HONIARA, Solomon Islands (20 Feb 2005) -- Government officials in the Solomon Islands have gone on record criticizing police for failing to bust illegal dynamite fishermen. Despite strict laws forbidding dynamite and chemical fishing, criminal fishing syndicates are always at least one step ahead of the authorities according to Frank Pule, a Gela member of the Parliament. Pule lashed out at police for not putting offenders behind bars. "Schweppes plastic containers and little injection bottles, I don't know where they get them from, are used to make almost soundless explosives," he said. "Fishing explosive manufacturers are becoming too smart for the law keepers and they become harder and harder to put behind the bar." | | Hawaii coral damaged by bulk carrier Cape Flattery. The Solomon Islands is widely acknowledged as one of the world's premier scuba diving destinations, however, civil unrest and widespread degradation of coral reefs have severely crippled the nation's tourism industry. © CDNN - CYBER DIVER NEWS NETWORK |
