Coral reef demolished by blast fishing. |
Reef fish killed by a blast (Moorish idol, bannerfish, soldierfish,
basslet). Blast fishing kills reef fish indiscriminantly, including
many small fish that have little or no food value. |
Closeup of a branching coral thicket destroyed by a blast (and a dead
bigeye). Blast fishing obliterates the fish habitat provided by corals. |
Diver inspecting a blast crater near a resort area in Indonesia. Community-based management can resolve conflicts between subsistence fishers and dive operators over how reefs are used. © 2001 Michael D. Moore. |
Coral rubble overgrown by algae. Small herbivorous fish are important because they crop fast growing algae that can kill corals. Lacking shelter, fish abandon the reef and algae soon dominates. © 2001 Helen E. Fox. |
Unexploded bomb, Phillipines. Lack of enforcement and the ready availability of explosives contributes to the pervasiveness of blast fishing. © 2001 Jeffery N. Jeffords. |