Sapu-Sapu Fish from Ciliwung River in East Jakarta Sold for Siomay and Duck Feed

JAKARTA - Sapu-sapu fish caught in the Ciliwung River flow, Kramat Jati, East Jakarta, are frequently utilised by residents to be sold for processing into food ingredients. One of them is Tedy, an East Jakarta resident who has been catching and selling sapu-sapu fish for 15 years. “If we sell to collectors, it’s sold as fillets. Then they (the collectors) sell it to the market, processed for food ingredients, mixtures, can be for siomay, otak-otak,” said the fisherman named Tedy in Kramat Jati on Friday (17/4/2026). He usually sells sapu-sapu fish fillets for Rp15,000-20,000 per kilogram. “If we sell them raw per fish, no one wants them. It has to be in fillet form to be sold,” Tedy explained. Besides being used as food processing ingredients, sapu-sapu fish are also utilised for animal feed. “There are also those who buy sapu-sapu fillets for duck feed, catfish bait,” said Tedy. Tedy also welcomes the East Jakarta City Government’s plan to provide incentives to the community that helps catch sapu-sapu fish. “Better that (incentive), we don’t get tired of filleting, right? We don’t get tired of catching, tired of filleting, so the system is to bury them directly.” Tedy explained. The cooperative sapu-sapu fish catching operation in the Ciliwung River is directly led by the Mayor of East Jakarta, Munjirin. After that, Munjirin accompanied by the Head of the Food Security, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Sub-District Office Taufik and Assistant for Government of East Jakarta Fauzi boarded a rubber boat to scour the Ciliwung River. Subsequently, he netted sapu-sapu fish using a net from atop the rubber boat. The caught fish were first killed before being put into a hole to be buried.