Synchronous War on Janitor Fish, Jakarta Nets 6.98 Tonnes of Fish Today

The DKI Provincial Government successfully netted 6.98 tonnes of janitor fish through a simultaneous capture operation held in five administrative cities of Jakarta on Friday (17/4). “The Janitor Fish Capture Operation activity ran from 07:30 to 11:00 WIB. The catch obtained reached 6.98 tonnes,” wrote the Head of the DKI Jakarta Food Security, Maritime, and Agriculture Agency (KPKP), Hasudungan A. Sidabalok, via a short message. The breakdown of the janitor fish catches across the five administrative cities of DKI Jakarta is as follows: South Jakarta: 63,600 fish (5,300 kg), located at the Setu Babakan Outlet Water Gate, Srengseng Sawah Village, Jagakarsa District. East Jakarta: 4,128 fish (825.5 kg), at 10 points in the Districts. Central Jakarta: 536 fish (565 kg), located at seven points in the Districts. North Jakarta: 545 fish (271 kg), located at the PHB Channel RW 06, Kelapa Gading Barat Village, Kelapa Gading District. West Jakarta: 71 fish (17 kg) at the Kali Anak TSI, Duri Kosambi Village, Cengkareng District. DKI Jakarta Governor Pramono Anung stated that this simultaneous action to eradicate janitor fish in the five DKI Jakarta regions was taken because the population of this invasive fish has dominated more than 60 percent of Jakarta’s waters and threatens the survival of local endemic fish. “This fish is extremely invasive, and it also causes other fish in the area, especially local endemics, to almost all be unable to survive,” said Pramono at the Kelapa Gading Housing Complex, North Jakarta, on Friday (17/4). Pramono emphasised that this action is not merely ceremonial, but a serious effort to break the chain of dominance of this species that damages river walls. “Why the DKI Jakarta Government is carrying out this movement is because we want the fish that has become too dominant and is damaging the aquatic ecosystem in Jakarta,” said Pramono. The decision to conduct this large-scale cleaning is based on laboratory findings showing that janitor fish in Jakarta’s waters contain dangerous heavy metals. Pramono explained that the substances in the fish’s body have exceeded safe thresholds, making their presence in the environment very risky for humans. “And the most dangerous thing is that yesterday in a meeting I was reported by the head of KKP that in this fish the average residue level is already 0.3. And that is very dangerous,” said Pramono.