Kondisi Ekosistem Terumbu Karang Pulau Poncan Gadang Kota Sibolga dan Upaya Pengelolaannya

Abstract

Poncan Gadang Island is one of the islands in Sibolga City. The island is utilized by the community of various activities, such as beach tourism, underwater tourism and capture fisheries. This study aims to assess the condition of the coral reef ecosystem of Poncan Gadang Island and provide recommendations for its management efforts. The research was conducted in February 2023 using the Underwater Photo Transect method to assess coral cover and the Underwater Visual Census method to observe reef fish and macrozoobenthos. Management recommendations were analyzed using the SWOT analysis method. The results showed that the average percentage of live coral cover was 24.01%, indicating that the coral reefs are in damaged condition. The diversity index of reef fish was categorized as moderate, the evenness index was categorized as high and the dominance index indicated that no particular group of reef fish dominated. Meanwhile, the diversity index of macrozoobenthos was categorized as low, the evennessindex was categorized as high and the dominance index showed that one group of macrozoobenthos dominated. Based on the SWOT analysis, it is recommended that the management of Poncan Gadang Island utilized internal weakness to mitigate external threats.