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Troubled waters: Jakarta battles deadly, invasive suckerfish
Mayor Muhammad Anwar said residents, sanitation workers and soldiers removed the fish as officials warned some are sold in snacks despite contamination concerns.
- In recent weeks, Jakarta launched a campaign to remove invasive sapu-sapu fish from local rivers, with Mayor Muhammad Anwar overseeing the removal of about 5.3 tonnes from South Jakarta's Babakan Lake this week.
- Originally from the Amazon River, these suckermouth catfish were introduced to Indonesia decades ago for aquariums; lacking natural predators in Java, they quickly outcompeted indigenous freshwater fish for food and eggs.
- Tests have found dangerous levels of lead, mercury, and E.coli in the fish; Mayor Anwar warned they are 'dangerous to humans' despite some residents consuming them as snacks.
- Clean river campaigner Gary Bencheghib argues the culling fails to address underlying pollution, suggesting the real solution is cleaning 'the waste it lives off... that you find in these polluted waters.'
- Nationwide, only about 7.4 percent of municipal wastewater is safely treated in Indonesia, and the United Nations Environment Programme reports invasive species cost over $400 billion annually globally.
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Invasive suckerfish choke Jakarta rivers in mounting environmental crisis
JAKARTA: Mounds of slimey carcasses pile up on a riverbank in Jakarta where authorities are fighting an uphill battle against a fast-breeding invasive fish flourishing in Java island’s heavily polluted waterways.
·Malaysia
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ABC FOX Montana+20 Reposted by 20 other sources
Troubled waters: Jakarta battles deadly, invasive suckerfish
Mounds of slimey carcasses pile up on a riverbank in Jakarta where authorities are fighting an uphill battle against a fast-breeding invasive fish flourishing in Java island's heavily polluted waterways.
·Missoula, United States
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Coverage Details
Total News Sources24
Leaning Left2Leaning Right6Center5Last UpdatedBias Distribution46% Right
Bias Distribution
- 46% of the sources lean Right
46% Right
15%
C 39%
R 46%
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