Protecting Local Fish for the Future

Name: Protecting Local Fish for the Future
Uploaded: 2021-03-12T04:04:02Z
Duration: 20 min 32 s
Description: For Professor Krismono (65), local fish stocks are gifts that are particularly prone to harm due to human activities. Protecting local fish stocks is deemed urgent to ensure our bright future.

For Professor Krismono (65), local fish stocks are gifts that are particularly prone to harm due to human activities. Protecting local fish stocks is deemed urgent to ensure our bright future.

Melati Mewangi

· 7 minutes read

For Professor Krismono (65), local fish stocks are gifts that are particularly prone to harm due to human activities. Protecting local fish stocks is deemed urgent to ensure our bright future.

One species of local fish that has attracted Krismono’s attention is eel (Anguilla sp). This fish has a high economic value for it is rich in omega-3,. Its price reaches as high as Rp 150,000 per kilogram at the fishermen level, with its main market being in Japan, China and South Korea. Indonesia itself is among top 10 producers of eels.

Regardless, the fate of this fish species is not as promising as its economic value. When Krismono began his mission to rescue the eel population in 2010 in Poso, Central Sulawesi, the eel population had already been under threat, despite the fact that Poso river basin area is one of the locations with large eel potentials in the country.

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Being the head of the Research Center for Fish Resources Recovery’s (BRPSDI) research team, Krismono has carried out several field studies, one of which was to explore the mouth of Poso River in Tomini Bay and up to its upstream area in Lake Poso. The river exploration was to study the way eels live as catadromous fish, which refers to fish species that are born in saltwater then migrate into the ocean as they grow into adults to spawn.

Nighttime was deliberately chosen as the time for exploring the river since eels are particularly active at night, starting from 10 PM to 6 AM, to look for food.

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Assisted by the knowledge of local residents, the research team then determined four locations to sample eel population. Other than the mouth of Poso River, the research team also explored areas in Pandiri, Sulewana and Tentena (Lake Poso). “The samples were taken using traps, fishing rods and wayamassapi (a traditional triangular fishing gear made from bamboo),” said Krismono when he was interviewed at BRPSDI office in Jatiluhur, Purwakarta, West Java, on Friday (5/2/2021).

From the river exploration, problems were uncovered one by one. Due to lack of knowledge, many local residents caught eggs of eels. This was deemed not ideal since letting the eggs to hatch and mature into adult eels would result in a higher selling price.

Meanwhile, female eels were also caught at a large-scale in Tentena, Lake Poso. This further disrupts the migration cycle of eels into the ocean where they spawn. “It could take up to 12 years for young eels to migrate from river mouth and mature,” explained Krismono.

The construction of a hydropower plant (PLTA) in Sulawena further exacerbates the circumstance as it increases the disruption of eel migration. Many young eels cannot migrate to Lake Poso due to the PLTA. Conversely, the PLTA’s filter prevents female eels from returning to the river mouth.

It could take up to 12 years for young eels to migrate from river mouth and mature.

However, the river exploration, which was conducted in two years, bore a solution. Local residents living in areas where the samples were taken, for instance, have gradually decreased the catching of female eels and their eggs. The government has also formulated a regulation pertaining to the conservation areas of eels in order to protect the eggs and the females in Gua Boko and Tomasa River, which does not intersect with the PLTA’s location.

Moreover, the river exploration also resulted in the issuance of new regulations, one of which is the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministerial Regulation No. 19/2012 concerning the prohibition of taking eel eggs from the Indonesian territory and transporting the eggs to outside the country’s territory. Another regulation is the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministerial Decree No. 80/2020 on the Limited Protection of Eels.

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A number of innovations have been made as well by Krismono and other researchers. For the eel population, he introduced a technology innovation pertaining to the route of eel migration together with Yayuk Sugianti, which they dubbed as “eelway”. In 2012, the eelway innovation was adopted by the PLTA in Sulewana. The second eelway was built again for the second time in the same location in 2019.

Eelway consists of a rectangular lane, whose base is covered with rough and fibrous substrate. In addition, it also has an area specifically designed for young eels and eggs, a temporary storage for eel eggs and a tank which releases the eggs to the water. This innovation is expected to help young eels migrate from the downstream area to the upstream area.

Protecting Citarum

Long before his eel rescue mission, Krismono was unfamiliar with fish. He studied at Gadjah Mada University’s Biology Department after he failed to get into the university’s medical school. While studying biology, he had yet to develop a specific interest in fish and reservoirs. “Back then, I only dreamed of having a quiet and calm working space, just like a reservoir or lake,” said Krismono.

His dream came true when he started working in BRPSDI in 1981. Behind his office, lies the Jatiluhur Reservoir, where his love for the aquatic ecosystem first blossomed.

I only dreamed of having a quiet and calm working space, just like a reservoir or lake.

Just like other reservoirs in Indonesia, Jatiluhur also holds potential dangers for the marine ecosystem. The water quality, for instance, is prone to deteriorating due to household and industrial waste. The use of floating net cages (KJA) could also harm the ecosystem.

Again, raising awareness among the local residents regarding the urgency of protecting the ecosystem is really important. Together with his colleagues, Krismono continues educating the local residents regarding the protection of Citarum River and Jatiluhur.

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Most recently, Krismono has been involved in the country’s restoration campaign called the Citarum Harum since 2018. The aim of the campaign is to minimize the potentials of environmental destruction and pollution along the Citarum River, which spans around 269 kilometers.

Study shows that there are new hopes for Citarum. A study carried out in October 2020 found that local fish species had reappeared in Jatiluhur.

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A number of local fish found in the eight locations where samples were taken include twospotted catfish, Java bars from the family of Cyprinidae and butter catfish. “This indicates an improving water quality since several fish species which disappeared from these locations have recently reappeared,” said Krismono.

Krismono has also been developing a new type of floating net cages that is more environmentally friendly in several reservoirs. Back in 2018, Jatiluhur and Cirata reservoirs used floating net cages which adopted a water management system using recirculation and plants (SMART). This type of net cages was developed together with another researcher, Lismining Pujiyani Astuti.

Different from conventional floating net cages, floating net cages using the SMART mechanism have an additional layer of inhibitor which slows the process of degradation as well as a container for leftover fish food at the bottom. Conventional floating net cages are only equipped with traditional nets, which are not ideal to catch the leftover fish food.