P

ollution in the Timor Sea caused by an oil spill from the Australian Montara oil field off Darwin, has damaged more than 1,000 hectares of ready-to-harvest seaweed along the coastal area of Rote Island, East Nusa Tenggara.

At least 300 seaweed farmers have stopped harvesting seaweed in the past week as the oil spill has destroyed the plants along the coastal area of the island.

"The seawater that was previously clear is now a milky-like color and emits a rancid odor. The smell is probably caused by a lot of dead fish in the area," Idrus, one of the farmers, told The Jakarta Post at the weekend.

Idrus claimed the pollution had cost the farmers millions of rupiah in losses.

Sadly, a local fisherman, said that hundreds of fishermen in the area had suffered losses due to a significant decrease in fish.

"Usually, we catch hundreds of red snappers a night, now we only catch three or four. In fact, we have spent millions on operational costs," Sadly said.

Besides the Rote Island fishermen, other fishermen operating off Pasir Island found an oil slick resembling a pool around 20 miles from Tablolong Beach in Kupang, or 30 nautical miles from Kolbano, South Central Timor regency.

Last week, fishermen on the coast of Rote Ndao regency also complained of illnesses as a result of the oil spill that reached land and damaged thousands of hectares of ready-to-harvest seaweed.

Ferdi Tanoni, from the West Timor Care Foundation, has urged the oil company and the Australian government to compensate the seaweed farmers and fishermen.

Tanoni also asked the company and the Australian government to finance the preservation of coral reefs and more than 1,600 specimens, which may be damaged by the oil spill.

"Seaweed, which is one of the province's prime commodities, has been polluted. If the farmers fail to harvest their seaweed, they will incur losses of up to billions of rupiah," said Tanoni.

The crude oil spill in the Timor Sea took place on Aug. 21. One of the oil platforms in the Australian Montara oil field has been discharging around 500,000 liters, or about 1,200 barrels of crude oil daily.

Four weeks after the oil spill, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) submitted an official report to the Indonesian government mentioning that volumes of crude oil had entered the Indonesian Exclusive Economic Zone, some 51 nautical miles from Rote Island.