MoBoy
Member
- Dec 16, 2016
- 66
- 49
For as long as I remember throughout my weekend fisherman’s life the sight of our beautiful Indian Ocean always leaves me breathless. We always depart from the Msasani peninsula in our 16 footer rusted Dhow passing through the Yatch Club and admiring all the high end Fishing and Luxury boats while pouring tea in our Drinking Cups and lighting a few Spotis. The Peninsula also has a view of a few spectacular residential dwelling but all material feelings and ideas immediately get washed away as soon as we cross the peninsula and hit the Open Sea, the might of the Sea and the unknown adventures waiting for us always gives us jitters no matter how many times we go. Most of us do not really have any idea how rich our coasts are in terms of Marine Life, from Coral Fishes to Bill Fishes to Crustaceans to what not…. We seem to have everything, with Controlled Fishing and Basic Responsibilities I am pretty much sure we cannot only feed ourselves but also Export Fishes (legally) and earn the nation some substantial bucks. But this only seems like a farfetched dream and as days go by the dream itself gets blurred and this blurriness is caused by nothing but by our own man made nightmare for the Fishes, and that nightmare is called DYNAMITE FISHING!
I am sure many have done quite a bit of coverage on this menace, I see articles here and there about this illegal activity, I’ve seen intermittent operations done by Marine Patrols and once we too were stopped by a Patrol Boat asking us funny questions and unnecessary harassing us and finally letting go at the cost of Tshs 20,000/- as ‘Hela ya Chai’ – But for some reason Dynamite Fishing just does not stop. The last one I saw was just a day before I wrote this Articles on 19th March 2017 and it was probably just about 4 Nautical Miles away from where the Cargo Ships anchor before they are called inside the Port.
With my limited knowledge I have understood a few basic tragedies that occur when these hardcore gentlemen toss the Bomb in the water. Usually they are 3 to 4 of them in a tiny skiff with a comparatively bigger outboard Engine which gives them an edge when it comes to speed. All they look for is Birds, the Birds are blessed with an Arial View of the Sea hence they can see a running shoal of Sardines who are most of the times chased by Larger Fishes from the bottom such as Tunas, King Fish and also various Bill Fishes and these are the Fishes the Dynamite Fishermen are after. At the immediate sight of the Birds chasing and plunging for the Sardines the Skiff is rushed towards the Spot and the bomb tossed right in the middle of the shoal of Sardines. Now, a few devastating things happen here! As soon as the Bomb goes off you see a tall splash of water visible even from miles away, in fact, the Water Splash can even sometimes be seen from Karambezi Café in Sea Cliff Hotel while having your meal. Once the Bomb detonates the first Victims are the Shoal of Sardines and they can be in Hundreds, Thousand or even Hundreds of Thousands and sadly they are all reduced to dead slime which eventually sinks at the bottom of the sea – What a Waste! Second Victims are the Bigger Fishes which are chasing and feeding on Sardines, they too can be in Tens or Hundreds where each having a capacity to reach the weight of a full grown human being, these are what these maggots are after. Upon the blast the Bigger fishes are shocked to death and start sinking below the sea, one of the fisherman would wear a makeshift diving goggle and dive in to retrieve as many dead fishes as possible, they can kill Hundreds but may only be able to retrieve about 6 to 7 of them – What a Waste! The last but not the least Victims are the Corals, which is the Life Giver in the Sea and it is sadly and mercilessly reduced to mere rubble.
One of the issues which baffles me is how openly Dynamite Fishing is carried out, it has become a common knowledge within the Maritime Industry and Authorities, The Fishermen see it, the Sailors see it, the Cargo Ships see it, the entire Yatch Club Fraternity which includes Diplomats and Country’s Elites see it but yet Nothing is done, and if at all anything is done its done in a temporary basis and a week or a month later the Bombs start going off again. If I was the head of Police or Military then I would be extremely worried, one can imagine if a Bomb has a capacity of Killing Hundreds and Thousands of Marine Creatures and that also submerged in the Water than what damage can it do on Land?? Do we Tanzanians always have to experience the Problem first before we think of any solution?
What would I do? Very Simple, “Operesheni Lipua”! Declare War on Dynamite Fishing, let the Culprits know you’re coming after them via Papers, Radio, TV and Social Media. Put two Billboards with a number to call if anyone sees this illegal Act, place the Billboards in the major Fish Markets that says “Ukimwoona Piga Bomu Tafadhali Julisha Namba Yafuatavyo”. Place 2 Speed Boats at the Mainland Coast with a response Team of 4 to 5 Police/Military personnel with sufficient fire power and simply link the Calls to a Control Room which then directs the Response Team where the Culprits are. The Authorities will have to involve Various Fishermen’s Association who are sick and tired of these Culprits killing and damaging their livelihoods. Instructions should be very clear to the Response Team, SINK THE BOAT and bring back the Culprits alive. I can guarantee that after sinking at least 15 Dynamite Boats there would be no Foolish person to Risk his expensive boat and engines on this illegal activity. Dynamite Fishing can only be conducted during Daylight so you would only have 12 Hours a day to Guard, with 2 shift system you can have fresh Guards every 6 Hours and that too only to work once the Control Room instructs. But hey, its Tanzania after all and things do not always happen the way they are suppose to so Yes the person at the Control Room should be awake and there should be sufficient fuel in the Patrol boats, usimamizi mzuri ni muhimu sana hence I would actually outsource this operation to the Military.
By the way, before I end I’d like to share a very interesting fact with the readers. Zanzibar which is less than 40 nautical miles away from Dar es Salaam has no problem with Dynamite Fishing, Yes, there is No Dynamite Fishing in Zanzibar! How do they do it? Well, I think we should ask them when we get a chance. JPM If you’re reading this then please do something about it before we rip apart this beautiful Marine Life we’re blessed with just like we ripped apart our Elephant population.
Mungu Ibariki Tanzania, Lakini kwanza sie Watanzania nae tujenge mazingira za kubarikiwa
I am sure many have done quite a bit of coverage on this menace, I see articles here and there about this illegal activity, I’ve seen intermittent operations done by Marine Patrols and once we too were stopped by a Patrol Boat asking us funny questions and unnecessary harassing us and finally letting go at the cost of Tshs 20,000/- as ‘Hela ya Chai’ – But for some reason Dynamite Fishing just does not stop. The last one I saw was just a day before I wrote this Articles on 19th March 2017 and it was probably just about 4 Nautical Miles away from where the Cargo Ships anchor before they are called inside the Port.
With my limited knowledge I have understood a few basic tragedies that occur when these hardcore gentlemen toss the Bomb in the water. Usually they are 3 to 4 of them in a tiny skiff with a comparatively bigger outboard Engine which gives them an edge when it comes to speed. All they look for is Birds, the Birds are blessed with an Arial View of the Sea hence they can see a running shoal of Sardines who are most of the times chased by Larger Fishes from the bottom such as Tunas, King Fish and also various Bill Fishes and these are the Fishes the Dynamite Fishermen are after. At the immediate sight of the Birds chasing and plunging for the Sardines the Skiff is rushed towards the Spot and the bomb tossed right in the middle of the shoal of Sardines. Now, a few devastating things happen here! As soon as the Bomb goes off you see a tall splash of water visible even from miles away, in fact, the Water Splash can even sometimes be seen from Karambezi Café in Sea Cliff Hotel while having your meal. Once the Bomb detonates the first Victims are the Shoal of Sardines and they can be in Hundreds, Thousand or even Hundreds of Thousands and sadly they are all reduced to dead slime which eventually sinks at the bottom of the sea – What a Waste! Second Victims are the Bigger Fishes which are chasing and feeding on Sardines, they too can be in Tens or Hundreds where each having a capacity to reach the weight of a full grown human being, these are what these maggots are after. Upon the blast the Bigger fishes are shocked to death and start sinking below the sea, one of the fisherman would wear a makeshift diving goggle and dive in to retrieve as many dead fishes as possible, they can kill Hundreds but may only be able to retrieve about 6 to 7 of them – What a Waste! The last but not the least Victims are the Corals, which is the Life Giver in the Sea and it is sadly and mercilessly reduced to mere rubble.
One of the issues which baffles me is how openly Dynamite Fishing is carried out, it has become a common knowledge within the Maritime Industry and Authorities, The Fishermen see it, the Sailors see it, the Cargo Ships see it, the entire Yatch Club Fraternity which includes Diplomats and Country’s Elites see it but yet Nothing is done, and if at all anything is done its done in a temporary basis and a week or a month later the Bombs start going off again. If I was the head of Police or Military then I would be extremely worried, one can imagine if a Bomb has a capacity of Killing Hundreds and Thousands of Marine Creatures and that also submerged in the Water than what damage can it do on Land?? Do we Tanzanians always have to experience the Problem first before we think of any solution?
What would I do? Very Simple, “Operesheni Lipua”! Declare War on Dynamite Fishing, let the Culprits know you’re coming after them via Papers, Radio, TV and Social Media. Put two Billboards with a number to call if anyone sees this illegal Act, place the Billboards in the major Fish Markets that says “Ukimwoona Piga Bomu Tafadhali Julisha Namba Yafuatavyo”. Place 2 Speed Boats at the Mainland Coast with a response Team of 4 to 5 Police/Military personnel with sufficient fire power and simply link the Calls to a Control Room which then directs the Response Team where the Culprits are. The Authorities will have to involve Various Fishermen’s Association who are sick and tired of these Culprits killing and damaging their livelihoods. Instructions should be very clear to the Response Team, SINK THE BOAT and bring back the Culprits alive. I can guarantee that after sinking at least 15 Dynamite Boats there would be no Foolish person to Risk his expensive boat and engines on this illegal activity. Dynamite Fishing can only be conducted during Daylight so you would only have 12 Hours a day to Guard, with 2 shift system you can have fresh Guards every 6 Hours and that too only to work once the Control Room instructs. But hey, its Tanzania after all and things do not always happen the way they are suppose to so Yes the person at the Control Room should be awake and there should be sufficient fuel in the Patrol boats, usimamizi mzuri ni muhimu sana hence I would actually outsource this operation to the Military.
By the way, before I end I’d like to share a very interesting fact with the readers. Zanzibar which is less than 40 nautical miles away from Dar es Salaam has no problem with Dynamite Fishing, Yes, there is No Dynamite Fishing in Zanzibar! How do they do it? Well, I think we should ask them when we get a chance. JPM If you’re reading this then please do something about it before we rip apart this beautiful Marine Life we’re blessed with just like we ripped apart our Elephant population.
Mungu Ibariki Tanzania, Lakini kwanza sie Watanzania nae tujenge mazingira za kubarikiwa
