Undersea Anomalies in Aceh to be Studied

Jakarta Globe, Nurfika Osman, April 18, 2010

A special geological assessment team will be sent to Aceh to see whether the strong 7.2-magnitude earthquake this month had significantly altered the geography of the area.

Ridwan Djamaluddin, director for mitigation and regional development at the State Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT), said on Sunday that a team of 15 researchers from the BPPT was expected to arrive in Aceh Singkil district on Wednesday.

Residents on Banyak Island, off Aceh Singkil, which was near the epicenter of the quake on April 7, have claimed that the seabed has risen dramatically since the temblor. Undersea fissures were also reportedly spewing out mud and rocks.

“We will be observing the area and the team will be coordinating with the local government as soon as they arrive, collecting the data they need and making their assessment,” Ridwan said, adding that Aceh Governor Irwandi Yusuf had invited the agency to visit the site.

“The Acehnese governor tells us that local people are starting to get worried and they are thinking of moving to a safer place,” he said. “We are going to tell them if it is actually dangerous or not after conducting a thorough analysis.”

Banyak islander Mufliadi previously said that the changes in the seabed were first noted on Tuesday by a fisherman who had been trawling for sea cucumbers in the Gosong Turak waters around Pailana Island, one of the many islets in the chain.

“He was shocked and came back to tell us what he’d seen because the site is a prime fishing spot for local fishermen” but no fish were found in the once abundant area, he said.

Before the quake, the waters at Gosong Turak were 20 to 30 meters deep, but now stood at just five meters, Mufliadi said. He said the villagers were concerned an undersea volcano could be forming.

Ridwan said the assessment team would also visit the Mentawai Islands in West Sumatra to help prepare a tsunami warning system for the area.

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Fearful Aceh Islanders Tell of Massive Sea Change in the Wake of Earthquake

Jakarta Globe, Nurdin Hasan, April 15, 2010

Banda Aceh. Local residents claim the seabed near Banyak Island in Aceh Singkil district, Aceh, has risen dramatically since the 7.2-magnitude earthquake on April 7.

They also say they have seen an undersea fissure spewing out mud and rocks. But experts are not so sure about the supposed geological phenomenon.

Banyak islander Mufliadi told the Jakarta Globe the phenomenon was first noted on Tuesday by fisherman Ruslan, who had been trawling for sea cucumbers in the Gosong Turak waters around Pailana Island, just off Banyak.

“He was shocked and came back to tell us what he’d seen because the site is a prime fishing spot for the local fisherman,” Mufliadi said on Thursday.

Ruslan had been shocked to find layer upon layer of rocks and no fish in the area. The fisherman also reported a 10-meter-long fissure shaped like a frying pan.

Before the quake, the water in Gosong Turak had been 20 to 30 meters deep but now was just five meters, he said.

On Wednesday, hundreds of villagers dove into the water to see the change for themselves and take rock samples.

“The black rocks were the size of a person’s head, and crumbled easily,” Mufliadi said. “When we burned the rocks, a very strong odor was emitted.”

He said the villagers were concerned the fissure could be an undersea volcano because it kept spewing mud.

Mufliadi urged local authorities to survey the area to confirm what was happening and ease villagers’ concerns.

“If the fissure really is a volcano, we want to anticipate and be ready for the worst-case scenario,” he said.

Mufliadi said more people visited the area on Thursday, bringing back yellow stones “that looked like gold.”

Banyak Island subdistrict head Safnil confirmed the seabed was silting, after visiting the area. “There is a geological anomaly underwater, shaped a bit like a volcano, that keeps spewing out mud,” he said. “But the mud isn’t hot like lava from a regular volcano.”

Safnil said many Banyak residents were worried. He urged them to remain calm and alert pending the arrival of geologists to study whether the fissure posed a threat.

But Danny Hilman Natawidjaya, a geologist from the Indonesian Institute for Sciences (LIPI), told the Jakarta Globe it was impossible for the seabed to have risen so much. “The maximum the seabed can rise is one meter,” he said. “If it did really happen, there should have been a major landslide near the area.”

Danny also said the anomaly that looked like a volcano was called liquefaction. “It’s normal, as the layer of sand on the seabed is pushed by the quake until it liquefies and forms a volcano and can spew out mud,” he said.

Danny said earthquakes altered the land and sea structure and sometimes fish left to find a more comfortable habitat.

Additional reporting by Nurfika Osman

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Bantaeng Exports Sea Cucumber to Hong Kong

Tempo Interactive, Monday, 29 March, 2010 | 14:05 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Bantaeng: Bantaeng regency in South Sulawesi is preparing its first sea cucumber export to Hong-Kong. This follows the the regency’s succeess in exporting fish in the form of frozen surimi to Japan and kapok seeds to Korea.

The export of 4.2 tons of sea cucumber with a value of more than Rp 3 billion will be carried out by UD Mamampang Jaya, a local company in partnership with companies from the Philippines and Malaysia. Saing, the head of the company, confirmed the export to Bantaeng Regent, H M. Nurdin Abdullah, last week.

According to Saing, who came with his partners from Malaysia and Philippines, the sea cucumbers are obtained from areas around Bantaeng Regency, like Selayar, as well as several other provinces in Indonesia, including Papua.

“We collect the sea cucumber from various regions and provinces,” said Saing. He added that the export is waiting for the administration process to be completed this week.

Regent Nurdin plans to launch the Hong-Kong export in a special event. He welcomes Mamampang Jaya’s readiness. Even though the sea cucumber does not come from Bantaeng area, this shows that a local company is capable of exports.

“We will keep on encouraging various industries so that region can advance,” said Nurdin. According to Nurdin, besides sea cucumbers, in April taro will also be exported to Japan.

Sea cucumber is known as a marine export commodity which is being developed in a big scale, given its high economic value in markets overseas. Sea cucumber is exported in the dry form. Besides Hong Kong, sea cucumber export destinations are Singapore, Taiwan and Japan.

ELIK | ANT