By: Erlangga Diga (Reef Check Indonesia)

That day (22/10), we were diving in a location far from the settlement. Cloudy weather and strong currents made it challenging for us to collect data. The first dive went without a hitch, but we saw a patch of coral fragments that were the result of a bomb detonated on the seabed.

After completing the first dive, we moved to the second dive site. Just a moment into the dive, we were immediately greeted with the sound of an explosion that we recognized. Yes, the sound of bombs that are still used to catch fish. Then I swam while taking data, and the sound of the explosion was heard again and repeated up to seven times.

It was a record in my life that I experienced for the first time. For the first time, I experienced diving like a war. Dealing with strong currents, and being surprised by the sound of many explosions.

Bombing is one of the most environmentally unfriendly fishing methods. In addition to killing all the fish in the bombing area, bombs also destroy coral reefs. In fact, coral reefs have a very important role for fish as a place to live, spawn, and nurture.

This is very concerning, considering the long time it takes for coral reefs to grow and develop. However, it is destroyed in a moment because of human ambition to quickly get fish in large quantities.

The use of bombs also has a major impact on interconnected coastal ecosystems. If one ecosystem is damaged, there will be an imbalance. Hopefully, this kind of incident will not happen again, and we are the only ones who experience it.