VZCZCXRO1767
RR RUEHCHI RUEHCN RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHJA #2214 3441007
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 091007Z DEC 08
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0899
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 2821
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 5709
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 3382
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 5209
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC

UNCLAS JAKARTA 002214 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR OES/ENRC, OES/OMC, OES/OA, EAP/MTS, EAP/RSP 
USAID FOR ANE, EGAT 
COMMERCE FOR NOAA 
BANGKOK FOR RDM/A, REO 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SENV EAID ECON PGOV ID
SUBJECT: INDONESIANS CONTINUE TO FIND ANCIENT FISH 
 
REF: A. JAKARTA 2152 
     ¶B. JAKARTA 1880 
     ¶C. JAKARTA 1766 
 
¶1.  Continuing discoveries of the ancient coelacanth fish in the 
waters of Sulawesi highlight Indonesia's biodiversity.  On November 
25, a fisherman in North Sulawesi Province, Indonesia, accidentally 
caught a coelacanth fish (Latimeria menadoensis) near Talise Island, 
North Minahasa Regency, and immediately reported his finding to the 
North Sulawesi Office of Marine Affairs and Fisheries.  The specimen 
is now in cold storage in Tanawangko, near Manado. 
 
¶2.  This is the third live specimen of coelacanth caught in the 
waters of Sulawesi.  The first specimen was only the head of the 
fish accidentally found in a local market in 1997. The first fish 
caught alive and documented was in 1998. It is now preserved in the 
Bogor Museum. The second live specimen was caught in May 2007.    It 
is now in Japan and will be on display during the World Ocean 
Conference (WOC) in May 2009 in Manado (reftels).  The coelacanth is 
the official icon/mascot of the WOC. 
 
¶3.  Background: Previously thought to be extinct and known only from 
fossil records, the coelacanth fish was first found in 1938 off the 
coast of South Africa.  It was called the greatest zoological find 
of the 20th century, and a "living fossil".  In 1998, a fisherman in 
Manado, North Sulawesi Province, caught a coelacanth belonging to a 
different species (Latimeria menadoensis).  The Manadonese 
coelacanth is genetically more ancient than the African one.  Locals 
call the fish "raja laut" -- literally, "king of the sea". 
 
¶4.  In 2005, a team of scientists conducting deep sea exploration 
using a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) said they found coelacanth 
fish in eight different locations in the Sulawesi Sea (including 
North Sulawesi, Gorontalo, and Central Sulawesi Provinces). 
According to the head of Wildlife Conservation Society's local 
office and local officials in Manado, the ROV in 2005 recorded as 
many as seven living coelacanth fish. 
 
HUME