Pangkal Babu’s mangrove forest is fairly dense and has become the economic foundation of local residents. Cincinut is one of the biota (ecosystem animals) in a region that is a rich catchment for fishermen in West Tanjung Jabung, Jambi.
Cincinut (Cerithidea obtusa) is also known as a sea snail, one of the biota of brackish waters. It has an important role as an indicator of mangrove health because its life and reproduction depend on the presence of mangroves.
Dafit Ariyanto, a researcher at BRIN’s Oceanographic Research Center, said that this snail is a transitional species between sea and land, with muddy and sandy textures. This type of snail is an indicator of changes in the mangrove ecosystem. Members of the species use the mangrove ecosystem as a place to feed, live, shelter and breed. If the population is still large, the mangrove forest is in good condition. Therefore, setting up catching rings in the Pangkal Babu mangrove forest should not be a careless activity.
With an area of 121 hectares of mangrove forest in Pangkal Babu, now the village government also protects it through Perdes No.3/2021 concerning Protection and Utilization of Mangrove Areas. The regulation states that the 121 hectares of mangrove forest in Pangkal Babu must be protected and utilized sustainably. The community supports the perdes. They realize how important it is to preserve mangroves.
Lamin, a fisherman from Pangkal Babu, has lived on the edge of the mangrove forest for decades. This 60-year-old man has witnessed the existence of cincinut, a type of snail, which is an indicator of mangrove health in West Tanjung Jabung, Jambi. Every day he is in the mangrove forest hunting for ringut (snails).
That morning, dressed in a long-sleeved shirt and shorts above the knee, he carried a bucket and a sharp fork in search of cincinut. Lamin was quick and agile, jumping from one mangrove root to another, looking for small holes where these molluscs live.
“There are many ringut here, because the mangroves are still healthy. If the mangrove is damaged, the ringut will be hard to find,” says Lamin.
Dafit Ariyanto, a researcher at BRIN’s Oceanographic Research Center, at Banggi Beach, North Coast, in Rembang, Central Java, said that two species of Cassidula nucleus and Cassidula angulifera only appear once a year. Both species are also in the Potamididae family with Cerithidea obtusa.
“If the population can exist throughout the year, the mangrove indicator is good. Size also affects: if it is large it is also a good indicator.”
Physical factors such as temperature, sediment type, topography and water dynamics as well as biological factors such as larval distribution, competition, predation and trophic levels determine the diversity of these snails in mangrove forests.
Pangkal Babu fishermen also have local wisdom in hunting ringut. To maintain the snail population, not all mangrove areas can be used to catch snails and other marine products.
Hunting ringut in the mangrove forest of Pangkal Babu should not be a careless activity. “There are places where hunting is prohibited. In this ecotourism area, hunting is not allowed, it is allowed in places where mangroves are already large,” he said.
All of that, he explained, is meant to preserve the mangrove ecosystem. “We must preserve the mangroves so that the eel rings and other animals there can continue to live and breed.”
Lamin and the fishermen of Pangkal Babu continue to walk around the mangrove forest carefully, avoiding the slippery roots and mud.
After walking for about 30 minutes, we arrive at what is considered the best spot for hunting ringut. This was an area in the middle of the mangrove forest, full of tightly-grown and lush api-api (Avicennia) plants. Around the place, there was a lot of mud and sand deposited by sea water.
Without saying much, the fishermen immediately started hunting. They walked on the mud and examined every crevice and hole they could see between the api plants. Lamin showed off his ringut-finding skills.
He carefully touched each hole and felt the surface of the mud for signs of ringut.
Soon, Lamin found one ringut hiding in a small hole beneath the surface of the mud. He used his bare hands to remove the sea snail from the hole, then placed it into a container. With the other Indonesian fishermen, he managed to catch several cincinut in a fairly short period of time.
Source: Mongabay.co.id