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Science research, marine life, suffering in wake of increased violence.
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A 'skiff', a small boat frequently used by Somali pirates, is pictured by the Portuguese helicopter 'Daxter' during a surveillance operation on the Somalia shores./ZUMA Press Inc
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Ships getting hijacked in the Indian Ocean aren't the only consequence of an increase in piracy. According to a New Scientist story, scientists gathering data about fish stocks and threatened species have been virtually shut out of the area due to increased security concerns. This has left the monitoring of illegal poaching almost completely unchecked."We can't monitor and we can't do experiments because of the pirates," says Laurent Dagorn of France's Research Institute for Development (IRD).
As a result, piracy may be increasing harmful by-catch. To avoid being attacked, fisherman are leaving nets at sea for days or weeks -- furthering the likelihood of snagging and killing turtles, sharks, or other threatened species.
Last March, a scientific vessel was hijacked by pirates prowling waters around the Seychelles; leading to its seven crew members being held hostage for months. They were all later released, but the message sent to the research community was clear: avoid the Indian ocean.
"We find ourselves in a paradoxical situation," said Dagorn. "To better manage and predict the effects of fishing on the ecosystem we need to work in the regions where the seiners are. Thanks to the military the (fishing) boats have regained their fishing grounds, but we researchers cannot resume our activities," Dagorn explained.
According to the AFP, since last April, five scientific campaigns have been canceled and are being relocated to pirate-free areas, either further south in the Mozambican Channel or halfway across the globe in the Atlantic.
Source: Mother Nature Network