The mystery of 100 tons of fish that died suddenly in Lake Toba was revealed

The mystery of 100 tons of fish that suddenly died in the floating cage of Lake Toba was finally revealed. The fish are believed to have died from the strong winds that caused the water to swirl under the lake.

Information about the death of fish raised by residents has become the concern of the Samosir Regency Government. The team was then deployed to investigate the cause.

“I have ordered the Agriculture Service and the Environment Service to investigate the causes and volume estimates,” said acting regent Samosir Lasro Marbun when asked for confirmation on Friday (10/23/2020).

Lasro said he had ordered the Samosir regency administration to remove the dead fish first. He was concerned that the fish carcasses could contaminate the water.

“My order to the Department of Agriculture, BPBD, Satpol PP, head of sub-district, and kades to lift the carcasses of dead fish so as not to impact the environment. They have implemented it, ”he said.

However, Lasro has not yet explained the details of the cause of the fish’s death. He said the fish had started to die since Wednesday (10/21).

“If I’m not mistaken as of Wednesday,” Lasro said.

It happened in 2018

Apparently these fish died suddenly are not the first. In 2018, it is estimated that at least 180 tons of fish died.

Meanwhile, in 2015, the Director General of Pollution Control and Environmental Damage of the Ministry of Environment and Forests at the time, Karliansyah, revealed that his group had verified the status of Lake Toba in 2014.The results showed that the lake that became a tourist attraction was contaminated with fish food.

“So in Lake Toba there are a lot of floating cages of companies and indigenous peoples. A lot of fish feed is deposited from these cages,” Karliansyah said during a conversation on Saturday (6/6/2015).

Fish food has various organic contents, from nitrogen to phosphorus. The deposition makes it difficult for sunlight to penetrate the surface of the lake. This is called killing fish.

“The high content of organic waste needs oxygen to decompose. Without oxygen, the fish die,” he said.