Not just the fish: Plecostomus eggs also targeted in Central Jakarta cleanup

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Central Jakarta City Government (Pemkot Jakpus) is holding activities to capture plecostomus fish along with their eggs in the river flows in the local area every Friday morning.

“Every Friday morning, one of the actions is to catch plecostomus fish,” said Central Jakarta Mayor Arifin in Jakarta on Friday.

According to him, on this occasion, Pemkot Jakpus captured plecostomus fish in eight sub-districts in Central Jakarta.

Arifin explained that the capture is not only focused on the fish themselves, but also their eggs to prevent them from reinvading the river waters.

“We are not only catching the fish, but their eggs are also the target of our operation,” said Arifin.

He hopes that by capturing the plecostomus fish and eggs, the population of these animals can decrease, allowing the rivers in Jakarta to be repopulated by other fish.

This situation, he said, occurs because currently the rivers in Central Jakarta are mostly inhabited by plecostomus fish that are resilient to river conditions.

“We must be able to reduce the population of plecostomus fish in Jakarta’s waters, because now they have taken over significantly,” stated Arifin.

Previously, DKI Jakarta Governor Pramono Anung Wibowo explained that according to an analysis from the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (KKP), it is estimated that more than 60 percent of plecostomus fish are currently in Jakarta and other areas.

The presence of these fish in rivers and culverts is considered quite dangerous because they eat the eggs of local fish and damage river walls.

“The most dangerous thing is that in yesterday’s meeting, I was reported by the Head of KKP that in these fish, the average residue level is above 0.3. If consumed, it will be dangerous, and if left alone, they will cause damage,” revealed Arifin.