Aceh's coral reefs harmed after tsunami

Aceh's coral reefs harmed after tsunami

JAKARTA: Poachers and local fishermen have begun exploiting
the coastal waters and coral reefs off Aceh as local security
officers remain paralyzed in the wake of the Dec. 26 tsunami,
environmentalists said on Tuesday.

They said they have seen several acts of environmental
exploitation taking place along the Aceh coast, such as the
illegal construction of shrimp ponds and destruction of coral
reefs.

"I saw it happen in Sabang. A local businessman was destroying
reefs with huge rocks in order to catch fish. That's unlawful,"
Frank Momberg of Fauna and Flora International (FFI) told a
discussion themed: Joint Initiative for Caring for Acehnese and
North Sumatran Coral Reefs.

Out of a total of 85,707 square kilometers of coral reefs in
the whole of Indonesia, Aceh is home to around 5,846 square
kilometers, filled with hundreds of species.

Momberg said he also received a report from a colleague
working for the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in
Aceh that several people in the northern part of the province had
built shrimp ponds just five meters from the coastline.

"They have the guts to do that because there were no Navy or
Water Police personnel patrolling the area. All their boats had
been destroyed by the tsunami," said the director of FFI Program
Development for the Asia Pacific. --JP