No money, no 'arwana' research

JAYAPURA, Irian Jaya: Lack of funding has prevented the Irian Jaya administration from launching a research program to confirm reports that rivers in Merauke regency are inhabited by the prized arwana fish, Antara said.

Kisto Mintardjo, the head of the Fisheries Office, said reports from Merauke suggested that many rivers in the southern part of Irian Jaya, particularly in Merauke, could potentially have sizable populations of arwana.

He said that he hoped universities and research institutes would one day take the trouble to look into the claim.

He said the administration would also welcome private companies seeking to open breeding businesses for the fish, which is a popular aquarium species.

The arwana is a protected species and trade in it is regulated by the government. However, Kisto pointed out that Irian Jaya had not yet used up the arwana trade quota allocated to it.