There will be interesting times ahead for our gappers on Mantanani island this February after Camp Borneo joined our friends at Borneo Dream to support some research by Dr Nick Pilcher, Director of Marine Research Foundation, into the affects of blast fishing on the marine ecosystem as a whole and the local turtle populations in particular.

The Practice of blast fishing, widespread throughout South East Asia and parts of Africa, is a form of mass fishing through the use of often homemade bombs which stun or kill fish for easy collection by the fisherman but in the process kills many more indiscriminatley as well as any other organisms or habitats in the way.

Little awareness of the damage caused, pressure to obtain larger catches and coastlines that are difficult to patrol mean that efforts to cease the practice are currently having only limited impact and more proof of the damage caused is crucial in gaining the support of local authroties in acting. Whilst it might seem slightly perverse that a practice like blast fishing or mass logging of forests requires evidence of the negative impact before action is taken to manage or halt it when the impact is so obvious, unfortunately political and finacial concerns make it difficult to act without it, so organisations like MRF provide that evidence.

Inside the reef at Mantanani Island

Without going into any specifc detail until the research starts in a few weeks, the idea is to use sensitive electronic instruments to monitor turtles placed in a specific area near our camp on Mantanani to monitor reactions to the blast fishing known to take place by some of the local fishermen. Over a period of time the data collected will detail the initial reactions and any behavioural changes and form evidence of the impact of blast fishing on one of the keystone species in the local marine ecosystem.

Current CB volunteers will be lucky enough to witness this research taking place and help with the construction of the specially designed enclosure the turtles will live in, working alongside MRF and Borneo Dream staff. It should be an exciting few weeks and hopefully go a long way to help limiting blast fishing in and around the coast of Sabah. There’ll be more updates as the enclsoure and research get underway.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 25th, 2012 at 5:09 am and is filed under Borneo, Gap, Project Diary. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.