Domestic waste pollution killed the fish: Nabiel
Domestic waste pollution killed the fish: Nabiel
Sari P. Setiogi, Jakarta
Contrary to what Governor Sutiyoso earlier claimed -- that the
death of fish and clams in Jakarta Bay in the past month was a
natural phenomenon -- a state official revealed on Tuesday the
cause as marine pollution related to domestic waste.
"Domestic waste in Jakarta contains a high level of phosphates
and nitrogen. These two substances, along with hot weather,
rapidly increased the growth of algae," explained State Minister
of the Environment Nabiel Makarim at a media briefing.
The algae had absorbed oxygen in the seawater, killing fish
and clams in the bay.
Nitrogen found in most rivers and seawater is generated from
human feces, while phosphates came from detergent, Nabiel added.
He argued that if the factories located on the capital's north
coast were responsible, as claimed earlier by environmentalists
and experts, "rivers should be in the same situation as most
industrial firms dump their waste into them".
Last Friday, citing the findings of scientists at the
Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), Sutiyoso said algae
growth had poisoned the fish. He did not reveal what caused the
algae to proliferate, a situation that is known as a red tide
phenomenon.
The analysis is also corroborated by the Jakarta Environmental
Management Agency (BPLHD), the Jakarta Animal Husbandry Agency,
the Jakarta Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Agency, plus the Bogor
Institute of Agriculture (IPB).
The area affected by the red tide extended along the coastline
from Kamal beach to Karnaval beach, North Jakarta, encompassing
about 50 square kilometers.
Nabiel said such an incident should not happen again in
Jakarta and other marine areas close to big cities.
"I hope soon to meet with detergent producers and will suggest
to them that they reduce the phosphate content of their
products," he said.
In the long run, his office was thinking of installing a
relatively sophisticated sewerage system that would minimize
marine pollution.
He also warned that a similar incident almost occurred in
Ambon, Maluku. "Ambon has similar bay water and I was told that
what happened in Jakarta once happened there."
Separately, a postgraduate student of the Bogor Institute of
Agriculture (IPB) said in his dissertation that green oysters
caught from Jakarta Bay contained large quantities of heavy
metals.
"Regular consumption of such oysters could harm human health,"
said Isdradjad Setyobudiandi in Bogor, West Java, as reported by
Antara.
The habit of washing oysters under running water before
consumption had proven to be ineffective, the student asserted.