Aeromonas epidemic attacks Cianjur

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Thousands of fresh-water fish farmers in Cianjur, West Java have abandoned their farms and sold ikan mas (carp) at heavily discounted prices following an aeromanas hydrophile epidemic.

Fish farmer Dindin, 30, said on Wednesday he had been selling carp for between Rp 2,500 and Rp 3,000 per kilogram, down from between Rp 5,000 and Rp 8,000, since the aeromanas epidemic struck the region.

Aeromanas is a deadly disease that attacks fresh-water fish, especially carp and koi, and is considered a secondary disease since it usually follows a herpes epidemic.

Carp is widely consumed in Indonesia, while koi are kept purely as ornamental fish.

Dadeng, 32, another fish farmer in Patok Besi Blok, Mande district, said on Wednesday that the epidemic had forced hundreds of farmers in his district to close down their businesses.

He also lamented the government's decision not to export carp to other islands for fear that the disease would spread to other parts of the country.

"The ban hurts us all the more since not all fish here are infected with the aeromanas disease," Dadeng said.

Earlier, the West Java administration banned the exportation of carp to Sumatra and Kalimantan, two main export destinations. The ban is for three months.

Fish farmer Iwan, 27, of Cibeber said on Wednesday that he had removed his fish from ponds because of the disease.

"More than 30 kilograms of my carp died of an unknown cause," he said.

Aeromanas first attacked fish in Subang regency in May. Within one week, the disease killed over 250 tons of fish in the region.

The disease was first detected in Blitar, East Java, after breeders there received koi fish from Japan and Hong Kong in April.

Director of the Center for Food and Nutrition Studies at the Bogor Institute of Agriculture Adil Basuki Ahza warned last week that the disease could also attack the human immune system if people ate infected fish that was not properly cooked.