For ADVERTORIAL - May 27<\/p>\n
In Mimika:
\nFormer tailing area
\nturns to fish cultivation<\/p>\n
After finishing high school in 1994, Viktor Joku's aspirations
\nwere to become a civil servant with the local fisheries office in
\nJayapura, just like his father.<\/p>\n
He strongly believed that being a civil servant would
\nguarantee him a proper and stable income.<\/p>\n
So every year, from 1995 till 2000, he diligently signed up
\nfor the necessary entrance tests. But his hopes turned to ashes
\nbecause he always failed the tests for reasons unbeknown to him.<\/p>\n
Misfortunes, however, always appear to carry with them certain
\nmessages, because if it were not for them, Viktor, now a field
\nobserver, would not be working with the floating freshwater
\ncultivation project in Timika, Mimika's capital, in southern
\nIrian Jaya.<\/p>\n
His project, as Viktor tells it, is far bigger than the one in
\noperation on Sentani Lake, about an hour away from Jayapura.<\/p>\n
\"The longer I work here the better, I like it. I would not
\neven think about becoming a civil servant again,\" he says. He is
\nalso beginning to realize that what he is doing is not just
\ncultivating fish; because his job has far reaching, long-term
\nbenefits to the regency of Mimika.<\/p>\n
The carp and indigo fish being cultivated on the float have
\nnow become regular food for employees of PT Freeport Indonesia
\n(PTFI) since last December. An average 50 kilograms of freshwater
\nfish is sold daily. The breeding area is also the site of PT
\nFreeport's copper mine operations.<\/p>\n
Not many are aware that the freshwater fish they are eating
\nactually originate from a cultivation project run by PTFI and the
\nMimika Fishery Office in a canal that flows through a former
\ntailing deposition area.<\/p>\n
Tailing is finely ground rock waste material that is left by
\nthe metal concentrate separation process. In the case of PTFI,
\nthe metal contents of their concentrates are copper, gold and
\nsilver.<\/p>\n
In partnership between PTFI and the fisheries office, PTFI
\nprovides the facilities, funds and technical assistance with the
\nfisheries office providing manpower, fishing resources and
\ntechnical assistance; Sentani for that matter has now become a
\nfish breeding ground.<\/p>\n
Wisnu Susetyo PhD, vice president of PTFI's environmental
\ndivision, explained that the freshwater project is part of the
\ncompany's environmental reclamation efforts.<\/p>\n
The fish project, he continues, is a long-term solution for
\ntailing reclamation. Wisnu guarantees the fish are safe for human
\nconsumption. Tests to this effect have been conducted by the
\nTimika Environmental Lab, using equipment and facilities worth
\nUS$3 million and operated by PTFI's environmental division since
\n1994.<\/p>\n
The Mimika Fisheries Office assesses the freshwater fish
\nproject as being more than just a solution for tailing
\nreclamation. \"The presence of the project encourages the
\ncommunity to do the same, as it clearly proves it is not
\nclaptrap, instead it is workable and clearly productive,\" says
\nWesley Simanungkalit, head of Mimika's Fisheries Office.<\/p>\n
Another member of the fisheries office, Haryadi Nugroho, finds
\nthe project very productive. \"Cultivating fish in floating tanks
\nhas been in practice for a long time already in Irian Jaya, but
\nnever with such high productivity.\" One area in Sentani is
\ncapable of producing between 150 and 160 kilograms in two weeks,
\nwhile in Timika a similar area produces only 50 kg per day.<\/p>\n
Cultivating fish on former tailing areas is advantageous
\nbecause of the strong flow of water due to the high rainfall.
\nFlowing water, explains Hayadi, carries natural food for the fish
\nin addition to their supplementary food. Moreover, the project's
\nsuccess is also attributed to good management.<\/p>\n
Haryadi feels lucky to have dedicated employees like Viktor
\nJoku. It was Haryadi who persuaded Viktor to work for the project
\nin Timika. \"My first hands-on experience with freshwater fish
\nbreeding was when I worked with the Jayapura fisheries office as
\na temporary worker,\" tells Viktor. At that time, his job
\nconsisted of feeding the fish, repairing the nets and moving the
\nfish from one tank to another, depending on the size of the fish
\nand when they were sick and needed treatment.<\/p>\n
In view of current progress, it would not be excessive to
\nsuggest PTFI's environmental division and the Mimika fisheries
\noffice set fixed production targets at five tons per month,
\nstarting at the end of this year. Their main market is the
\ncatering service suppliers to PTFI who provide meals for
\nthousands of workers and their families within the company and
\nthe general public. Actual demands have reached twice the
\nproduction levels above.<\/p>\n
To increase production, the project is adding more floating
\ntanks, utilizing the former tailing area as ponds and providing
\nmore young fry. The fisheries office and PTFI also plan to breed
\nother animals like lobsters, as well as decorative fish.
\nBut a more important target with a more long lasting effect is
\nthe job opportunities fish-breeding creates for the local
\ncommunity. The fisheries office and PTFI in this respect is
\nencouraging staff and leading figures of LEMASA and LEMASKO to
\nvisit and learn from the project. Amungme and Kamoro are the two
\nmajor tribes in the Mimika regency, but others outside these two
\ntribes are welcome to see for themselves on Saturdays and
\nSundays.<\/p>\n
The fisheries office has also built freshwater ponds in
\nvarious villages to function as examples for the community. In
\naddition, eight people from the Amungme, Kamoro and Dani tribes
\nhave also been sent to Sukabumi in West Java to study freshwater
\nfish breeding in coastal areas. The results have started to
\nmaterialize as some of the eight now have their own breeding
\nponds. One of them even owns a special breeding, cultivation
\npond, which is anticipated to supply young fry to PTFI and the
\nfisheries office's floating tanks.<\/p>\n
Manungkalit says it needs time for the locals to change their
\nthinking pattern from inactive to pro-active and to make use of
\nthe wide choice of opportunities available in Mimika, either in
\nhe fishery business or somewhere else.<\/p>\n
Building the infrastructure for freshwater fish cultivation,
\nManungkalit emphasizes, is not easy or cheap. The fishery sector
\nis the lowest on the list of government priorities, because other
\ntypes of infrastructure like roads take precedence, and because
\nbuilding the infrastructure for fishbreeding in Irian Jaya is
\nextremely costly. \"All the more so in the coastal areas. The
\nplans are there, but the undertaking is very expensive\" says
\nManungkalit. He is hopeful, though, that with the autonomy laws
\nbecoming effective, the fisheries sector will also receive more
\nmoney.<\/p>\n
Apart from all the above mentioned obstacles, the fisheries
\noffice, as well as PTFI, remain highly optimistic with regards to
\nthe future of fish cultivation in general in Mimika. \"Market
\npotential within Freeport's borders, as well as outside in
\nTimika, is very good,\" Haryadi says.<\/p>\n
It is also not excessive to say that Viktor Joku has higher
\naspirations than being just an employee with a pilot project. He
\nwants to become the number one freshwater fish breeder in Timika.<\/p>\n
\"In a job you can always cherish high hopes for the future.
\nEven now, we can see that the project is growing by the day.\"<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/for-advertorial-may-27-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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