Thousands Of Dead Fish On Ternate Beach, Police Investigate Water Samples Take To Lab

A resident observed the carcass of a fish found dead stranded on the coast of Sasa Beach, Ternate City, Monday (11/9/2023). ANTARA/Abdul Fatah

North Maluku Regional Police (Polda) deployed personnel to investigate the case of thousands of dead fish found stranded on the coast of Sasa Beach, Ternate City.

"The cause of death of these fish is not yet known, but it is suspected that waste is the cause of the dead animals," said Director of Criminal Investigation at the North Maluku Police, Police Commissioner Afriadi Lesmana, when confirmed by Ternate, Monday, September 11, was confiscated by Antara.

He said his party had gone down to the location to take samples of water and dead fish to be taken to the laboratory.

Thousands of fish were found dead in a location located behind Sasa's Sharia Market, Sunday, September 10. Not far from that location, there are tofu processing plants and shipyards.

The exact cause of death of the fish is not yet known, but it is suspected that it was due to waste polluting the waters of Sasa Beach.

Ismail, a local resident, said that in the past month, dead fish were often found in that place, but the findings on Sunday, September 10 were the highest number.

"Earlier, residents took the initiative to clean up trash on the beach, then got a lot of dead fish," he said.

According to him, small children who play on the beach often bring the dead fish home, but it is not known whether the fish are consumed or not.