There were several blast happened at nights at sea off this Pacific port when Aaron Medina drops bombs that cause dozens of fish to soar into the air. It is said that the 23-year-old fisherman rubbernecks to ensure no police are around before pulling a 1-pound bomb from his pocket. It’s an old sardine can wrapped in a cement bag filled with gunpowder, sugar and sulfur. It is lit with a waterproof wick.
Medina said that it is the only way to survive in fishing today. Medina is part of the nation’s booming blast fishing industry, which is quickly spreading across Central America’s Pacific coast. The practice is also common in El Salvador and Honduras. Environmental groups say that blast fishing is an illegal but lucrative practice in which fishermen throw small homemade bombs into the marine habitat, killing entire schools of fish and wiping out everything else within the blast zone – including coral reef habitats – thus depleting fisheries.
Reinaldo Bermuti of Nicaragua’s Fisheries Institute in the capital, Managua, explained that in a few years, blast fishing will be everywhere if it continues like this. Other authorities fear the practice is fueling a black market for increasingly potent explosives that could fall into the hands of gangs or terrorist groups.
Blast fishing is considered an environmental crime under Nicaraguan law, punishable by up to four years in prison. Prosecutors can increase jail time by tacking on illegal weapons possession charges. Widespread corruption among local police officers hinders enforcement efforts, police investigator Gomez said. Many fishermen say police officers routinely take bribes from bomb manufacturers and their distributors.
