Abstract
Nike fish (Awaous melanocephalus) is a tiny-kind of fish harvested lunar-monthly in the estuary of BoneBolangoRiver in the City of Gorontalo. The fishing activity is showing steady increase recently as thecommodity finds its way to the international market. Fishermen are putting more efforts by escalating thecatching capacity of their gears. Meanwhile, mercury used by the artisanal and small-scale gold mining(ASGM) in the headwaters for amalgamation put another aspect to the A. melanocephalus fishery whenit wasted into the river down to the estuary. This paper describes A. melanocephalus fishery and thethreat of mercury contamination in the habitat and the fish itself. Field research was conducted in theestuary of Bone-Bolango River to observe the technology and methods of A. melanocephalus fishing.Samples of water and fish were taken for mercury content examination with Atomic AbsorptionSpectrophotometer (AAS). Secondary data on production and distribution were obtained fromgovernment offices. The result showed that the water and A. melanocephalus samples contain mercuryat levels exceeding the quality standards determined by government. Keywords: nike, mercury, food security, sustainable fishery
Highlights
Nike, fish or scientifically known as Awaous melanocephalus seems to have become part of the cultural fabric of society in Gorontalo since the ancient time and perhaps one of the key factors that enable the early development of civilization in this northern part of Tomini Gulf
According to Saanin (1984), Nike fish is classified in Class Pisces; Sub-class Teleostei; Ordo Gobiidaea; Family Gobiidae; Genus Awaous; Species A. melanocephalus Bleeker
In Gorontalo Province, schools of nike are found in certain estuaries (Fig. 2), which is called milango in the local language
Summary
Nike, (pronounced: nee-K) fish or scientifically known as Awaous melanocephalus seems to have become part of the cultural fabric of society in Gorontalo since the ancient time and perhaps one of the key factors that enable the early development of civilization in this northern part of Tomini Gulf. According to the myth that tries to explain its origin, the fish is the incarnation of an ancestor‘s menstrual blood spilled into the river. Elders have proven theevidence‘ of this story by eye witnessing balls of membrane of coconut size with larvae enclosed in it, drifted from the headwaters to the river mouth and hatched as the membrane explode into a schooling of juvenile fish. The growth brings about a diversity of menus into the ever growing food business as well. Its role as important and favorite source of protein may be put under threat from the aspects of food safety and sustainable fishery
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