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DYNAMITE FISHINGi: THREAT TO SUSTAINABLE BUE ECONOMY

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By  HAJI MOHAMED .PEMBA-ZANZIBAR -TANZANIA

Fishing is a legal money earning activity for many people around the world that sustains livelihood. It is practiced in the seas, oceans, lakes, ponds and rivers.

However, human beings who are not satisfied with what they catch a day, have come up with what we call illegal fishing which is very destructive.

There are many activities of illegal fishing in the world. Some of them are using cyanide, fishnets with small eyes and one of the most destructive is dynamite fishing or blast fishing. It is also known as bomb fishing.

As Zanzibar is implementing a blue economy policy, the government needs to be alerted on dynamite fishing due to its destruction to the marine ecosystem as our country expects rapid development in the fishing industry.

This article intends to show how blast fishing is dangerous for the sustainable fishing industry by taking an example of the Philippines where illegal fishing including cyanide is practised.

Blast fishing is the practice of using explosives to stun or kill schools of fish for easy collection. It is an illegal practice that is extremely destructive to the surrounding ecosystem, as the explosion destroys the underlying habitat such as coral reefs that support the fish.

We should know that dynamite fishing creates a wave of destruction. It is not only threatening coral reefs but also leads to the decline in fish populations. It also affects coastal communities and small fisheries trying to compete with industrial trawlers.

Besides, dynamite fishing harms the tourist industry, which is the strong emerging source of our income in Zanzibar.

While the world enhances in protecting the environment, dynamite fishing has been mentioned as one of the most destructive forms of fishing because it indiscriminately kills anything in the blast area- from fish eggs and plankton to whales and dolphins and devastates corals.

Besides killing and injuring fish and marine animals, these blasts leave behind rubble and broken corals on the seafloor, destroying habitat for all reef species.

In the Philippines for instance, illegal fishing including the use of cyanide and blast fishing made the country unfertile in the fishing industry as all corals and seabed have been destroyed.

The use of cyanide to stun and capture live coral reef fish began in the 1960s to supply the growing market for aquarium fish in Europe and North America.

Since the late 1970s, the poison has also been used to capture larger live reef fish for sale to specialty restaurants in Hong Kong and other cities with large   Chinese populations.



That business was payable as some species can fetch up to US$300 per plate.

It is believed that high paid for live reef fish, weak enforcement capacities and frequent corruption have spread the use of the poison across the Philippines and the entire region of southeast Asia.

The Philippines has also destroyed its marine environment by fishermen using blast fishing, and now they get low catches due to the destruction of corals. Divers and marine researchers are witnesses.

There are only rubbles in the sea bed, no live coral reef as well as juvenile fish’s hides.

This lesson from the Philippines should caution Tanzania and Zanzibar on the whole in using blast fishing, as many reports reveal that Tanzania is still practicing such fishing.

According to reports from Tanzania, the most affected areas on dynamite fishing are the entire coastline from Mtwara to Tanga and off of nearby islands. However, the coastline of Dar es Salaam has been mentioned as more affected.

Reports also reveal that the practice began in the 1960s and by the mid-1990s had become a serious problem. However, measures have been taken to combat this situation as Tanzania now implementing the law of Deep Fishing with Exclusive Fishing Zone(EFZ).

Some fishermen interviewed in the report said that people are engaged in blast fishing because it is the easiest way for them to earn money.



Others said making a bomb is cheaper and vastly more productive than sticking with traditional fishing methods such as basket traps (Dema) and hook and fishing line.

They said dynamites are also easier to find nowadays. A boom in mining and construction in Tanzania has made it less challenging for people to get their hands on explosives.

As for Zanzibar, dynamite fishing has not existed. It is difficult for Zanzibar fishers to obtain explosives that are used in blast fishing.

However, some people say that fish caught by illegal fishing or dynamite fishing are auctioned in the fish markets but not from Zanzibar fishers.

Said Mrefu (52) from Magomeni, who is a fish auctioneer told the Zanzibar Mail in some days some fish were caught by dynamite fishing.

“Fishers from the Mainland use explosives. After being chased by the naval army they now approach Zanzibar. Zanzibar fishers have no ways of obtaining explosives,” he said.

He said he is able to differentiate a fish caught by blast and the ordinary gear as dynamite fish were very soft and rot very fast, easy scaling due to scale loss and its eyes are like cooking.

When asked what he has done on the situation, he said he reported the matter to the Department of Environment on the existence of dynamite fishing but the response was not positive.

“They told me to go to Deep Fishing Authority at Fumba to report the issue. They didn’t support me and until today I have decided to remain silent,” he said.

He said blast fishing is a threat to the blue economy adding that

all the people should be watchdogs to curb the illegal practice in order to be successful.

Our neighbors Kenya and Mozambique had similar problem of dynamite fishing but they have now managed to stamp it out.

What should be done?

To overcome the problem, the implementation and enforcement of laws that ban the practice should be worked out properly, and all rooms of corruption and bribery have to be sealed.

Another way to stop dynamite fishing is to make sure dynamites are not easily available.

Some people say that the law against dynamite fishing needs to be reviewed to impose harsh punishment on the culprits to stop the widespread destruction.

For instance, under the 2003 Fisheries Act, the minimum sentence against dynamite fishing is 5 years for dynamite fishing and 12 months for possessing explosives.

To put an end to blast fishing, the top-level political will should exist within the country and greater pressure for change need to be applied locally along with the international community as a whole.

We should remember that, beside environmental impact, dynamite fishing threatens the livelihood of legitimate fishermen, as well as the economy as a whole.

To minimize blast fishing, great efforts should be put on intensive patrol and enforcement of laws.

The blue economy will only be successful if our seas are clean from the illegal dynamite fishing.  (sources: Zanzibar mail)

THE END

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