In the eyes of more impoverish fishermen residing in Indonesia and Philippines, although the use of explosives for fishing is illegal, this method continues to be carried out as they are inexpensive and fetches a decent amount of monetary returns. For instance, villagers are able to earn approximately 15 to 40 dollars at the mere expense of 1 or 2 dollars for making dynamite.(Prospect Journal of international affairs at UCSD, 2012) However, these fishermen are unaware of how this approach while economical is driving potentially irreversible damage to the Coral reefs that brings benefits and values to the human population.
credits: Philippines lifestyle.com
Coral reefs are like the ” rainforest of the sea” providing a host of intangible services to not just marine lives but to mankind as well.
Coral reefs are like the ” rainforest of the sea” providing a host of intangible services to not just marine lives but to mankind as well. For instance, it is widely recognised for its aesthetic and cultural values especially in Philippines where the ocean serve as a popular destination for divers.
credits: Reef Resilience
From a medical perspective, it also provides an invaluable ground for drug discovery ( Eg: Blue-green algae used for treating small-cell lung cancer) (Levins, 2017)
South-east Asia (SEA) contains the largest area of coral reefs encompassing 34% of world’s total. While the region is regarded as the global centre of tropical marine biodiversity, it is deeply disconcerting that 95% of the reefs are threatened where over-fishing was cited to be the primary stressor of degradation.