Epidemic kills tons of fish, local breeders hit hard
Nana Rukmana, The Jakarta Post, Kuningan, West Java
At least 820 tons of goldfish here have died following an unprecedented epidemic caused by the Aeromanas hydrophila bacterium over the past month, resulting in Rp 3.2 billion (US$35.75 million) in losses.
The bacterium has been found to have contaminated the regency's reservoir, breeding farms, and fishing ponds, head of the protection and health division at the local agriculture office Bunbun B said on Thursday.
He said that since the first attack of the bacterium was detected on June 16, his office had asked fish breeders to drain their fishing nets at Darma reservoir, located 12 kilometers south of here.
"The reservoir should be drained and cleared of the bacterium to prevent it from spreading to the remaining nets," he said.
Bunbun suggested that new fish breeding be suspended until September to avoid the effect of poison contained in the substances used to clean the reservoir.
He speculated that Aeromanas had come from the breeding stock of young fish brought in from other regencies, notably the neighboring town of Subang.
"It (Subang) is the place where the bacterium was first found. I believe it has already spread to Central Java, Yogyakarta and East Java," he said.
Separately, agriculture office chairman Kaswan Heryawan admitted that he had received a report about the epidemic from many fish breeders and the first district reporting an attack by the bacterium was Pasawahan, followed by other districts such as Cigugur, Darma and Kuningan.
He said that based on the research conducted by the Center of Water Fisheries in the regency, before being attacked by the bacterium, the fish were infected with Rhabdovirus, a virus that weakens the fishes' immunity.
"Aeromanas is not a new type of bacterium and can be found everywhere. It can be lethal if the fishes' immunity is weak," he said.
"The bacterium will die within 24 hours if it cannot find a host such as fish gills. Neither can Aeromanas live at a temperature above 30 degrees Celsius.
Heryawan said that a fish that had been attacked by Aeromanas would show some white spots on its gills and scales and would die within three days.
He suggested that the traders stop trafficking in fish breeding stock in the regions affected and breed other kinds of fish that were more resistant to the bacterium until the reservoir water had been declared safe.
Sukarya, a fish breeder in Pasawahan district, said he had lost Rp 6 million to the epidemic while Suharna, who breeds fish at Darma reservoir, said he had suffered almost Rp 7 million in losses.