Hundreds of Plecostomus Fish Captured Again in West Jakarta

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The West Jakarta Sub-Department of Food Security, Maritime Affairs, and Agriculture (KPKP) has once again captured 383 Plecostomus fish in the Pesanggrahan River flow, RW 05 Meruya Utara, Kembangan, on Wednesday.

“Today, we successfully captured 383 Plecostomus fish, with a total weight of 92 kilograms,” said the Head of the Fisheries Section of the West Jakarta KPKP Sub-Department, Aas Asih, when contacted in Jakarta on Wednesday.

The capture of Plecostomus fish, according to Aas, involved personnel from the Individual Other Service Providers (PJLP) of the Sub-Department of KPKP and the Handling of Public Infrastructure and Facilities (PPSU) of Meruya Utara Ward by spreading nets in the Pesanggrahan River flow.

“After being captured, they were immediately buried at the Semanan Flona Centre,” said Aas.

Previously, Aas explained that Plecostomus fish have invasive characteristics that are dangerous to other fish populations in the Semanan Indah Canal.

“So they multiply very quickly, causing local fish to be displaced,” Aas stated.

In addition, this species also creates holes in the walls of revetments, making the revetments brittle quickly.

“Indeed, the nature of Plecostomus fish is that they bore into walls for burrows. So this can damage the revetments of channels in the Jakarta area,” Aas said.

Furthermore, Aas noted that Plecostomus fish are often hunted by certain individuals to be processed into items like siomay.

Meanwhile, the fish contain bacteria such as E. coli or Salmonella, and even more severely, heavy metals like lead.

“It is concerning if the public consumes those (Plecostomus fish products) continuously, as the heavy metals accumulate in the human body. That’s why Plecostomus fish must be eradicated,” Aas concluded.