Protected areas not exempt as blast fishing blows up in Sri Lanka

Protected areas not exempt as blast fishing blows up in Sri Lanka

Source: mongabay

7/12/2022

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		Source	Stamp	country
3951	Global effort to save dwindling ocean fish faces moment of truth	ajot	2021-05-03	US
3952	Angler turns cowboy, jumps in and rides giant Mola mola	petethomasoutdoors	2013-08-02	US
3953	Belarus leader beats Putin's pike with man-sized catfish	theobserver	2013-07-31	CA
3954	Marine experts: Gulf of Maine has become a cod-forsaken place, endangering all fisheries	bangordailynews	2013-07-31	US
3955	San Diego angler still fishing at 90, catches giant yellowtail	petethomasoutdoors	2013-07-25	US
3956	Fish-farm firm awarded $75,000 in defamation ruling	theglobeandmail	2013-07-22	CA
3957	Cut Off From the Ocean by a Volcanic Eruption, These Fish Had to Learn to Live in a Lake	hakaimagazine	2021-05-03	US
3958	At least 3.8 million fish killed by winter weather on Texas coast	brownwood news	2021-05-04	US
3959	Seaspiracy Producer Demands Biden Shut Down Fish Factory Farms	vegnews	2021-05-06	US
3960	Does ocean acidification alter fish behavior? Fraud allegations create a sea of doubt	sciencemag	2021-05-06	AU
3961	Combined effort to protect rarest native fish	odt	2013-07-08	NZ
3962	Record rockfish was 64 years old, not 200, tests show	spokesman	2013-07-06	US
3963	Trouts under threat as deadly pesticide devastates top fishing river	express	2013-07-05	UK
3964	In Northern Minnesota, 37-inch pike found dead with 3-pound sucker stuck in jaws	twincities	2013-07-04	CA
3965	Ancient rockfish caught in Alaska: Why nobody threw it back	latimes	2013-07-03	US
3966	Growing cold	Antarctic Sun	2013-07-05	US
3967	Fish in Louisiana lake left covered in sores and blisters after parasite attack	Daily Mail	2013-06-26	US
3968	Bubble-eyed goldfish has to swim on his own in case he bumps into others and BURSTS his eyes	dailymail	2013-06-26	UK
3969	Hydromea unveils the world’s first wireless compact underwater drone		2021-05-17	CH
3970	This underwater hut acts as a nursery to help the renewal of marine species in the Mediterranean	malaymail	2021-04-26	MC
3971	A singing fish: it glows green during courtship and looks like Boris Johnson’s hardship face	theguardian	2021-04-27	LK
3972	Stinging scorpion fish among 10 ‘uncommon species’ recently found in Florida waters	miamiherald	2021-04-28	US
3973	The scale of fish waste sent to landfill could feed a community	stuff	2021-04-30	NZ
3974	Asian carp spawn in more areas than 1st thought	CBC News	2013-06-24	CA
3975	Eklutna, Snettisham hydro projects still haven't redressed fish and wildlife damages	adn	2017-12-02	US

158 of [218 - pages.]