Cyanide And Dynamite Fishing - Who's really responsible?

[Don McAllister]

Craig Bingman wrote: 
>  
> On Wed, 4 Dec 1996, Paul A. Blanchon wrote: 
>  

> Are you claiming that 50% of the damage to reefs from dynamite and 
> cyanide fishing occurs because of attempts to catch ornamental fish? 
>  
> My understanding is that dynamite just isn't used to collect ornamental > fish.  I would be interested in solid, 
verifiable  
information indicating > that it is. 
>Craig is right.  Dynamite is not used to collect ornamental fishes.  
Stunning aquarium fishes (and incidentally killing some on the spot or  
by subsequent post-exposure mortality) by spraying coral heads with  
cyanide is used to collect ornamentals in the Philippines and in  
Indonesia.  Most other countries use small fence nets, fish traps or  
other more environmentally friendly methods.  And the Haribon Foundation  
for Conservation of Natural Resources of Manila and Ocean Voice  
International of Ottawa have been training ornamental collectors to use  
small nets, empower them with knowledge of coral reef ecology, foster  
creation of marine reserves and fisher coops or community organizations  
since 1989.  See our home page below. 

don 


--  
Don E. McAllister             /& Canadian Centre for Biodiversity 
Ocean Voice International          /Canadian Museum of Nature 
Box 37026, 3332 McCarthy Rd. /Box 3443, Station D 
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URL: http://www.ovi.ca  E-mail: mcall at superaje.com   
 (or: ah194 at freenet.carleton.ca) Tel: (613) 264-8986, Fax: (613)  
264-9204