Protected areas not exempt as blast fishing blows up in Sri Lanka 
By Malaka Rodrigo LK Source: mongabay 7/12/2022
Malaka Rodrigo
Credit: Dharshana Jayawardena
Blast fishing is widely practiced in the seas around Sri Lanka, with even marine parks and historical shipwrecks not immune to this illegal practice.
Authorities say blast fishers work as part of a network to evade capture and obtain explosives, including by smuggling them in by sea from India.
The easy availability of explosives transcends conservation issues and raises serious national security concerns, experts say, pointing to the use of explosives in a coordinated terrorist attack on churches during Easter of 2019.
Blast fishing also poses a threat to recreational divers, with a serious injury or even death spelling the end for Sri Lanka’s dive tourism industry that’s already reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing economic crisis.
 

It was a perfect morning in Pigeon Island National Park in eastern Sri Lanka, where a group of tourists in a boat was taking in the rich marine life in the water around them. All of a sudden, there was a loud blast close by. As silence settled once again, they saw the fish that had been flitting nimbly about now either floating dead on the surface or struggling to swim. Through the clear water, they could see more dead fish in the seabed.

 
Continue...

News Id SourceStampcountry
2726Get travel news, updates & tips Fury as Faroes let Russian vessels fish in UK watersexpress2022-06-27UK
2727Biden, NOAA announce new actions on illegal fishingthehill2022-06-27US
2728Massive bluefin tuna snagged by SoCal fishermen unusually close to coastabc72022-07-01US
2729HOOKED The Yorkshire Vet viewers gobsmacked after fish has eye removed in graphic scenesthesun2022-06-29IE
2730Frustrations grow along Yukon River as salmon fishing remains closed for second year amid record low runsktoo2022-06-29CA
2731Norway makes fishing vessel data accessible to the worldGLOBE NEWSWIRE2022-06-30NO
2732Где и как ловить в жаруОхотники.ру2022-07-12RU
2733Болонская ловля успешна летомОхотники.ру2022-07-14RU
2734Про кашу на крючкеОхотники.ру2022-07-13RU
2735На речку в сенокосОхотники.ру2022-07-15RU
2736В Волгу выпущено более 200 тысяч мальков русского осетраРыболовство2022-07-02RU
2737Добычу лосося ограничили на трех участках вблизи СахалинаРыболовство.2022-07-13RU
2738Россия и Китай продолжают работу по восполнению запасов осетровых в пограничных водах АмураРыболовство2022-07-15RU
2739Biologists' Fears Confirmed on the Lower Colorado RiverAssociated Press2022-07-06US
2740Tuna Catch Dries up for Kenya's Local Fishing CommunityAssociated Press2022-07-07KE
2741White House: to Help Salmon, Dams May Need to Be RemovedAssociated Press2022-07-12US
2742NOAA Ups Observers in Commercial Snapper-Grouper FisheryAssociated Press2022-07-15US
2743Tennessee River, social media post goes viralFox News2022-07-11US
2744Illinois teen fisherman catches 50-inch muskie: 'A whole experience'Fox News2022-07-05US
2745New England court reinstates ban on lobster gear to protect whalesFox News2022-07-13US
2746В России создали глубоководную систему фото- и видеосъёмкиixbt2022-07-12RU
2747Ancient endangered fish found only in Nova Scotiaedmonton journal2022-06-30CA
2748Sex on the beach: a beloved California fish wriggles ashore to spawntheguardian2022-07-01UK
2749Crime Four men fined £6,000 for ‘barbaric’ illegal foul hook fishingllanelliherald2022-06-27UK
2750Japanese researchers take video of largest deep-sea bony fish in the worldmainichi2022-07-02JP

215 216 217 109 of [218 - pages.]