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
3901New species of ugly, big-headed fish discovered in Idaho and Montana riversyahoo2014-01-31US
3902scienceworldreportNew Species of Big-Headed Fish Discovered in Montana and Idaho Rivers2014-01-31US
3903New York man pleads guilty to smuggling nearly 40,000 piranhas into the U.S.CNN2014-02-01US
3904Senegal frees Russian ship caught for 'illegal fishing'BBC News2014-01-23SN
3905Forced to fish: Slavery on Thailand's trawlersBBC News2014-01-23TH
3906Genetically-modified salmon approval faces lawsuitCBC News2014-01-22CA
3907Coloured Cells Chase Each Other To Make A Fish’s Stripesnationalgeographic2014-01-20KP
3908Florida weighs allowing limited harvest of goliath grouperwtsp2021-05-09US
3909Japanese firm designs portable fish tanks for seafood lovers to take their dinner home alivedailymail2021-05-09JP
3910Man fined for spearfishing blue groperweeklytimesnow2014-01-20AU
3911Something stinks in Lamma 'mystery' as hundreds of rotting dead fish wash up on beachscmp2014-01-15HK
3912Fish can eat flying birds, now, apparentlyinquirer2014-01-10ZW
3913Russia accuses Greenpeace of encouraging Senegal to seize trawlertheguardian2014-01-09UK
3914Canadian seafood imports targeted by U.S. environmental groupCBC News2014-01-07CA
39156-year-old saves brother who nearly drowned in fish tankKDKA / CBS NEWSPATH2021-05-13US
3916Snorkeler Spots Man’s Lost Wedding Ring Wrapped Around Fish's Body in Australiapeople2021-05-12AU
3917Anglers get 'catch of a lifetime' near Anna Maria Islandwtsp2021-05-14US
3918Scientist bleaches and dyes dead creatures to reveal their amazing inner anatomydaily mail2013-12-17UK
3919How the Cavefish Lost Its Eyesgizmodo2013-12-12US
3920Man catches 'prehistoric' fish on Caney Fork Rivernewschannel52021-05-10US
3921‘Bodacious’ Bahamas Fishing Trip Costs Florida Man His Boat Plus $25cbslocal2021-05-09US
3922This Parasite Eats a Fish's Tongue — And Takes Its Placewired2013-11-22US
3923'Cleaner fish' eat salmon parasitesBBC Scotland News2013-11-19UK
3924Norwegian salmon farm offers bounty for escaped fishaljazeera2013-11-18NO
3925Bluefin tuna quota demand slammed by environmentalistsCBC News2013-11-17CA

215 216 217 156 of [218 - pages.]