Location:

Dastardly Dynamite

Dynamite is used as a fishing tool; the explosions kill all the fish making them easy to collect. This has three dire consequences.

Firstly, it is entirely random, killing every creature nearby. This has a number of effects:

• Many more fish than are required are killed, so fish numbers are depleted,
• Fish of every species are killed, not simply the ones the fishermen wish to catch
• It kills other creatures as well as the fish, so their numbers are depleted as well

Secondly, it kills the living coral and causes extensive damage to the coral structures. Effectively, holes are blown in the reef making it weaker and less able to resist the effects of tide and weather.

Thirdly it stirs up silts and sands, so clouding the waters, reducing the ability of algae to produce the food that coral polyps live on.