FPIK, SEMARANG – Wednesday (12/12) located at the Prof. Soedarto S.H. Building, Undip Tembalang, the Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Science of Diponegoro University made another achievement by inaugurating two new professors, Prof. Agus Trianto, S.T., M.Sc., Ph.D. and Prof. Dr. Anindya Wirasatriya, S.T., M.Si., M.Sc.

Prof. Agus delivered an inaugural speech entitled “Bioactive Materials from Marine Organisms: Development as Probiotics”. Indonesia has the world’s largest marine biodiversity. Marine organisms generally produce bioactive ingredients as a form of chemical adaptation to the environment to survive. Exploration results from marine avertebrates produce bioactive compounds. However, the emergence of new diseases and pathogens that are multidrug resistance (MDR) triggers the search for new drugs. MDR cases do not only occur in cancer cells, bacteria, fungi, and viruses that attack humans, but also in pathogens that attack livestock and fish.

“Currently, the biggest challenge faced by shrimp farmers is disease caused by pathogenic bacteria of the Vibrio genus. One of the results of the exploration of sponge-associated microorganisms has the property of inhibiting the growth of various Vibrio bacterial species. The isolate is the fungus Trichoderma reesei SL.3.SP3.3 sponge association Monanchora sp., developed into probiotics that can suppress the Vibrio population in ponds so as to increase shrimp production”, he explained.

Meanwhile, Prof. Anin delivered an inaugural speech entitled “Utilization of Extreme Upwelling of Cold Sea Water (ALaDin) in Alor Kecil Waters, Alor Regency, East Nusa Tenggara Province in the Development of Blue Economy in the Field of Marine Tourism”. Upwelling is the event of lifting the mass of sea water from the inside to the surface.This process will cause a decrease in sea surface temperature (SST) in waters ranging from 2-4°C. In the waters of Alor Kecil, precisely in the Kumbang Mouth Strait, Alor Island, there is an extreme upwelling phenomenon characterized by a drastic decrease in SPL to reach > 10°C so it is called the cold sea water phenomenon (ALaDin). The minimum SPL due to this extreme upwelling can reach 12°C which makes this phenomenon the only one in the world because it is not found in any tropical region.

“The extreme upwelling event in the waters of Alor Kecil has the potential to be developed into a world-class tourism event because of its uniqueness. The drop in temperature during extreme upwelling makes the fish along the Kumbang Mouth Strait faint, attracting dolphins to come and prey on the fish. Therefore, tourists can enjoy the sensation of cold water, catch fish with an empty net and see pods of dolphins.This is an opportunity to develop Si ALaDin (IoT Monitoring System and Cold Seawater Forecasting) so that the community and stake holders can monitor the SPL in real time and can know the ALaDin event in advance so that it can be managed to be able to create world-class tourism events and become the 6th super priority destination,” he said. (Adm)