Regional symposium addresses fish bombing in South-East Asia

The utilisation of explosives in fishing is a major problem affecting coral reef areas especially in Malaysia, Philippines and Indonesia.

Acknowledging the problem, for the first time a Regional Anti Fish Bombing Symposium was organised in Malaysia jointly by the Sabah Parks authority, Marine Conservation Society UK, the Sabah State Action Committee on Anti Fish Bombing, and the World Wide Fund for Nature-Malaysia. Aiming at making recommendations and building partnerships to eliminate fish bombing activities in Sabah waters and the wider Coral Triangle area, the symposium was held at Kota Kinabalu in Sabah on February 22-23, officiated by the Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Assistant Minister Datuk Bolkiah Ismail. Participants included representatives from governmental and non-governmental organisations, academia, and community representatives from Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Hong Kong.

There were four plenary sessions covering the different aspects of fish bombing activity in the region. The respective themes included: (1) Setting the scene: Impacts to habitats and people, (2) Sharing success stories, (3) Alternative solutions, and (4) Legal frameworks and enforcement challenges. A total of 16 speakers representing the various organisations and relevant authorities (i.e. government and non-governmental bodies as well as community members) spoke at the event.

Cheryl Rita from the Maritime Institute of Malaysia (MIMA) spoke at the plenary session on Legal frameworks and enforcement challenges. Acknowledging the vulnerability of the environment from human activities such as over-exploitation of natural resources, ecosystem and habitat destruction, uncontrolled coastal development, pollution from both land and sea-based sources, and mounting threats from climate change, she stressed the crucial need to eliminate fish-bombing activities especially in Sabah waters.

She highlighted that although the activity is illegal in Malaysia, there have been numerous reports of declining reef conditions and loss of coral cover with extremely low densities and a lack of reproductive mature adults of targeted species (mainly schooling species and large piscivorous fishes) especially at unprotected reefs throughout Sabah and in the south-eastern Banggi due to fish bombing activity. She emphasised that it was important that the issue be addressed as it not only disrupts the coastal fishing industry and ecosystem balance, but also has negative effects on the nation's fisheries and tourism sectors as a whole.

Although the destructive effects of fish bombing have long been recognised, leading to legislation outlawing the practice, the problem persists (albeit with fewer cases recorded lately). Some of the key legislation addressing the problem include the Explosives Act 1957, Fisheries Act 1985, and the Sabah Parks Enactment 1984. Legislation has undoubtedly acted as a deterrent, but enforcement is not easy especially with the large areas involved. There are often reports that divers hear of fish bombing activities in certain areas, but sightings are difficult as the bombers quickly flee the area using small boats. Most of these boats are also usually not registered, making detection difficult. The issue of demand and supply was also pointed out, stressing that fish caught using fish-bombs should not be allowed at the local markets. Another point raised by Ms Rita was that often it also becomes difficult to prosecute fish-bombers due to insufficient proof.

Significant losses to the economy through ecosystem disruption, species exhaustion, habitat destruction, and loss of human lives will persist if abuses are allowed to continue unchecked. Using the experience gained elsewhere where cooperation and coordination between community, industry, and the relevant government bodies is the key to real improvements; Ms Rita made several suggestions to address the issue. Among these include the need to:

• Curtail fish-bombing in Sabah waters through concerted efforts by the enforcement agencies and cooperation with local community groups.
• Form a centralised and consolidated data reporting system to strengthen case for enhanced enforcement.
• Carry out evaluation studies (i.e., cost benefit analysis) to show the adverse impacts on the environment, people, and the local industry (i.e., tourism sector).
• Share best practices among countries in the region to eliminate the problem.
• Conduct continuous public awareness programmes to educate local communities on the destructive effects and make them more vigilant and responsible in controlling the problem.

Other highlights

Besides MIMA's recommendations, there were a number of suggestions raised by the other speakers as well to address the issue. The major ones include the following:

• Establishing regional, national, and local task forces to promote cooperation i.e., at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI), and Sulu-Sulawesi marine ecoregion levels;
• Intensifying awareness building activities with specific focus on fishing communities, including enforcement authorities, prosecutors, and the judiciary;
• Establishing systems for detection, incident reporting and information sharing;
• Promoting alternative livelihood programmes and fishers empowerment to adopt sustainable fishing practices; and
• Increasing penalties to offenders.

Ways forward

The gathering of key experts and stakeholders at this regional symposium is a mark that serious attention and consideration is being given to the issue of fish bombing not only in Malaysia, but also in the neighbouring countries – the Philippines and Indonesia. The success of this symposium however should not be a one-off thing. Continuous efforts and follow-up actions are required to make sure fish bombing practice is eliminated completely in the region.