KOTA KINABALU: The fight against fish bombing requires collaboration, innovation, and sustained community engagement, said WWF-Malaysia marine head Chitra Devi Gopalakrishnan.
“With realtime acoustic detection systems and hydrophones pinpointing blast locations, enforcement teams can respond faster and more effectively.
“Combined with community patrols and the Spatial
Monitoring and Reporting Tool (SMART) technology, we’re creating a smarter, more responsive model for reef protection,” she said in a statement following a recent Anti Fish Bombing (AFB) Programme led by Sabah Fisheries Department.
The programme served as a platform to share insights, align ongoing initiatives, inspire solutions
and strengthen collaboration among stakeholders to combat fish bombing, also known as blast or
dynamite fishing.
This illegal and highly destructive practice continues to endanger lives, undermine the livelihoods of coastal communities, and threaten Sabah’s marine biodiversity.
This destruction leads to the loss of critical habitats for marine species, resulting in reduced biodiversity and declining fish stocks.
During the programme, WWF-Malaysia presented findings from the Solutions for Marine and Coastal Resilience in the Coral Triangle initiative on how acoustic detection systems and real-time sensors are helping enforcement teams respond more effectively.
From August 2021 to March 2022, monitoring in Tun Mustapha Park (TMP) showed a 47.1 per cet reduction in fish bombing activity compared to baseline data collected between October 2019 and March 2020.
Notably, at least seven out of ten monitoring sites recorded a dramatic decline ranging from 70.7 to 98.7 per cent, indicating that targeted enforcement and community-led surveillance efforts are making a measurable impact.
In Semporna, new real-time blast detectors were deployed at Mabul Island in early 2022, enabling hotspot identification and supporting enforcement efforts.
“These innovations reflect the growing role of local communities and science-based tools in marine conservation, with acoustic monitoring now guiding enforcement and community patrols,” WWF-Malaysia added.
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Tags: Sabah, WWF-Malaysia, fish bombing, coastal communities, news, NST
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