Foreign, local experts search for ancient fish<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): A joint Indonesian-German marine expedition will
\nleave Muara Baru harbor in North Jakarta on Friday for a five-
\nweek voyage searching for the main colony of the ancient
\ncoelacanth fish (Latimeria menadoensis) in the waters off
\nSulawesi and Ambon.<\/p>\n
Aboard the one-year-old MV Baruna Jaya VIII, a ship carrying
\nfully computerized research and survey equipment and a navigation
\nsystem belonging to the National Institute of Sciences (LIPI), is
\na team consisting of some 20 experts from LIPI, Germany's Max
\nPlanck Institute and the local area.<\/p>\n
The planned expedition was inaugurated on Thursday by LIPI
\nchairman Soefjan Tsauri on the deck of the vessel berthing at
\nMuara Baru harbor.<\/p>\n
The leader of the expedition, Hans Fricke, a zoologist, said
\nthe team would first sail to Manado and the surrounding area in
\nNorth Sulawesi where the coelacanth fish, which scientists often
\nrefer to as a living fossil, was first identified some two years
\nago by an American marine conservationist after it was caught by
\na local fisherman.<\/p>\n
The main target of the mission is to help protect and study
\nthe life of one of the oldest species that still exists on Earth,
\nFricke said.<\/p>\n
\"This expedition is focusing on its population. We will not
\ntake the fish out of the water. We will only identify each fish
\nby its white spots -- just like taking fingerprints,\" he said
\nbefore the ceremony.<\/p>\n
Fricke said the expedition would also take photos and make a
\ndocumentary about the fish, its behavior and habitat by using Max
\nPlanck's submersible called Jago, which was named after the
\nworld's smallest shark.<\/p>\n
The submersible, he said, could go 400 meters below the
\nsurface.<\/p>\n
The 36-day project, which is expected to be completed by early
\nDecember, is estimated to cost Dm 250,000 (US$450,000), which
\nwould be covered by donations and sponsors, particularly from
\nGermany, Fricke said.<\/p>\n
Judging from the results of the last six similar expeditions
\nin African waters, he said, there were good indications that the
\ncoelacanth might still be living in local waters for they could
\nonly survive in rural areas.<\/p>\n
'Raja Laut'<\/p>\n
Mark Erdmann was the U.S. marine conservationist who first
\ndiscovered the rare fish sold at a local market in Manado in
\n1997. Erdmann, together with one of Indonesia's marine life
\nexperts, Kasim Moosa, reported the discovery to scientists
\nworldwide in the environmental magazine Nature.<\/p>\n
Before the finding, the coelacanth, also known locally as si
\nRaja Laut (king of the sea), was sold at Rp 30,000 (about $5) at
\nlocal markets. Shortly after Erdmann's discovery, the local
\nfishermen raised the price of the lobe-finned fish to some Rp 1
\nmillion each.<\/p>\n
Moosa, who is also joining the expedition, said the fish was
\nnot tasty and its oily meat could cause indigestion.<\/p>\n
The fish oil was usually used by locals as a laxative.<\/p>\n
The fish, whose fossils showed it lived during the Devonian
\nage some 400 million to 70 million years ago, was found in
\nAfrican waters around Mozambique, Madagascar and Komoro islands
\nin 1938 and 1952.<\/p>\n
The discovery of large amounts of the prehistoric fish at the
\nlocals markets in Manado has raised the curiosity of scientists
\naround the world who want to find the exact place of its main
\nhabitat in the waters off North Sulawesi.<\/p>\n
The vessel to carry the marine expedition team will be piloted
\nby Captain Irham Danil.<\/p>\n
Moosa said the Indonesian government would soon ask countries
\nsigned with the Convention on International Trade of Endangered
\nSpecies (CITES) to name the fish Latimeria spp. instead of its
\nspecific name Latimeria menadoensis, which is on Appendix I of
\nthe convention's endangered species list.<\/p>\n
The reason, he said, was that there was still a strong
\npossibility of more discoveries of the fish in other waters.<\/p>\n
During Thursday's ceremony, the organizers also handed out
\nbooks about the coelacanth. Titled Seli, Si Raja Laut Kecil yang
\nTersesat (Seli, the Little Sea King that Got Lost), the colorful
\nchildren's book aims to interest young readers in the ancient
\nfish. (01)<\/p>",
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