MURO-AMI Muro-Ami has its roots in Japan. It is "bad" not only because it destroys precious coral reefs, but also because it uses child labor. About 100 to 150 young boys, aged 9-16 are forced to live in horrible, cramped conditions for months at a time. A lot of the times, these kids are abused and maltreated while on these ships.
What occurs is that when the ship finds a suitable coral reef, the fishermen set up nets on one side of the reef. The boys then board several bancas, and surround the remainder of the reef. A signal is given, and they jump into the water and start hammering at the corals with rocks or other objects. This scares the fish. Should one be wondering how the boys can stay down for long, in order to breathe, they bite at the end of a long hose, which is attached to one of the small boats floating overhead. The fish, having been frightened from their homes, the fish swim in the direction of the waiting net. When the fish are in position, the boys will work together and seal the net. The ‘mother’ ship will then pull the catch into the vessel itself. The Muro-Ami boat then sails off, leaving behind a coral reef that has been completely destroyed.

As you can see from the illustration, once a coral reef has been damaged, it will take a very long time for it to regrow.

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