Dilemmas of Representation in Contemporary Environmental Anthropology: Documenting Dynamite Fishing in Southeastern Tanzania

Abstract

This paper draws from an ethnographic vignette of dynamite fishing in southeastern Tanzania. I consider the utility of participant observation as a method for examining ecologically destructive practices, especially in contexts where such activities are illegal or prohibited by conservation regulations. I raise self-reflexive critiques, internal to my home discipline of anthropology, and discuss the methodological, ethical, and analytical challenges of attempting to document cases of dynamite fishing and other related phenomena of pressing environmental concern. Ultimately, I maintain that participant observation remains a valuable tool for documenting and explaining environmentally destructive activities.

Seeing from Below: Scuba Diving and the Regressive Cyborg

“…Seeing the ocean from below can provide immediate visual feedback on what is really happening to the planet around us. Urchin covered seafloors where dense kelp forests once stood and blast‐battered coral reefs where dynamite fishers operate are both striking examples that resonate emotionally with ordinary divers (see Raycraft 2018b). Grappling with the difficulty of reality requires communicating to the general public that these are the impacts of our actions on the blue planet that sustains us.…”