Hydrodynamic insights, environmental assessment, and fisheries study of the Kelantan coastal area: A comprehensive analysis

Abstract

Coastal studies are vital for sustainable development, identifying risks, vulnerabilities, and opportunities inherent to coastal environments. In this study, current and wave hydrodynamics, fisheries, and environmental conditions along 71 km coastline endangered at South China Sea were investigated. The MOHID Water Hydrodynamic model was employed to simulate current hydrodynamics under three scenarios: pure tide, southwest monsoon, and northeast monsoon, considering spring and neap tide conditions. The Simulating Waves Nearshore module was used to assess wave characteristics. Environmental evaluations were performed covering coastal water quality, mangroves, seagrass, seaweeds, fisheries, and aquacultures. Besides, land use assessment was conducted for the entire coastal stretch. Findings indicated the peak current speed at 0.95 m/s during flood-spring tide and a minimum below 0.15 m/s during low water-neap tide. Wave modeling revealed that the wave heights reached up to 1.5 m during the northeast monsoon and 0.5 m during the southwest monsoon. Water quality was noticed to be “Excellent” for beaches and islands and “Good” for estuaries according to the Malaysian Marine Water Quality index (MMWQI). Finally, fisheries were reported to have an economic impact of around 9.0 million Malaysian Ringgit/year averagely. It is believed that, the outcomes of this study will help to enhance understanding of Kelantan's coastal area, aiding local government efforts to improve the state shoreline and develop effective coastal management strategies.