This submersion of artificial reefs is part of PT Timah Tbk's ongoing commitment to maintain the balance of the marine ecosystem. In addition, this artificial reef will become a new place for fish to gather and is expected to become a new fishing area for fishermen.
A total of 1,920 artificial reef units will be submerged in Karang Rulak waters, Matras waters, Tuing waters, Lampu waters, Tanjung Melala, Malang Gantang, Tanjung Ular, Karang Aji waters, Pelepas Island waters, Tanjung Kubu waters, and Panjang Island waters.
Apart from submerging new artificial reefs, PT Timah also maintains thousands of artificial reefs that have been submerged in recent years.
The sea reclamation carried out by PT Timah from time to time continues to show improvement, this can be seen from the increase in the amount of biodiversity around the area of ??arificial reef sinking, survival rates, natural recruitment, and also the amount of reclamation guarantees that have been disbursed around 60 percent.
Head of the Corporate Communication Division of PT Timah Tbk, Anggi Siahaan, said that in implementing marine conservation, PT Timah always tries to implement it according to the reclamation plan that has been approved by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources. In addition, everyone needs to understand that the marine reclamation carried out by PT Timah is the first marine reclamation activity carried out in Indonesia.
"PT Timah Tbk applies Good Minning Practice mining principles, and reclamation is one form of commitment that is bound by these rules. To maximize the balance of the post-mining ecosystem. PT Timah is very serious about utilizing tin mineral resources in the Bangka Belitung Sea and Riau Islands without neglecting the steps needed to protect the marine ecosystem, "said Anggi.
Anggi said, since 2016, PT Timah has carried out marine reclamation by sinking 3,105 units of fish shelters and 1,475 units of coral transplants. In addition to maintaining the marine ecosystem, marine reclamation is also to support underwater tourism and create new fishing areas for fishermen.
Meanwhile, Bangka Belitung University Marine Science Lecturer, Indra Ambalika said that the sea reclamation efforts carried out by PT Timah continued to show improvement, this was seen from the increase in the number of submerged areas, the techniques being carried out also continued to be improved, besides the number of artificial reefs that were sunk would increase even further. Lots.
"There are several new locations this year such as Pelepas Island, Malang Gantang, Tuing and Karang Rulak. The average depth for submersion is also getting deeper, namely 8-20 meters depending on water conditions. The shape of the artificial reef to be submerged is also modified according to the conditions of the waters, the shape is a serving hood and this year everyone uses iron, no longer uses wire using iron material, more fish will stick, the point is PT Timah's marine reclamation continues to show improvement, "He said.
Indra explained, for natural recruitment at the location of the fish shelter that was drowned, there were already more than 15 types of fish attached, the types of diversity also had a value above 1. "For one point, usually around 30-50 units of fish shelters are placed, this depends on water conditions. For this artificial reef sinking usually involves fishermen, so that they know the coordinates and also later they will fish in the area, "he said.
According to him, the marine reclamation carried out by PT Timah in the Amdal area was quite successful, PT Timah became a pioneer in carrying out marine reclamation carried out in accordance with the reclamation plan approved by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources. “Not only sinking artificial reefs, PT Timah is also doing maintenance. With the continuous and improved marine reclamation efforts, PT Timah is committed to improving the marine ecosystem, "he concluded. (**)
