satellite altimetry data have revealed a global mean sea level rise of 3.1 mm/yr since 1993 with large regional sea level trend variability. These remote data highlight complex structures especially in strongly eddying regions. A recent study showed that over 38% of the global ocean area, the chaotic variability that spontaneously emerges from the ocean may hinder the attribution to the atmospheric forcing of regional sea level trends from 1993 to 2015. This study aims at complementing this work by first focusing on the atmospherically-forced and chaotic contributions of regional sea level interannual variability and its components (steric and manometric sea level interannual variability). A global ¼° ocean/sea-ice 50-member ensemble simulation is considered to disentangle the imprints of the atmospheric forcing and of the chaotic ocean variability over 1993-2015. The atmospherically-forced and chaotic interannual variabilities of sea level mainly have a steric origin , except in coastal areas. The chaotic part of the interannual variability of sea level and its components is stronger in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans than in the Indian ocean. The chaotic part of the interannual variability of sea level and of its steric component exceeds 20% over 48% of the global ocean area; this fractional area reduces to 26% for the manometric component. As the chaotic part of the regional sea level interannual variability has a substantial imprint, this study then interested in quantifying the periods when it becomes dominant over the atmospherically-forced contribution. This is assessed using spectral analysis on the ensemble simulation in the frequency domain for the sea level and its steric and manometric components over the global ocean as well as in some basins of interest. This enables us to better characterise and quantify the chaotic ocean variability contribution to regional sea level changes and its components.</p>

Indian Ocean Imaginaries. The Academic Trajectory of the Ratnakara Research Group

This article outlines the academic trajectory of the Ratnakara Research Group through a description of the research conducted in each of the financed research projects it has been awarded. Ratnakara. Indian Ocean Literatures and Cultures is the only Spanish research group that specializes in the study of the literary and cultural productions of the Indian Ocean area and has contributed to the creation and consolidation of Indian Ocean imaginaries.

Estimation of wave power in shallow water using deep water wind and wave statistics

The article addresses how the wave power in shallow water can be estimated based on available wind and wave statistics for a deep water ocean area. The average statistical properties of the wave power in shallow water expressed in terms of the mean value and the standard deviation are presented. Results are exemplified by using long-term wind and wave statistics from the same ocean area in the Northern North Sea. Overall, it appears that there is agreement between the results based on these inputs from wind and wave statistics. The presented analytical method should be useful for making preliminary estimates of the wave power potential in shallow water using either available deep water wind statistics or deep water wave statistics, which enhances the possibilities for assessing further the wave power potential in, for example, near-coastal zones.

Diversity and Abundance of Pteropods Along the Saint Martin’s Island and Its Effects on Ecology of Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh

The study deals with pteropods which is an important group of Holoplanktonic mollusks belonging to the class Gastropod. The study attempted to disclose the available pteropods in this region and to attain a clear concept of their abundance and diversity in and around Saint Martin’s Island. The study also attempted to establish pteropods as another significant environmental indicator along with other microfossils in this region. Among the 41 identified species included both Thecosomata and Gymnosomata orders with having a total of 17 families and 19 genera were described. The study was conducted from the ferry ghat to Uttar para and Dakkshin para and covering to the southernmost part of Chera Dwip of the Saint Martin’s island. The study also reveals the diversity and variation of the species with the gradual distance and water depth from land to ocean area. The study identified both the freshwater and Pelagic pteropods. Abundance of Thecosomes was a significant finding which can boost in further studies on ocean acidification in Saint Martin’s island of Bay of Bengal. Asiat. Soc. Bangladesh, Sci. 45(1): 15-33, June 2019

Relationship between ocean area and incidence of anthropogenic debris ingested by longnose lancetfish (Alepisaurus ferox)

Longnose lancetfish (Alepisaurus ferox) may has been studied as an indicator of marine pollution caused by marine litter. The objectives of this study were to determine the difference in frequency of occurrence of plastics ingested by longnose lancetfish in different ocean area. In this study, we compared the incidence and characteristics of anthropogenic debris in the stomachs of longnose lancetfish. We examined 91 longnose lancetfish caught by pelagic longline fishing in Sagami Bay, the North Pacific Ocean, approximately 200 km south of Shikoku, and in the Indian Ocean. Broken down by ocean area, the incidence of anthropogenic debris ingestion was highest in Sagami Bay (23 of 34 specimens, 68%), followed by the North Pacific Ocean (1 of 9, 11%), and the Indian Ocean (8 of 48, 17%). The frequency of occurrence increased in area close to the sphere of human habitation. The anthropogenic debris collected in this study were more than 70% classified as plastic sheeting. Stomach content analysis revealed that more than 90% of the plastic fragments were composed of PP and PE, which have specific gravities that are less than that of seawater. The results of this study show that some of the plastics flowing from the land into the sea are spreading through under the water surface of the ocean.

The Incidence of Tetrodotoxin and Its Analogs in the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea

Tetrodotoxin (TTX) is a potent marine neurotoxin with bacterial origin. To date, around 28 analogs of TTX are known, but only 12 were detected in marine organisms, namely TTX, 11-oxoTTX, 11-deoxyTTX, 11-norTTX-6(R)-ol, 11-norTTX-6(S)-ol, 4-epiTTX, 4,9-anhydroTTX, 5,6,11-trideoxyTTX, 4-CysTTX, 5-deoxyTTX, 5,11-dideoxyTTX, and 6,11-dideoxyTTX. TTX and its derivatives are involved in many cases of seafood poisoning in many parts of the world due to their occurrence in different marine species of human consumption such as fish, gastropods, and bivalves. Currently, this neurotoxin group is not monitored in many parts of the world including in the Indian Ocean area, even with reported outbreaks of seafood poisoning involving puffer fish, which is one of the principal TTX vectors know since Egyptian times. Thus, the main objective of this review was to assess the incidence of TTXs in seafood and associated seafood poisonings in the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea. Most reported data in this geographical area are associated with seafood poisoning caused by different species of puffer fish through the recognition of TTX poisoning symptoms and not by TTX detection techniques. This scenario shows the need of data regarding TTX prevalence, geographical distribution, and its vectors in this area to better assess human health risk and build effective monitoring programs to protect the health of consumers in Indian Ocean area.