I was of course totally wrong.
Those walking Sharks are very much at risk.
And I should have known better as I've been diving there since the mid-eighties and have witnessed the ravaging and gradual degradation of those reefs with my own eyes, from overfishing to cyanide poisoning to reef bombs. It's mostly "only" small-scale artisanal fishing - but by virtue of all those countless legions of people strip mining the ocean, the results are never-the-less devastating.
Check out Steve's pics from Lombok - appalling but by no means exceptional. This is happening everywhere throughout the archipelago
And how about the management?
Stock assessments, fishing quotas, monitoring, enforcement, prosecution?
Yeah, right.
Solutions?
Enforced MPAs and Sanctuaries flanked by education and possibly, the development of alternative livelihoods - practicable stuff, not lofty theories. Oh, and some bloody family planning or else, it's all for naught!
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