City blames polluted rivers for fish kills in Jakarta Bay<\/p>\n
Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
The death of thousands of fish and clams in waters off Ancol
\nBeach on Tuesday was likely caused by pollution in the city's
\ntoxic rivers, the Environmental Management Agency said.<\/p>\n
Agency head Kosasih Wirahadikusumah said on Thursday the fish
\nhad likely died of asphyxiation.<\/p>\n
\"The phenomenon was probably caused by a drop in oxygen in the
\nseawater. We do not find that it was caused by toxic materials
\ndumped in the area,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Tests had shown there was a significant drop of oxygen in the
\nwater to less than 1 milligram\/litter of water, compared to the
\nnormal figure of 6 mg\/l, he said.<\/p>\n
A Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB) expert who was part of
\nthe investigating team, Tri Pantono, said the highly polluted
\nJakarta rivers flowing into the bay were the likely cause.<\/p>\n
\"The oxygen content in the blackish rivers is near zero. If
\nsuch polluted waters comes in large amounts to the sea, it would
\nsurely affect the oxygen content in the seawater ... It is
\nimportant to note the incident took place after heavy rains when
\nthe water flow of the rivers is usually high,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The environmental management agency, together with experts
\nfrom the IPB, the Agency for the Assessment and Application of
\nTechnology, and the Indonesian Institute of Sciences earlier took
\nwater and fish samples in the area for a laboratory examination.<\/p>\n
Kosasih said the team estimated it saw about two tons of dying
\nand dead fish floating in a one-kilometer radius between Marina
\nBay and Horison Hotel.<\/p>\n
\"We estimate more fish died there. The figures could be in the
\ndozens of tons,\" he said, adding that the phenomenon reoccurred
\non Wednesday in a wider area.<\/p>\n
Kosasih said many of the dead fish were popular with
\nconsumers, including milkfish, shrimps, and rays.<\/p>\n
However, he said his agency had no information about the
\ndangers of consuming the fish.<\/p>\n
Thousands of fish, shrimps and clams died earlier in May in
\nwaters off Ancol Beach near the Kamal Muara area.<\/p>\n
That time officials said the deaths were a natural occurrence;
\na boom in the population of phytoplankton sparked a corresponding
\nincrease in algae, causing a red tide phenomenon that absorbed
\nthe oxygen in the seawater.<\/p>\n
Non-governmental organization Indonesian Forum for the
\nEnvironment has voiced suspicion that the fish and clams were
\nbeing killed by high levels of pollution in Jakarta Bay. The
\norganization has alleged that industrial plants located in the
\narea dump unprocessed waste into the bay.<\/p>\n
A number of city councillors also raised concern that the fish
\nwere dying because of industrial waste being dumped into the bay
\nby nearby plants, questioning why the red tide was not occurring
\nin other coastal areas in the country.<\/p>",
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