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Ministry investigates mass fish deaths at Jatiluhur dam
Although the cause of the incident is still under investigation, authorities have suggested that the mass fish die-off was likely caused by extreme weather conditions and a natural phenomenon known as upwelling.
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Abundant aquaculture: The Jatiluhur Dam reservoir in Purwakarta Regency, West Java, is seen in this undated aerial photo. (Shutterstock/Akhmad Dody Firmansyah)
T
he Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry has launched an investigation into a mass mortality event that affected thousands of fish at floating fish farms at the Jatiluhur Dam, Purwakarta Regency, West Java, over the weekend.
Officials from the ministry's Directorate General of Fish Farming, along with personnel from the Purwakarta Animal Husbandry and Fisheries Agency, visited the dam on Monday to collect water samples for analysis.
The ministry's Director of Freshwater Fish Farming Ujang Komarudin estimated that approximately 100 tonnes of fish were lost in the incident, the majority of which were goldfish.
"Given that the price of goldfish is around Rp 22,000 (US$1.34) per kilogram, this mass die-off has led to an estimated loss of around Rp 2.2 billion for the fish farmers," he said on Monday, as reported by Antara.
Although the cause of the incident is still under investigation, Ujang suggested that the mass fish die-off was likely caused by extreme weather conditions and a natural phenomenon known as upwelling.
Upwelling occurs when changes in wind direction affect the lake’s currents, causing deeper waters to mix with those at the surface. This phenomenon can lead to oxygen depletion for fish living near the surface, as deeper waters typically have lower oxygen levels.
Fish farmers at the Jatiluhur Dam reported several days of heavy rain and strong winds in the area last week, which also contributed to a drop in water temperature, further exacerbating the conditions.
