Pollution in Batam keeps fishermen on shore

Fadli, The Jakarta Post, Batam

Hundreds of traditional fishermen in Batam, Riau Islands, have stopped fishing over the past few weeks due to the heavy pollution dumped by oil tankers in Batam waters.

Jumangin, a 60-year-old fisherman in Teluk Mata Ikan, said most fishermen in his village had stayed home and a few had sought other work in construction projects since the sea and coastal areas around the village were heavily contaminated.

Fishermen say they have frequently filed complaints to relevant authorities but no positive response has been given so far.

"The polluted waters have forced fish to migrate to deeper waters and made nets and bodies black. It is impossible for us to use our small boats to fish in deeper water along the Malacca Strait," he told The Jakarta Post here on Tuesday.

Jumangin said he doubted the capacity of local security authorities to protect the area against sea pollution. He said it the main pollution was caused by oil sludge dumped by oil tankers passing through the Malacca Straits and it has happened right under security authorities' noses.

"Each time we file complaints to the authorities we are asked to identify oil tankers and vessels dumping oil sludge. It is their task, and not ours, to conduct surveillance and arrest the polluting tankers," Jumangin said, also an executive of the local chapter of the All-Indonesian Fishermen Association (HNSI).

Under normal conditions, fishermen could earn up to Rp 200,000 per day but following the pollution, Jumangin said it had been very difficult to get even Rp 40,000 a day.

Another fisherman, Abdurrahman, said he has moored his boat for three weeks and would be seeking other work if the pollution continues.

He said many vessels dump toxic wastewater in the Batam sea and local authorities did not take any measures to stop them.

"The poisonous wastewater is packed in plastic bins before being dumped far off the island but later they are carried back to shore by waves and strong winds," he said.

Meanwhile, chairman of the Toxic Waste Transporters Association (Aspel B3) Kurniawan said the oil sludge and toxic waste were dumped by tankers undergoing cleaning service in the middle of the sea between Indonesia and Singapore.

He also regretted the government could not enforce the law to stop the sea pollution, saying Indonesia should uphold its sovereignty on its sea territories.

Secretary of the HNSI local office Awaluddin Nasution said almost all fishermen in the Riau archipelago could not set out to the sea after the waters were badly polluted.

"Foreign oil tankers have dumped their sludge when the wind was blowing toward Indonesia," he said, citing that the dumping occurred when the tankers were undergoing an illegal tank cleaning service which involved Indonesian workers.

He said he suspected the reason authorities had turned a blind eye to the oil dumping was because they were receiving bribes from oil tankers during their passage through Indonesian waters.

Chief of the local waste water and environmental impact management office Dendi N. Purnomo said his office has deployed devices to collect toxic waste to be sent to the toxic waste water processing plant in Cibinong in West Java.

He also said the sea pollution has also affected the tourist resort on the island. "Tourists can no longer swim or do other water activities like surfing or canoeing.

He said he had spoken with the naval base on the island to enhance supervision and urged them to bring harsh sanctions against oil tankers dumping waste in the area.