An economic analysis of blast fishing on Indonesian coral reefs

Abstract

SummaryCharacteristics, impacts and economic costs and benefits of blast fishing have been little investigated and they were therefore studied in Indonesia, at the scale of individual fishing households and of Indonesian society as a whole. Although illegal and highly destructive to coral reefs, blast fishing provides income and fish to a vast number of coastal fishers who claim that they have no alternative to make a living. Crew members in small-, medium-and large-scale blast fishing operations earned net incomes per month of US$55, 146 and 197 respectively. Boat owners in the same types of operations earned US$55, 393 and 1100 respectively. These incomes were comparable to the highest incomes in the conventional coastal fisheries. At the individual household level, the differences between the three types of operations show clear incentives for scale enlargement. The cost-benefit balance at the society level was calculated with an economic model. This analysis showed a net loss after 20 years of blast fishing of US$306 800 per km 2 of coral reef where there is a high potential value of tourism and coastal protection, and US$33 900 per km 2 of coral reef where there is a low potential value. The main quantifiable costs are through loss of the coastal protection function, foregone benefits of tourism, and foregone benefits of non-destructive fisheries. The economic costs to society are four times higher than the total net private benefits from blast fishing in areas with high potential value of tourism and coastal protection. This analysis of characteristics, impact and economics of blast fishing should help to raise the political will to ban blast fishing from Indonesian waters. Moreover, it allows for an evaluation of possible management solutions, taking into account their costs and the socio-economic framework that caused coastal fishers to start using explosives.Keywords: Indonesia, coral reefs, blast fishing, coastal management, socio-economics IntroductionBlast fishing was introduced in the Indonesian Archipelago in the Second World War as an easy and profitable way to catch schooling reef fish (Galvez et al. 1989). Nowadays, due to generally declining catches in other sectors of coastal fisheries (Venema 1997), the ranks of blast fishers are joined by fishers who consider blast fishing the last opportunity to catch and earn enough to feed their families. The explosives were originally taken from old Second World War ammunition shells, which were dug up by fishers. At the present, bombs are mostly made with artificial (chemical) fertilizers such as ammonium and potassium nitrate (NH 4 NO 3 ; KNO 3 ). Sometimes, dynamite obtained from police, military personnel, mining companies, or civil engineering projects is also used (Alcala & Gomez 1987;Rubec 1988;Galvez et al. 1989).Blast fishers hunt specifically for schooling reef fish, so that only a few bombs will assure a relatively large catch. Because they can use visual information on the abundance of their prey, they consider this method to be very cost-eff...

Knowledge of Indonesian University Students on the Sustainable Management of Natural Resources

“…), an internationally traded non-timber forest resource found in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia [31]. The second problem describes near-shore dynamite fishing in the Sunda Sea, Indonesia [32]. The 15 conceptual knowledge items cover the additional knowledge that allows students to reconstruct the ecological, socio-economic and institutional settings of the two problem descriptions in more abstract terms.…”

Coral recruitment and potential recovery of eutrophied and blast fishing impacted reefs in Spermonde Archipelago, Indonesia

“…The archipelago harbors diverse coral reefs but also supports an important part of the reef fishery in Indonesia for a growing coastal population (Pet-Soede et al, 1999). As a result, the archipelago is subjected to the combined impacts of destructive fishing (blast and cyanide fishing), overfishing and land run-off (eutrophication, pollution and sedimentation), which have collectively taken their toll on reef structure and function (Edinger et al, 1998;Pet-Soede et al, 1999).…”

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“…snorkeling, diving), outweigh the opportunity costs of the conservation of protected areas, or be a development option more favorable than destructive exploitation methods (e.g. Dixon et al, 1993;Cesar et al, 1997;Pet-Soede et al, 1999). However, in-depth surveys as presented here might arrive at different results because surveys based on economic theory (often cost-benefit analyses) do not acknowledge the presence of ecological hinterlands and socio-economic changes that cannot be captured in monetary analyses.…”

“…In search for alternatives tourism has been advocated as a non-consumptive, sustainable development option more favorable than destructive exploitation methods (e.g. Cesar et al, 1997;Pet-Soede et al, 1999). In consequence, coastal zones have been at the forefront of tourist infrastructure development, and an increasing number of developing countries in the tropics now focus on tourism to generate additional jobs and income, raise foreign exchange earnings, and diversify the economy.…”