Maintaining Carbon Storage Does Not Reduce Fish Production from Mangrove-Fish Pond System: A Case Study in Coastal Area of Subang District, West Java, Indonesia

Deforestation and degradation of mangrove forests can be categorized as key environmental problems in Indonesia. These problems are majorly driven by overexploitation and the conversion of mangroves into brackish water aquaculture areas. One of the most common aquaculture systems traditionally developed in the coastal areas is the mangrove-fish pond system that combines fish production with existing trees. This study aims to analyze the environmental and economic aspects of mangrove-fish pond aquaculture in different levels of mangrove cover in the coastal area of Subang District, West Java, Indonesia. The spatial analysis method was used to analyze mangrove distribution and identify the current coverage in the aquaculture area. The economic aspect was analyzed, based on the costs and revenue from fish production, while the environmental aspect was represented by carbon storage, which is among the crucial mangrove ecosystem services. This study estimated carbon storage in the four-carbon pools: above- and below-ground biomass, deadwood, and litterfall. Based on the combination of visual interpretation of Sentinel 2A satellite images and field observations, approximately 667 ha of mangrove-fish pond was identified. This study found that there were no significant differences in fish production and net income from mangrove-fish pond aquaculture at various levels of mangrove cover. Meanwhile, the ponds with high mangrove cover stored higher carbon than those with medium and low mangrove covers. This indicates that maintaining carbon storage does not reduce fish production from mangrove-fish pond aquaculture.