City told to act on pollution in bay<\/p>\n
Damar Harsanto and Urip Hudiono, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Rokhmin Dahuri urged
\nthe Jakarta administration on Thursday to promptly resolve the
\nproblem of pollution in the Jakarta Bay, which is killing fish
\nand harming the industry.<\/p>\n
In a media briefing on Thursday, Rokhmin suggested that
\nJakartans not consume any fish or clams caught in the bay for the
\nmeantime.<\/p>\n
Not ignoring the possibility of toxic waste from industrial
\nplants as the origin of the pollution, he cited the preliminary
\nanalysis conducted by his office's research center, the Office of
\nthe State Minister of Research and Technology and the Indonesian
\nInstitute of Sciences of the finding of a high level of ammonia
\nin the sea, possibly due to the red-tide phenomenon.<\/p>\n
The red-tide phenomenon is the extreme proliferation of toxic
\nalgae, which usually occurs between seasons when the sea warms
\nup, which can be identified from the reddening of the sea and the
\nstrong smell of ammonia.<\/p>\n
Thousands of fish and clams have died along Jakarta's northern
\ncoast since last week, and the phenomenon reportedly spread to
\nthe Thousand Islands on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Although no dead fish were to be seen in the waters of the
\nThousand Islands on Thursday, a manager of a resort island
\nlocated northwest of Jakarta Bay said that the waters did appear
\nmore polluted at certain times.<\/p>\n
\"Currents from the bay sometimes make the waters surrounding
\nthis island very murky,\" said Bidadari island manager Bambang
\nHermanto. \"The currents wash up a black, tar-like substance on
\nour beaches every so often.\"<\/p>\n
Bambang did not know where the pollution came from, but
\nalluded to the island's proximity to Jakarta's shoreline.<\/p>\n
\"What is certain is that the situation obviously makes it
\ndifficult for us to keep our beaches clean, and dissuades guests
\nfrom bathing in the sea,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Bidadari island is located six kilometers from the mouths of
\nthe Kamal and Dadap rivers, which are lined by industrial plants,
\nand whose waters are thick with black sludge and have a foul
\nstench.<\/p>\n
Several large vessels, including a tanker, meanwhile, were
\nanchored in the bay, just kilometers from the island.<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Environmental Management Agency (BPLHD) suspected
\nthe cause of the toxic phenomenon in the bay's waters and
\nimmediately sent out a warning to Jakartans against consuming any
\nfish or clams caught in the bay pending the completion of its
\ninvestigation.<\/p>\n
North Jakarta Mayor Effendy Anas, however, suggested that the
\ndead fish and clams were due to a common practice of fishermen.<\/p>\n
\"The population of fish in the sea is booming. I assume that
\nthe dead fish were dumped by the fishermen after they caught
\nbetter fish,\" said Effendy Anas.<\/p>\n
\"Today, there is no problem in Jakarta Bay. Yesterday we
\nreleased live fish into the sea, and they survived,\" he claimed,
\nsimply ignoring the advice by the environmental agency.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/city-told-to-act-on-pollution-in-bay-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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