Fight against Blast Fishing Is Ramping Up 
By Scarlett Buckley TZ Source: hakaimagazine 1/19/2024
Scarlett Buckley
Credit: Jason Rubens
The sun is glinting off the gently rolling Tanzanian waters when a jet of water suddenly punches toward the heavens. The blast wave races out, shattering the delicate coral below. Fish that had been busy grazing or dozing are tossed to and fro, stunned by the passing pulse of pressure. From above, a net dips down and scoops them up. Most people have heard of shooting fish in a barrel. Here is the real-world equivalent: blast fishing.
 

Also known as bomb fishing or dynamite fishing, blast fishing is a critical issue in Tanzania, says Kennedy Osuka, a fish ecologist at the University of Liverpool in England. Osuka has spent seven years studying the Tanzanian coral reefs that have been reduced to rubble by blast fishing. For those concerned about the country’s marine habitats, artisanal fisheries, or tourism industry, “stopping blast fishing is of the utmost importance,” Osuka says.

 
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