Indonesia gets 500 research samples from maritime research team

Jakarta, July 13 (ANTARA) - The Indonesia National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) has received 500 underwater research samples from the Indonesia Mission 2024 team comprising BRIN, the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment, and non-profit organization OceanX staff.

"All survey data is safe, and data or samples have been submitted to BRIN so that all information belongs to Indonesia," the director of research vessel fleet management at BRIN, Nugroho Dwi Hananto, said in a statement issued here on Friday.

The Indonesian government, he informed, will use the data and research findings from the mission to design better placement of marine conservation areas, fisheries management, and natural disaster mitigation for earthquakes and tsunamis in Sumatra.

The results of the research mission, he added, will support Indonesia's goals and commitment to achieving the 2045 Vision of the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries.

The vision envisages creating marine conservation areas in 30 percent of Indonesia's waters, quota-based fisheries, supporting Indonesia's alignment with the UN Ocean Decade, and understanding improvements in ocean conditions.

"Geoscience and the information obtained will be used in climate mitigation, adaptation, monitoring, and surveillance," he added.

Meanwhile, the four main research topics of the mission are marine geology, oceanography, biodiversity and fisheries, as well as marine mammal ecology, Hananto said.

"This mission will also be an opportunity to increase the capacity of Indonesian researchers to learn new research methods and develop cross-institutional collaboration," he added.

He informed that most or almost all of the scientific processes on samples acquired in the field can be carried out domestically, with domestic capabilities.

"Collaboration with foreign researchers can certainly increase the insight and knowledge of Indonesian researchers regarding the latest developments in science," he said.

Hananto expressed the hope that Indonesian researchers, both from universities and BRIN, will utilize all available facilities to produce the best scientific work at the global level, so that they can prove that Indonesian researchers are also reliable.