Scourge of the Indian Ocean (Image: Mohamed Dahir/AFP/Getty Images)

SOMALI pirates terrorising the Indian Ocean are a hazard to more than shipping and tourists. They are also killing important scientific research and may be indirectly damaging the ocean’s ecosystem.

Fishing boats in the Indian Ocean routinely carry scientists who gather data about fish stocks and threatened species while ensuring that boats comply with fishing rules. The piracy threat has put a stop to that. “We can’t monitor and we can’t do experiments because of the pirates,” says Laurent Dagorn of France’s Research Institute for Development (IRD).

Boats now carry …