Jakarta, IO – The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) stated that the phenomenon of small fishes washing up on Pantai Mutiara, North Jakarta is not a sign of a coming earthquake after footage of the incident circulated on social media and caused anxiety among netizens.
“It can be caused by many factors, including the fertility of the waters, wind and ocean currents. It has nothing to do with an earthquake,” said BMKG Maritime Meteorology Center head Eko Prasetyo, reported Antara, Thursday (1/12).
People are advised not to panic because this phenomenon can also occur in larger fish such as whales or dolphins. This is because there is a possibility that the ocean wind that carries small fish will attract the attention of larger fishes in the food chain to hunt for food.
Eko said there is another possibility that various other nutrients needed by the small fishes attracted them closer to the shoreline. It could also be due to the presence of chlorophyll-a phytoplankton which affect the fertility of the waters.