Sea pollution forces Lampung fishermen to tie up boats

Oyos Saroso H.N., The Jakarta Post, Bandarlampung

Thousands of fisherman in the Lampung provincial capital of Bandarlampung are still unable to go to sea due to serious pollution in Pelabuhan Panjang waters, which has been blamed on local sugar cane plantation firm PT Gunung Madu Plantation (GMP).

The pollution from the plantation has led to a drastic drop in the fishermen's catch since last month, reports said.

Fishermen said on Saturday that the waste resulting from the production of molasses by the plantation company had caused the deaths of many fish in Pelabuhan Panjang waters, with the surviving fish being forced to move out into deeper water.

M. Sanip, one of the affected fishermen from Telukbone village in Bandarlampung, said he had tried to cast his nets but had only caught a few fish, enough only for his own family's needs.

To survive, he has been forced to temporarily become a construction worker.

"Unlike many of my fellow fishermen, I am lucky because I can do carpentry work," Sanip said.

He said he could not say when he and the other fishermen would be able to go back to sea again.

It could take around six months before the situation in the contaminated waters returned to normal, he said.

Sanip said some fishermen had been forced to go fishing in the polluted Lampung Bay because they had run out of food.

Usman, another fisherman, said some of his friends had to borrow money from local moneylenders to survive.

Secretary-general of the Lampung Fishermen's Association (SNL) Joko Purwanto said on Saturday that PT Gunung Madu Plantation had promised to pay Rp 900,000 (US$100) in compensation to each of the 300 affected fishermen for their loss of livelihood over the last 30 days.

But, none of the fishermen had yet to receive the money, he added.

Purwanto said the amount was based on the company's policy of compensating each fisherman with Rp 25,000 per day for one month.

"That's not enough because the fishermen have not been able to go to sea for at least two months," Purwanto said.

According to Purwanto, thousands of other fishermen in nearby areas were also demanding compensation from the company.

He said that based on the SNL's observations, the pollution had spread up to five nautical miles from Terminal D of Pelabuhan Panjang harbor, where a waste pipeline belonging to the company had sprung a leak, thus discharging the polluted material into the sea.

"Within a radius of five miles from the leaking pipeline, many fish have been found dead," he said.

Purwanto demanded that a legal settlement be made to resolve the issue based upon prevailing environmental law.

GMP's Business and Finance Manager Gunamarwan admitted that his company was responsible for the pollution and said that ways were being sought to remedy the problem.

He said that while molasses, a product of the company, were not noxious in themselves, the leakage of waste products could reduce the oxygen content in the water.

"As a result of the lack of the oxygen, many fish have died," he said.