Reef Rods -- Reef safe? Environmentally friendly?

[Scott L]

A lot of professional and recreational divers in the Philippines use it. Primarily for the following purposes: Point out marine life; tank banger to get your attention; some sort of anchor rod to use when crawling on the bottom fighting the current (in case of emergencies, when you need to jab into live coral, you only ruin a half-inch diameter area - minimal damage - instead of a big chunk); and, as a cane to help keep you still when photographing marine life (again, only used on dead coral or rocks with no coral cover or sandy bottom). I do not carry one of these sticks but use a glove on one hand only (when it is prohibited to use gloves) so I can use my middle and index fingers to do some of the things I mentioned above. I am thinking of getting one of these rods when I am in the Philippines again (that's early next year).

I have been on dives in the Philippines (I have not seen them used in Mexico, Pacific NW, and the CA Coast) where I have seen divers use these rods or sticks to abuse marine life. These sticks are meant for good but, if used in ways its not meant to be then it becomes a bad tool. Similar to gloves and guns.

Actually IMO I see the potential for more abuse than a decrease in destruction in coral life. I have a very vivid picture in my mind of John Pennekamp (Key Largo) divers weiding these maestro wands in a symphony of madness wantongly harrassing marine life, jabbing each other, etc. Also, any tank banging other than alerting me of a mermaid will quickly get you kicked off my dive team. I could envision good use to act and as a grab and pull aid on sandy bottoms to swim against current and to lower gas consumption when fitting. Trimming out and taking and holding a deeper breath of gas for a second to stay off reefs would obviously solve all such non-sence.

P.S. They better come equiped with a bolt clip or the world's reefs will quickly become inudated with these chop sticks.

 

[Diver0001]

If you take two normally healthy children who are just learning to walk and you give one child crutches and make him learn to walk with that and you make the other one learn to walk normally.....

Which child do you think will walk better after a year?

People are lazy. Give them a crutch and they will use it whether they need it or not. The *problem* with using gear to solve a skills problem is that it delays or in some cases completely impedes the development of the needed skill.

R..

 

[tgsmith]

P.S. They better come equiped with a bolt clip or the world's reef will quickly become inudated with these chop sticks.

Free lobster ticklers!

 

[Scott L]

Free lobster ticklers!

Safety stop sword fights.

 

[Joe Cool]

Actually IMO I see the potential for more abuse than a decrease in destruction in coral life. I have a very vivid picture in my mind of John Pennekamp (Key Largo) divers weiding these maestro wands in a symphony of madness wantongly harrassing marine life, jabbing each other, etc.

It all depends on the attitude and character of a diver. Even a flashlight that is meant for illumination can be used to harass marine life. If you use it in a responsible manner, it is a good tool

Trimming out and taking and holding a deeper breath of gas for a second to stay off reefs would obviously solve all such non-sence.

I agree. Most of the time, you can use bouyancy skills to avoid colliding into a reef or corals. However, there are times when you need to take immediate evasive maneuver because you did not notice that coral head up ahead. I have been caught in similar situations such as when my attention was somewhere else and as I turn my head around, I quickly realize that I am in a collision course with a nice big staghorn coral. No time to inhale and be positively bouyant to fly over it. I have to either, stick my finger out and poke the coral or have this long stick and poke it on something dead like a rock (or worst case a spot on the coral) to re-direct myself. Stuff like this happens and that stick will come in handy.

P.S. They better come equiped with a bolt clip or the world's reefs will quickly become inudated with these chop sticks.

They come in different flavors, my friend. Some come with a clip but you don't want a 6-inch or 12-inch stick dangling from a D-ring on your BC. Some have built-in noise shakers that drives a lot of divers crazy. What they normally do is stick the stick up under the sleeve of your wetsuit (in the case of a 6-inch stick) and wrap the wrist strap around your wrist for safety. When you want to use it, just pull it out of your sleeve. Some devise some kind of a holster on their BC.:cool2:

 

[Scott L]

I thought about that too. The whole idea of places banning gloves though is so that you wont touch the SHARP live coral. However, if you've got a long metal stick you aren't nearly as motivated to not touch the coral.

I have to disagree. Cozumel and other destinations care not so much for your digits than they do for preventing damage to the coral. The concept is a double edged sword IMO. Sure divers would do less damage with the rod than with their hands but I can predict alot more rod contacts than current human hand/finger touchings...

 

[fdog]

When I first saw these I was pretty undecided.

...Now, after having seen the destruction caused by these rods, I believe they are worse than a diver with gloves.

With gloves, at least your hand is inside, and you worry a little bit about what you're touching. With the rod, it's not a part of your body, so it's used to chivy wildlife, poke into crevaces, stick into the reef willy-nilly (live coral or dead), and even (I watched a local DM do this) to carve their initials into coral heads.

Even on dives where people were desperately plunging them into the reef because of current, a little bit of skillz made it easy to duck into the lee of a coral head and easily stay put.



All the best, James

 

[*dave*]

Isn't the issue more about the numb-rods using the rods, than the rod itself? Take away their rods and they be jamming a knife or something else into the reef, I'd guess.

When I first saw these I was pretty undecided.

...Now, after having seen the destruction caused by these rods, I believe they are worse than a diver with gloves.

With gloves, at least your hand is inside, and you worry a little bit about what you're touching. With the rod, it's not a part of your body, so it's used to chivy wildlife, poke into crevaces, stick into the reef willy-nilly (live coral or dead), and even (I watched a local DM do this) to carve their initials into coral heads.

Even on dives where people were desperately plunging them into the reef because of current, a little bit of skillz made it easy to duck into the lee of a coral head and easily stay put.



All the best, James

 

[Joe Cool]

I agree with Valhalla, typical human nature dictates that if one has a stick, he or she will use it for his/her convenience tossing aside responsibility most of the time. The main reason why gloves are prohibited in most marine sanctuaries is because most divers with gloves are tempted to touch just about anything they can get their hands on without regard for their personal safety or the well-being of the marine life being harassed. A stick, rod, gloves, and even an SUV can give one a sense of power that can be easily abused.

"With power comes great responsibiity!" - Uncle Ben (to Peter Parker) ;-)

 

[Scott L]

It all depends on the attitude and character of a diver. Even a flashlight that is meant for illumination can be used to harass marine life. If you use it in a responsible manner, it is a good tool



I agree. Most of the time, you can use bouyancy skills to avoid colliding into a reef or corals. However, there are times when you need to take immediate evasive maneuver because you did not notice that coral head up ahead. I have been caught in similar situations such as when my attention was somewhere else and as I turn my head around, I quickly realize that I am in a collision course with a nice big staghorn coral. No time to inhale and be positively bouyant to fly over it. I have to either, stick my finger out and poke the coral or have this long stick and poke it on something dead like a rock (or worst case a spot on the coral) to re-direct myself. Stuff like this happens and that stick will come in handy.



They come in different flavors, my friend. Some come with a clip but you don't want a 6-inch or 12-inch stick dangling from a D-ring on your BC. Some have built-in noise shakers that drives a lot of divers crazy. What they normally do is stick the stick up under the sleeve of your wetsuit (in the case of a 6-inch stick) and wrap the wrist strap around your wrist for safety. When you want to use it, just pull it out of your sleeve. Some devise some kind of a holster on their BC.:cool2:

You are right about unavoiadable contact with a reef regardless of skill for the reasons you cite and also the lobster hunting I so love that places me in extremely close proximity with reef systems. It's unfathomable that divers utilize their entire hand in contact with the reef. As Dave indicated in an earlier post a well placed finger push off will rarely cause any damage what so ever...

You seem knowledgable on the subject. Have any information for the folks how to acquire?