Destructive fishing in The Coral Triangle is having an enormous impact on both marine and human life.
In order to increase their catches many fishermen operating within the coral triangle are making improvised explosives. Grinding up match heads and combining them with sand and fertilizer. The concoction is then put in an empty soft drink bottle, lit and thrown onto reefs where it decimates coral, killing all the fish within its blast radius.
Pak Usurin demonstrates how to make a fertiliser bomb
This practice has arisen as a result of rapidly declining fish stocks. As the number of fish decreases, fishermen are turning to more and more destructive measures in order to feed themselves and their families.
Not only is this practice turning the area's coral gardens into barren wastelands, it is also taking its toll on the individuals who inhabit the region. I met Ibu Hanisa in Mola village in Wakatobi, South Sulawesi. Ibu Hanisa used to make fertiliser bombs which she would then sell on to fisherman from the local area. One day as she was working a bomb went off in her hands. She lost both hands and the sight in one of her eyes. Her story is by no means uncommon.
Ibu Hanisa used to make fertiliser bombs. Wakatobi, Indonesia.
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