Pramono to Hold Special Meeting on Plecostomus Fish, Asks All Mayors to Eradicate Them

Governor of DKI Jakarta, Pramono Anung, will hold a special meeting to discuss the handling of plecostomus fish, which is considered a threat to Jakarta’s aquatic ecosystems. He also requests all mayors in Jakarta to take action to eradicate the invasive fish.

“In the near future, the DKI Jakarta Government will hold a special meeting regarding plecostomus fish because I will ask all mayors to handle this,” said Pramono in East Jakarta on Tuesday (14/4/2026).

Pramono explained that plecostomus is an invasive species originating from South America with high resilience. Its presence is considered to disrupt the ecosystem balance by becoming a predator to local fish.

“Moreover, this fish comes from South America; they are very strong and then become predators to local fish, such as wader and others. They take all the food,” he stated.

In addition, plecostomus is said to damage riverbank infrastructure by creating holes as their habitats.

“And they damage the existing embankments because their homes are there,” he added.

Pramono emphasised that the handling of plecostomus will be carried out seriously and in a coordinated manner across all Jakarta areas. He hopes this step can serve as an example for other regions.

“We will handle this seriously because Jakarta hopefully can become a role model for that,” he said.

Previously, a joint team of 100 personnel from the DKI KPKP Department to Central Jakarta’s Gulkarmat conducted an operation to catch plecostomus in Kali Cideng, right in front of Plaza Indonesia, Menteng. In the operation, officers successfully captured 41 large plecostomus fish, which have long been considered to disrupt the river ecosystem.

Head of DKI Jakarta’s KPKP Department, Hasudungan A Sidabalok, stated that the capture was carried out to eradicate the invasive fish. Similar actions have also been conducted in Kali Ciliwung.

“Previously, we have also resolved similar issues in Kali Ciliwung,” said Hasudungan in a statement on Friday (10/4).