The Bomb Listener

Humans have been in conflict with the marine environment for generations. It is no different in Malaysia’s Tun Sakaran Marine Park, off the eastern coast of Semporna, Sabah. Its coral reefs at the centre of marine biodiversity are at risk from a devastating crime wave - destructive fishing using homemade bombs. Although illegal, fish bombing is widely practiced around the Pacific and East Africa. Century-old coral reefs, home to fish and other marine life are reduced to rubble in seconds. Fish bombings happen without warning and often when no one is around. Some days there are none, others two or three together. There is no set pattern. Even if park rangers were to act, they have no idea where the crime is taking place due to how vast the marine sanctuary is. Catching the culprits has proven almost impossible.... But there is strong hope. An international team is out to turn wildlife tracking technology into a ground-breaking bomb detection system that will pinpoint the exact location