Pix 1: the Sabah Parks boat comes in with a poacher’s boat slung across the back, and the owner on board.

I loathe poachers. I have seen too much of the damage they have done, and the callous way they tend to treat their environment, in this case the marine environment – fish bombing, cyanide poisoning, dragging nets over corals, and so on. And far, far too often I have witnessed the enforcement authorities turn a blind eye.

Pix 2: A second poacher’s boat is being shepherded to shore with a crew of three

[Please don’t now tell me that what they do is nothing compared to the legal depredations of big business and developers. I know that.]

Pix 3: poacher’s boat. Note the back far corner…

Well, while we were in the Semporna Islands we witnessed the enforcement authorities at work, not only doing their job but doing it strictly, yet with compassion.
Yes, that’s a fire on board the boat. They were cooking their tapioca in the wok (now removed from the fire). The burning wood rests on a piece of metal sheeting. Doubtless they would have thrown their catch on to the fire when the tapioca was cooked.

I actually had downloaded a stack of other photos (which takes time because I don’t have broadband) and when I scrolled down this far, I found they had all vanished. So you are going to have to wait until tomorrow for the rest of the story of these poachers…

Sometimes Blogger can be very hard to manage. And does anyone know why half the directions for my postings are now auf Deutsch????