Hundreds of Tons of Fish Die Suddenly in Sumatra's Lake Maninjau

TEMPO.CO, Lubukbasung - Around 200 tons of tilapia and carp in the floating cages in Lake Maninjau of West Sumatra died suddenly following strong winds and heavy rainfall that hit the area since Monday, December 6.

Tanjungraya Sub-district Fisheries Extension Officer, Asrul Deni Putra Sunday, said December 12, that the mass deaths occurred in two villages, namely Nagari Tanjung Sani totaling 50 tons and Nagari Koto Kaciak amounting to 150 tons.

In Nagari Tanjung Sani, the floating cages are in Jorong Muko Jalan, Jorong Batu Nanggai, Jorong Galapuang, and Jorong Pandan. “This is temporary data that I got from farmers, and the fish are from hundreds of floating cages belonging to 150 people,” Asrul said.

He said the tilapia and carp died due to strong winds and high-intensity rainfall that hit the area which caused a reversal of water at the bottom of the volcanic lake. The water reversal caused the remaining feed at the bottom of the lake which contains ammonia to rise to the surface and poison the fish.

“In a few hours, the fish rose lifeless to the surface of the lake,” he added, appealing to farmers to immediately harvest the fish and transfer them to calm water ponds.

Previously, the Agam Fisheries and Food Security Service had appealed to farmers to postpone the sowing of fish seeds from September to January. In that month, rainfall accompanied by strong winds has the potential to hit the area of Lake Maninjau and lower the oxygen supply in the lake.

Read: Lake Maninjau Favorite Tourist Destination

ANTARA