The waters off the southern coast of Obi Island have turned red due to pollution from the nickel mines and smelters. Image: Rabul Sawal/ Mongabay Indonesia.
Yoksan Jurumudi came home with a long face after spending the whole day looking for fish in the waters off the Obi Islands in Indonesia’s North Maluku province.
The fisherman dumped out his catch, but it was only enough to feed his own family. There was nothing left over that could be sold, let alone shared with his extended family.
The days when the fishermen of Obi Island would land a bounty of skipjack tuna have long passed, they say. It now takes them at least three days of fishing, venturing increasingly farther out to sea on their small wooden ketinting canoes, to bring back just 10 kilograms (22 pounds) of tuna.
“It’s certainly harder now to look for fish in the Kawasi Sea,” Yoksan, referring to the main fishing area in the region, told Mongabay Indonesia in an interview last September.
Like many other local fishers, Yoksan blames the disappearance of the fish in the waters around the Obi Islands on the expansion of the nickel industry. First came the mines, in 2007, followed since then by smelters that refine the metal into battery-grade quality. During that time, locals say, there’s also been an undeniable degradation of the environment in and around the Obi Islands.
“I’m now over 50 years old, so I know very well the situation with the marine fish,” fisherman Umar Dahada told Mongabay Indonesia. “When it’s the rainy season, the sea turns red. I can’t fish there.”
The 42 islands that make up the Obi archipelago are part of eastern Indonesia’s famed “spice islands.” For centuries they produced mainly cloves, nutmeg and pepper. They’re also home to a rich diversity of marine life, sitting inside the Pacific Coral Triangle.
But in addition to spices and biodiversity, the Obi Islands are also rich in minerals, including gold and coal, but principally nickel. The metal is in high demand for use in electric vehicle batteries, and prices recently hit an 11-year high on supply concerns.
Indonesia is the world’s top nickel producer, with the government pushing for increased mining and refining. That includes in the Obi Islands, where national and provincial authorities, in a show of support for the industry, approved in 2019 a request by mining company PT Trimegah Bangun Persada to dump 6 million tonnes of waste into the ocean each year. Mongabay - link - Rabul Sawal - link - more like this (sea dumping) - link - more like this - link
The days when the fishermen of Obi Island would land a bounty of skipjack tuna have long passed, they say. It now takes them at least three days of fishing, venturing increasingly farther out to sea on their small wooden ketinting canoes, to bring back just 10 kilograms (22 pounds) of tuna.
“It’s certainly harder now to look for fish in the Kawasi Sea,” Yoksan, referring to the main fishing area in the region, told Mongabay Indonesia in an interview last September.
Like many other local fishers, Yoksan blames the disappearance of the fish in the waters around the Obi Islands on the expansion of the nickel industry. First came the mines, in 2007, followed since then by smelters that refine the metal into battery-grade quality. During that time, locals say, there’s also been an undeniable degradation of the environment in and around the Obi Islands.
“I’m now over 50 years old, so I know very well the situation with the marine fish,” fisherman Umar Dahada told Mongabay Indonesia. “When it’s the rainy season, the sea turns red. I can’t fish there.”
The 42 islands that make up the Obi archipelago are part of eastern Indonesia’s famed “spice islands.” For centuries they produced mainly cloves, nutmeg and pepper. They’re also home to a rich diversity of marine life, sitting inside the Pacific Coral Triangle.
But in addition to spices and biodiversity, the Obi Islands are also rich in minerals, including gold and coal, but principally nickel. The metal is in high demand for use in electric vehicle batteries, and prices recently hit an 11-year high on supply concerns.
Indonesia is the world’s top nickel producer, with the government pushing for increased mining and refining. That includes in the Obi Islands, where national and provincial authorities, in a show of support for the industry, approved in 2019 a request by mining company PT Trimegah Bangun Persada to dump 6 million tonnes of waste into the ocean each year. Mongabay - link - Rabul Sawal - link - more like this (sea dumping) - link - more like this - link
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