We aim to educate our guests on how to interact safely and responsibly with marine life, plus how to personally take direct positive action to help preserve and protect our natural environment by the collection of litter, stray fishing line, and derelict nets on all our dives and hikes. Blast Fishing Arrests Vietnamese fishermen armed with homemade explosives have emptied Nha Trang Bay of any meaningful fish life. Blast fishing is a common, though illegal, practice in Indonesia, a nation of 17,000 islands surrounded by coral reefs. Many marine experts say bombing is the greatest threat to the archipelago's reefs, which are home to 25 percent of the world's fish species. The November bust marked the year's first arrests in the Komodo area, one of the few regions of Indonesia where fish bombing is monitored with any regularity.
Fishermen use the explosives to stun the fish.
After they float to the surface, the fishermen simply scoop up their catch. It is believed that many of these fish eventually wind up in pet store aquariums in the United States. With thousands of members and millions of divers, PADI sponsored programs are becoming a growing force in the world-wide effort to preserve the underwater environment. Through their training, PADI Divers learn the importance of protecting fragile aquatic ecosystems and are encouraged to become involved on preservation efforts.