Dynamite fishing, coral mining, and farm runoff take a toll

To help save the reefs of Tanzania, get active with these groups:

Africa Wildlife Foundation

www.chumbeisland.com">Chumbe Island Coral Park

Frontier

IUCN Eastern Africa Regional Technical Office

Nature Conservation Trust

Wildlife Conservation Society, Tanzania

World Wide Fund for Nature

Tanzania has well-developed patch and fringing reefs near shore, but its fisheries have been overexploited with destructive techniques, and its reefs damaged by heavy coral mining; over 250 tons of shells and corals were exported in 1974 alone. Widespread bleaching has been reported, and eutrophication (fertilizer and sewage overnutrition) has damaged corals off the capital, Dar es Salaam, and off the well-touristed island of Zanzibar. In March 1998, Tanzania's vice president Omar Ali Juma gave a shot in the arm to the country's fight against dynamite fishing along its coast. "We must fight the illegal dynamite fishing to protect our marine resources for the benefit of our nation and our future generations," Juma declared, urging participants at a seminar to review existing laws, regulations, and penalties governing dynamite fishing.