Dynamite fishing

On a recent trip to Kapalai it was so sad to hear explosions underwater of people still doing dynamite fishing. As this was my first dives on Sipidan I was shocked at some area's that have been completely wiped out...don't get me wrong this is confined to small area's and the rest of the reef and diving was fantastic. Although we were always told that dynamite fishing was taking place far away in one instance you could feel the shock wave...I really thought somebodies o-ring had blown right next to me. Another issue was the litter floating on the surface and below which is really no good for the turtles.

This post is not meant as a hit towards Kapalai or Sipidan or Malaysia as a whole but it was really sad for me to hear and see those things.

Besides the above the resort and diving was awesome but could have been better if the above issues were not present.

Just my 20 cents

Paul

The dynamite fishing was on Sipidan?!? You actually felt the explosions? If so that is an unbelievable tragedy! I thought that the waters around Sipidan were no fishing zones.

The dynamite fishing is usually in the Philippines - and I would be very suprised if it was in Malayasia. Dynamite fishing is common at the islands you can see away to the north (yes the ones on the horizon!).

Despite the distance, the explosions can be uncomfortably loud when you are diving on the north side of Sipadan (e.g. Mid Reef) and Kapalai, but the explosions are more than 30km away!

Shocking. Can't imagine what they must be like up close.

Alex

All I can say is enjoy it all while we still can.

I watched David Suzuki today chat about stuff on TV.

Man it's not looking good the way the planet is heading. <_<

The dynamite fishing is usually in the Philippines - and I would be very suprised if it was in Malayasia. Dynamite fishing is common at the islands you can see away to the north (yes the ones on the horizon!).

Despite the distance, the explosions can be uncomfortably loud when you are diving on the north side of Sipadan (e.g. Mid Reef) and Kapalai, but the explosions are more than 30km away!

 

Shocking. Can't imagine what they must be like up close.

 

Alex

On our last trip to Indonesia we found many dive sites with extensive damadge due to explosivies. The report is that the culprit are fishing boats from the Philippines coming south. We were in the north Halmahera area.

On our 2500 mile boat trip from Sorong to Bali for a month last year we also saw much dynimite damage-especially in the outer islands in remote places. Our operator did a little education to a few villiages on this topic. Some damage was near Kamoda National park . This was all done by Indonesian's. Mark

Dynamite fishing is still taking place all round Asia, it's a sad but true fact. Though from what I have been seeing over the past few years, the fish bombers in Indonesia are not really hitting the reefs anymore. I have been seeing nothing but fantastic reef recovery in many places. Flores, while still an area where fish bombing is going on now has a few top sites once more, one area of wall I noticed on my last trip was bare only two years ago, probably due a landslide, for sure not bombing, though now the area is packed with soft corals some of which were about 4 long, just like a gorgeous hanging garden. On the north Flores and the islands east there are also some amazing big fish sites in areas very close to places that had been bombed many years back, now the reef top is looking great and on the last trip we saw a hammerhead, my friends in Maumere, Flores reported seeing lots of hammerheads on one particular site in the bay.

In all I am very confident for Indonesia future, with organistions like Conservation International doing such a great job we have a great future for protecting our reefs over here. They are now working at protecting more areas which are in need of protection and conservation. We should all do our best and support these organisations, by doing so we will help protect what we love most -- the underwater world and it's inhabitants...

One thing I'd like to know is would many people out there be willing to join in on trips to help conserve and monitor reefs by joining ReefCheck expeditions?

Oh yeah, missed this out -- I am surprised to hear that Onokai saw lots of dynamite damage on the trip from Sorong to Bali. Can you please if you can send me some more details, I do this trip a lot and rarely dive sites and see damage, so when an operator is diving his guests on lots of damaged reefs I get the feeling they are doing Indonesia a serious injustice! Hopefully I am taking this news wrong end or something?

I heard explosions while diving from the Celebes Explorer last December. They were not from Kapali-Sipidan-Mabul, but from north-nothwest of the area, but still in Malaysia according to the crew. In the Kapali-Sipidan-Mabul area, which I've dived six times in the past four years, I've never actually seen any evidence of blasting.

Can't say the same, however, for the Burma Banks in the Andaman Sea. On many dives there -- in Myanmar waters -- the bottom was littered with recently killed fish and other marine life. Very sad.

In 2000 I was diving Manjangan Island in Bali and saw a reef that was nothing but rubble. The dive guide said that it was from Dynamite fishing. Right in a protected area! SAD!