SEAMEO BIOTROP held a training course on the Applications of Acoustic Technology for Underwater Object Studies, Marine Biota Inventory, and Conservation for School Teachers on 05-09 August 2019 in its headquarters in Bogor. The training course emphasized the use and operation of marine acoustics instruments for the collection and analysis of fish, zooplankton, coral reef, seagrass, seabed data, suspended sediment, ocean current, and to some extent for mapping archaeological resources.

“This course introduces the principles of marine acoustics and the fundamental steps required to design, conduct, and analyze data with special focus on estimating the abundance and distribution of marine fauna. Hopefully, by participating in this activity, the teachers may get deeper insight, especially in the tool utilization and the real underwater ecosystem conditions, that can be shared to the students,” said Prof. Henry M. Manik, PhD, BIOTROP’s Affiliate Scientist, as the coordinator of the training course.

The training course featured three experts, namely Prof. Henry M. Manik, PhD, from IPB University, Mr. Asep Priatna, M.Si, from the Agency for Marine and Fisheries Research and Human Resources (BRSDMKP), and Dr. Susilohadi from the Marine Geological Research and Development Center (P3GL), who were assisted by two instructors, namely La Elson, M.Si, and Ms. Andi Yaodi Nurani Yamin, S.IK, from IPB University.

The participants gained insights on eight topics during the classroom session, covering: 1) Introduction to Marine Acoustic Technology and Its Applications, 2) Application of Acoustic Technology for Fisheries, 3) Data Processing and Analysis, 4) Application of Acoustic Technology for Marine Zooplankton, 5) Application of Acoustic Technology for Marine BioSonar, 6) Application of Acoustics for Mapping the Ocean, 7) Application of Marine Acoustics for Coral Reef Mapping, and 8) Application of Marine Acoustics for Seagrass Mapping. The ocean field session was also held in Tidung Islands, North Jakarta.

A total of 26 representatives from various educational institutions in Indonesia took part in this activity as participants.