Bali
CuriousOyster
Steve & Trish Brown
Mon 19 Sep 2011 07:33
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08:19.75S 115:38.42E
After five days in the Gili islands we have now
moved 25nm west to the NE corner of the island of Bali and an anchorage
under Gunung Agung, at 3,142m a large and
imposing volcano.
 bali attracts some 2 million tourists each year and
the increased affluence is obvious even in this
remote corner of the island.
 Before we left the anchorage on Gili Air we saw
once more the impact of overfishing
on the surrounding reefs and open
water.
These islands atrract tourists from around the world who come to snorkel
and dive in the clear waters
fed by currents from the Indian Ocean to the south and Java sea to the
north.
We were told by the dive shop operators that overfishing had significantly
reduced
not only fish stocks but also shark and turtle populations. Despite
pressure on the locals to limit fishing
and manage this critical resource they are selling their childrens future
for a money in the pocket today. Wherever we look, be it in the developed or the
developing world, the message is the same!
These guys were using fine mesh nets to catch
anything of any size that came their way.
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