Title
Protect Myanmar's marine resources from being pillaged to point of no return: Aung San Suu Kyi’s new government must safeguard the ocean from illegal fishing that has depleted stocks by 70-90% and is killing endangered sea turtles and dugongs
Author(s)
Poole, Colin
Published
2016
Publisher
The Guardian
Abstract
As Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) engaged in a historic transfer of power in the Myanmar capital of Naypyidaw in March, my Burmese colleagues and I stood on a deserted beach 170 miles to the southwest, near Gwa on the Rakhine coast. We were speaking to local fishermen about their livelihoods and hearing about the unfortunate death of a young dugong – southeast Asia’s cousin of the manatee. To the naked eye, the blue sea and miles of white sand with no development or people in sight were a vision of paradise. And yet, as we learned, below the surface things were far from idyllic. The young dugong that accidentally drowned in a fishing net was just one symptom of another tragedy and challenge unfolding in this country – one that, while nearly unnoticed, could have major implications for the future of millions of rural people.
Keywords
Fishing;Conservation;Food;Marine life;Wildlife;Myanmar;Endangered species;Aung San Suu Kyi;South and Central Asia

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PUB16003