Fishermen Using Dynamite Are Destroying Reefs : Environmental Diaster Looming in Tanzania

Explosions just off Tanzania’s shoreline signal the coming of the daily catch of fish--and a looming environmental disaster.

Government biologists estimate that perhaps 80% of the coral reefs that run the length of Tanzania’s Indian Ocean coastline have been destroyed by fishermen using dynamite.

There is little the government can do about it, however. Cash-strapped Tanzania has no money to pay fishing police.

“The fisheries division alone cannot fight dynamite-fishing in the current economic crisis so long as dynamite remains accessible,” said one official.

Popular Since Early ‘70s

Using dynamite to kill fish became popular in the early 1970s, when various guerrilla movements in southern Africa brought large supplies of explosives into Tanzania, where they had bases. Much of it found its way onto the local market.

Even now, dynamite costs just $3.85 a stick while a fishing net costs about $120, or about three times the monthly salary of a senior civil servant. Explosives are easily bought at building sites and quarries.

“It’s all very well for the government to come down on us, but we have to make a living and support our families,” said Ahmed Salim Mussa, a fisherman in Dar es Salaam.

Even with dynamite, it is hard to make ends meet by fishing in Tanzania.

Few Own Their Boats

Since few fishermen have their own boats, most keep only a fraction of their catch--the rest of the fish to the boat owner.

The boat must be fast enough to move out of range once the fisherman throws one or two sticks of dynamite overboard. In Dar es Salaam, at least one or two fishermen are injured in explosions every month, but no deaths have been reported.

Most of the fish landed this way are damaged, and biologists say that in the long run, dynamiting means there will be fewer and fewer fish caught in Tanzania.

Reef Destruction

“Reef destruction means young fish will not have a suitable habitat to grow in, and fish will not come to breed here,” said one Natural Resources Ministry official.

They say the dead coral that litters Tanzanian beaches points to another problem. The same tides and currents that wash it ashore after the explosions are eroding the shoreline.

At resorts near Dar es Salaam, the beaches are washing away at a rate of 12 feet a year; 80% of the Bahari beach is gone and erosion has damaged the foundation of the Africana Beach Hotel.

Stiff Penalties Planned

The government plans to set stiffer penalties for dynamiting fish--the maximum now is a six-month jail term.

“But tough laws will not stop these fishermen from using dynamite, as they have little alternative,” said Bjorge Paulsson, a Swedish environmentalist working with Tanzania’s National Environment Management Council.