Impossible to Eliminate Sailfin Catfish from Jakarta's Rivers, Situation Already Severe

Jakarta - A sailfin catfish (pleco) community activist, Anton, believes that efforts to eliminate sailfin catfish from Jakarta’s rivers are almost impossible to carry out. This is due to the extensive spread and high adaptability of the fish in polluted waters. Anton, who also represents the specialist pleco shop “The FIN’s” in Kembangan, West Jakarta, stated that the current population of sailfin catfish is already too large and dispersed across various river flows. It should be noted that sailfin catfish have high resilience to poor environmental conditions, including water polluted with waste. This condition allows the fish to survive when other species cannot. In addition, the reproductive ability of sailfin catfish in the wild is a factor that makes their population difficult to control. This is because, in a single encounter, sailfin catfish can produce hundreds of eggs. “For the types found in Jakarta’s canals, they typically lay around 200 to 400 eggs per spawning. That’s what makes their numbers increase so quickly,” said Anton. Nevertheless, he believes that the approach to handling the sailfin catfish population should not only focus on extermination, but also on improving the river environment conditions. “Water pollution from chemicals and domestic waste can kill fish that are weaker than the more resilient and adapted sailfin catfish,” he explained. The presence of sailfin catfish can indeed have environmental impacts, one of which is causing erosion on riverbanks due to their activity of digging holes for breeding. “Sailfin catfish dig holes for reproduction and this can cause erosion on river edges,” he clarified. Given this situation, population control efforts need to be carried out realistically and sustainably, rather than aiming to completely eliminate them from the waters.