Fishermen worry about losing income, not pollution

Fishermen worry about losing income, not pollution

By Sirikit Syah

SURABAYA (JP): The fishing communities of Kenjeran and Keputih
districts here are facing dire health risks from the highest
contamination of heavy metals in the world.

"We used to sell up to 500 kilos of fish a day; people would
wait for us on the beach," fisherman Mohammad said. "Now, we're
lucky if we can sell around 100 kilos a day. And nobody waits for
us now."

Kenjeran to the east of Surabaya is one of East Java's prime
tourist spots, famous for local delicacies like kupang lontong
(steamed rice sticks and clams) and sate kerang (sauteed
shellfish). This is where people buy directly from the fishermen.
Once reports of contamination hit the press earlier this year
sales dropped dramatically.

Yajid, a local youth who used to catch shellfish and sell them
to nearby restaurants, is facing a hard time as well. He used to
earn Rp 50,000 (US$21) a day from his catch, at about Rp 7,000
per kg. Today he makes considerably less.

Hariah, who sells kupang lontong and sate kerang, said she
makes less and less every day. She used to sell about 10 kilos of
clams and shellfish in three days. It's no longer that much
anymore, and the small food market where she sells her food is
often empty now.

Fishermen trying to sell their catch in Pabean, the biggest
fish market in Surabaya, also complain that people are avoiding
fish these days. "This is bad for our business," one said.

Three local researchers -- Suharno Pikir, Anwar Daud and Atiek
Moesriyati -- found that the beaches of Kenjeran and Keputih are
home to the worst heavy metal contamination in the world.

Suharno Pikir of Airlangga University revealed in 1993 that
samples of mud taken from Keputih contained 1.485 parts per
million (ppm) of mercury, while those from Kenjeran had 0.605
ppm. The mercury contamination in Southampton, England -- once
said to be world's highest -- in comparison, ranged between 0.18
to 0.57 ppm.

Daud Anwar, who continued Suharno's research after the latter
died, found early symptoms of Minamata (a pollution-related
sickness once suffered by people of Minamata Bay in Japan) among
residents who consume fish and clams daily.

According to Kompas, Daud's study found 44 residents
complaining of headaches, fever, pain, loss of appetite, and
overall listlessness. He also found some neurological disorders.

"With such high levels of contamination, the fish and
shellfish from the eastern shore of Surabaya are not fit to eat,"
Daud said.

Increasing

The most recent research was conducted in 1995 by Atiek
Moesriyati from the November 10 Institute of Technology in
Surabaya (ITS). She studied the contamination of fish, shrimps,
shellfish and residents' blood. She found even higher
contamination than that recorded by her two predecessors.

Atiek declined to be specific about the level of
contamination, but insisted that it has been increasing for the
past two years.

Kompas last month quoted H. Agus Syamsuddin, the head of the
East Java provincial office of the environment, as saying that
the studies should be examined in more detail. He admitted that
currently, there are 26 factories dumping their waste into the
Surabaya River on a daily basis.

"But the waste is processed first," he insisted.

Atiek said she had submitted her findings to the local office
of the Ministry of Health, the Surabaya mayoralty and her
university.

"I don't know what has been done so far to follow up. If
anything has been done, I certainly don't know about it," she
said.

She acknowledged that residents may not feel anything amiss
yet, but said that health problems due to pollution often take
years to emerge. People in Minamata showed symptoms some 30 years
after the pollution took place.

One chemical factory in Canada buried its waste in the 1940s
in Luff Canal near the Niagara Falls; some 30 years later, the
farmers and their children started to suffer from skin diseases.
When examined, the residents' bodies showed contamination by
heavy metals.

Atiek pointed out that elements of heavy metals such as
mercury and lead remain in the liver and kidneys.

"These elements cannot be destroyed. They are absorbed. They
cannot be washed out of the body through urine or sweat. They
will become toxic -- fatal," Atiek said.

Atiek warned that mercury affects the metabolism and the
reproductive system. Even if nobody seems affected today, future
children may have to suffer instead, she said.