UK native James Morgan was studying photography in London when he read about a group of seafaring Southeast Asian nomads who had survived the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami with almost no casualties.

Malaysia is a treasure trove of shark and ray diversity, with many endemic species valuable to the natural heritage and ecology, and with increasing value to the Malaysian economy that extends beyond fishing. As the population increases and more people rely on the oceans for food, managing marine food resource sustainably is increasingly urgent.

Marine life face threats from many different human activities, including fishing, habitat destruction and man-made noise. Underwater sound is well studied and understood but can now be modeled so that the results from the models reflect both the physical factors and the biological responses in an integrated way.

Results are presented of a demonstration of real-time fish blast location in Sabah, Malaysia using a networked hydroacoustic array based on the ShotSpotter gunshot location system.

Destructive fishing using explosives occurs in a number of countries worldwide, negatively impacting coral reefs and fisheries on which millions of people rely. Documenting, quantifying and combating the problem has proved problematic. 

Depending upon the institutional framework, coral reef ecosystems and local economic development can be synergistic. When managed properly through local institutions, coral reef systems can deliver ecosystem services that create livelihoods and increase local prosperity in dependent communities. 

Fishing using explosives is common in Tanzanian waters; it is considered to be more widely practiced now than at any other point in history. 

Fisheries often use extremely destructive methods in order to catch fish. One very common destructive fishing method is by the use of dynamite, often referred to as “blast fishing.”

The Sama Dilaut (also known as Bajau Laut) are a largely stateless maritime community living in the coastal region of the east Malaysian state of Sabah.

The Bajau Laut are highly dependent on marine resources both for family consumption and sale. Fishing and gleaning is a way of life for this community and defines their socio-economic and cultural well-being.

Coral recruitment was assessed in highly diverse and economically important Spermonde Archipelago, a reef system subjected to land-based sources of siltation/pollution and destructive fishing, over a period of 2 years. 

This analysis aims to determine the effect of distance between a blast and the hydrophone on the received acoustic energy of the blast signal, purely as a result of the Lloyd’s mirror phenomenon (so excluding the drop in signal energy due to wavefront spreading).