Price fall nets losses for fishermen
Urip Hudiono, Jakarta
Only two days after the Muara Angke Fish Market management claimed sales was not affected by media reports on dead fish found in Jakarta Bay, fishermen in the area bemoaned that prices had dropped by up to 50 percent since Saturday.
Mina Jaya Fishermen Cooperatives chairman Fachrudin said on Sunday that the drop was caused by declining demand, as people had cut down on consuming fish following last week's warning issued by the Jakarta Environmental Management Agency (BPLHD).
"Prices have dropped drastically from the average Rp 20,000 (US$2.25) per kilogram of fish to only Rp 12,000," he told The Jakarta Post. "Some types of fish have even fallen to as low as Rp 10,000 per kilogram."
The BPLHD issued the warning upon the discovery of dead fish on the beaches of Ancol, Kamal Muara and the Thousand Islands since May 7.
The agency suspects pollution killed the fish, but has yet to determine whether the origin of the pollution was toxic waste from industrial plants, or the red tide phenomenon -- an extreme proliferation of toxic algae that absorbs an excessive amount of oxygen from the marine environment.
Muara Angke Fish Market head Riyadi said those fish that had declined sharply in price were mostly deep-sea fish such as Spanish mackerel (tenggiri), pomfret (bawal) and grouper (kerapu).
"The problem is, most people do not know this and simply assume that the fish at Muara Angke are caught in shallow waters in the bay," he said.
Several fishermen, who had just finished unloading their catch at the market's harbor for auction, confirmed the situation and said it would surely affect their income and make life more difficult.
Rohadi, a fisherman aboard the Timur Jaya, said that each crew member could earn up to Rp 50,000 per day from a fair catch -- between 300 and 400 kilograms of fish. But at the current prices, the boat's 20-strong crew would be lucky to cover their expenses.
"It's really frustrating. What we expected after days of catching fish at sea was simply to sell our fish at a good price... And it didn't happen," he said.
To resolve the situation, Fachrudin, who is also chairman of the Penjaringan chapter of the Indonesian Fishermen's Association (HNSI), has urged relevant officials to explain to the public that fish sold at Muara Angke did not come from Jakarta Bay.
The association, he said, also planned to hold a fish-eating exhibition, to which it would invite state and city officials, to show that the fish were safe for consumption.
"If the government was willing to help out poultry farmers during the bird flu outbreak, why won't they do the same now and help out fishermen?" he said.
Meanwhile, Muara Angke head auction supervisor Syamsuddin suggested fishermen at the market to eat samples of their catch raw to reassure any doubtful customers.
Riyadi, on the other hand, fears the fishermen would likely take their own measures to resolve the situation.
"There is a possibility that the fishermen will temporarily limit their fish supply to Muara Angke or simply stay at sea until the prices improve," he said. He admitted, though, that such moves would also be detrimental to the fishermen if carried out for too long a duration.
As with Fachrudin, Riyadi also suggests that the city administration immediately clarify the issue for the sake of the fishermen.
"The public must understand the difficult situation faced by the fishermen...," he said, adding that the city would also suffer a decline in revenues if Muara Angke sales fell further.