Kampar River Indigenous Fishes Depletion And Impact On Traditional Fishermen: Prohibited Fish Conservation Area As An Alternative Solution

Abstract

The prohibited fish conservation area (Lubuk Larangan) is one of the local wisdom in Sumatra. The depletion of capacity and diversity of fish in the Kampar River causes most of traditional fishermen have difficulty in catching the fish. Since the number of traditional fishermen in Kampar Regency is quite high, it can make massive negative impact on economic development in that region. To find out the root cause of the scarcity of loose fish in the Kampar River, the government through related agencies and academic institutions has conducted a thorough examination of the water quality of the river. Previous research indicates that the assumption of poor standard quality of river water due to human productivity activities and extreme human weather changes is not significant. The construction of the dam, since 1996 there has been an operational reservoir for hydroelectric power (powerplant capacity of 114 MW) in the Kampar River flow, changes the topography of the river and as a consequence expectedly, it changes the mass of water, and the abiotic and biotic characteristics between the upstream and downstream of the reservoir in the river. The massive fishing activities at spillway of hydroelectric dam downstream will highly disturb indigenous fish’s growth to the maturity stage and potentially decreasing the downstream population. This research propose to promote that area to be an indigenous fish conservation.