Coral reefs threatened

AMBON, Maluku: Experts have called for action to protect coral reefs in Ambon Bay, a popular tourist destination, currently under threat from the increasing industrial waste.

"The immediate threat comes from the presence of a dockyard built along the coast of Silale village in the Nusaniwe subdistrict," said Heryanto, a mangrove forest and mollusk researcher at the Ambon-based Center for Oceanic Research and Development.

He told Antara Friday the waters in Ambon Bay have been used by the local people as a major waterway as well as a source of food. Industrial and household wastes are dumped in the bay, badly affecting the various marine biota found in the area and destroying the coral reefs, fish and plankton.

The situation has been worsened by industrial developers' land clearing activities, according to Fredy Leatemia, another researcher at the center.

"We are concerned about the condition of the bay as peoples' industrial activities destroy the life and beauty of the coral reefs in Ambon Bay," he said. "The local administration should soon take action." (swe)