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il spilled into the Timor Sea for approximately 74 days in 2009, resulting in a change of fish migration patterns in the area, which is now costing the local fishing industry.

The pollution, the result of a blowout at the Montara oil rig in August 2009, has caused the catches of local fishermen in East Nusa Tenggara to decline, among other problems.

“The massive pollution due to the oil spill from the Montara oil rig is the main cause of fish depletion in the Timor Sea,” West Timor Care Foundation (YPTB) head Ferdi Tanoni told reporters on Monday.

Conditions are getting even worse for the fishermen now with the use of fish aggregating devices, locally known as rumpon, by large ships from Benoa, Bali. The devices are believed to have obstructed the migration of fish and made it difficult for local fishermen to catch large quantities, as many fish have already been trapped.

Ferdi, who is fighting against Timor Sea pollution through an Australian court, said based on research by fisheries and marine experts from the US and Australia, the oil pollution in the Timor Sea has altered the flow of fish migrating from Australian waters.

“Many facts prove that the pollution in the Timor Sea has caused changes in fish migration from Australia. It is evidenced by the dozens of whales that were found dead and dolphins stranded off Savu and Lembata islands recently,” he said.

Besides the impact on fish migration, Ferdi added, the pollution had also destroyed seaweed farming in NTT, especially in coastal areas on Rote Island, south of Timor Island and Sumba Island.

Ferdi has asked the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry to pay attention to the tens of thousands of seaweed farmers in NTT, who since 2009 have suffered significant losses — of up to 85 percent of revenue — due to declining seaweed harvests as a result of pollution.

“A number of coastal areas have started to cultivate seaweed now, but its quality is already poor due to oil contamination,” he said.

Besides that, he added, a strange phenomenon of crocodiles appearing in coastal areas in Kupang regency, which have killed a number of local residents, was indication that their habitat had been polluted.

According to Australian fisheries experts, a scientific study must be conducted on the phenomenon because the crocodiles are likely to have faced difficulty obtaining food in the sea so have been forced to appear in the areas and prey on people.

Citing research from the Australia World Wildlife Fund, Ferdi said the oil pollution to the south of Rote Island, which is the center of fish migration from Australia to the Timor Sea, had led to changes in fish migration.

“The giant fish traps installed in the Timor Sea may also have contributed to the changes in the migration of fish, but they are not too significant when compared with the case of Montara oil rig’s blast into the Timor Sea on Aug. 21, 2009,” he said.

In the southern part of Rote Island, he continued, research by experts from the US showed the crude oil discharge, mixed with chemicals and poisonous toxic dispersant, had reached a rate of 10,000 to 20,000 barrels per day, continuing for 74 days. A barrel is equivalent to 159 liters.

“The fish traps as well as the practice of illegal fishing in the Timor Sea by giant trawlers have been ongoing for a long time, but did not significantly alter the migration of fish,” said Ferdi.