Eco-unfriendly Divers

[Lorenzoid]

I vote @MelasLithos for Reef Ambassador!

Hi, I see this quite often, and I do believe that most of the time, people just don't know and never thought about these subjects.

I am lucky that I speak three of the most common languages in the world, and like to strike up conversations on the boat (there was only once where I was not able to communicate with my buddy because of language issues). And I do not hesitate to tell people when I see attitudes such as you describe. Most of the time, they will tell me that they didn't realize the issues it was causing/didn't know about, thank me for mentionning it and will try to correct it on the next dive.

Of course, I will never start with that. I would usually start the conversation discussing what we saw, favorite dives, etc. And usually, at some point, I will say "BTW, did you noticed that you were doing this and that?". More often than not, the answer will be "No". And I like to frame it as a discussion more than a "lesson". What I prefer though is point their act to them while they're diving, so that they realize it.

For example, a few month ago, on the third day of diving with a group of people, with went on a muck dive. A young women was flutter kicking very close to the silty bottom, with all the mess that that entails. I gently grabbed her and asked her to watch behind her. When she saw the clound of silt, she had a movement of surprise and immediatly went a bit shallower. After the dive, she thanked me and told me she didn't realized how the bottom could be so easily disturbed.

So I believe you shouldn't be worried about discussing their attitudes with other divers. I know that here, in Asia, where I Iive, a lot of people didn't have the same environmental education and awareness as we had in Europe for example. But they are eager to learn and discuss. Of course, I always try to stay polite and humble when I do that, and it usually goes very well. And it's usually a learning experience for me too in cultural differences ^^

 

[drbill]

Photographers and videographers have been the bane of dive travel since I was a kid in the 1980's. People who otherwise might be an enjoyable part of a dive trip while having dinner, hanging out, and telling stories seem to turn into scuba paparazzi to get the shot.

Now, Trace, let's not put all UW inagers in one basket! There are those of us who are attuned to other divers wanting to get their chance. Of course I tend to dive solo to avoid such groups when I'm in aging. I do remember a dive in Anilao when I found a Rhinopias and had it all to myself. Then a group of divers from a certain country saw me filming, came over and I gave them their chance to film. They ended up killing the fish by moving it from it's protected location out onto bare sand in shallower water. Then they grouped around me as I tried to film an ornate ghost pipefish. I finally had to threaten them with my fist to get them to back off.

 

[Barnaby'sDad]

Some people don't care, but some just don't realize what they're doing. I recall an obviously new diver in the Bahamas who was kicking the reef while trying to get pictures. I wrote "You're kicking the crap out of the reef. Can you be more careful?" on my slate and showed it to him. He became more careful.
I think he assumed I was one of the guides, because he started following me around the rest of the dive and using my slate to ask "What's that?" sort of questions.

I suspect that is the case for many people. A lot of people are oblivious to what's going on around them on a daily basis. I doubt that changes when you put that type of person underwater.

 

[divinh]

All that aside, I know you went on the KLM Seamore Papua and that it was your first liveaboard. How was the boat including food, accommodation, dive arrangements and logistics? How was the diving? Did you otherwise enjoy what you saw? Anything special? Komodo is one of my favorite places in the world. I really hope that this experience didn’t put you off to all liveaboards.

I’m looking forward to your reply.

The crew and guides were great! The crew were all very friendly, all smiles and very helpful. The guides always found interesting things to look at and accommodated requests. I wouldn't hesitate to book them again.

During the booking process, I was a bit annoyed that my request to be further away from the engine room could not be guaranteed, even though it seemed I was the first to book. I pretty much gave up on that request, realizing that if they had booked a large group, that group would get preferential treatment. After the two payments were taken, PADI Travel came back and said the boat requested that park fees and administrative fees need to be prepaid, another $200 USD. I knew these fees were coming and I remember discussing this with you, how expensive it was compared to your experience. When I arrived on the boat, the lead guide started to collect park fees from everyone, $140 USD, and luckily I remembered I had already paid it and showed him my email receipt. I was a bit annoyed that I had paid $60 USD more, but I did end up getting a cabin all to myself at the bow of the boat, which was worth the extra money. I had a double bed, my own bathroom and the aircon was great.

Food consisted of mostly rice and noodle dishes with egg, beef, chicken and/or fish. There was plenty. I think the only thing that threw me off was that salt and tart flavors weren't very present. For example, a spicy dish was sweet spicy, not salty spicy. I found the beef, chicken and fish to be a bit overcooked, i.e. too dry. Oh, and there could have been more fresh fruit. Fresh fruit is what I really got accustomed to from diving in Thailand, i.e. getting fresh watermelon or pineapple after dives.

A typical dive day is like this:

7 AM - wake up call, light breakfast of toast and jam in dining area
7:30 AM - dive briefing, then prep for morning dive
full breakfast after morning dive
10:30 AM - dive briefing, then prep for mid-morning dive
lunch after mid-morning dive
3 PM - dive briefing, then prep for afternoon dive
6 or 7 PM - dive briefing, then prep for night dive
dinner after night dive

I guess for special trips, we did hike up Palau Padar to see the three beaches (pink, black and white) and did a stop to see the Komodo dragons. Those trips cost us two dives each of those days. I would have preferred to have gotten those dives, but I only had one vote.

We visited these sites: Bidadari Island, Batu Balong, Sabayor Kecil, Mini Wall, Castle Rock, Crystal Rock, Shot Gun, Gililawa Darat Island, Golden Passage, Makasar Reef, Pink Beach, Loh Sera, Secret Garden, Namo Reef, Three Sisters, Komodo Bay, Tatawa Besar, and Mawan Island.

There were some dive sites in the open waters of Southern Komodo that we attempted to go to one night, but rough seas made the boat turn around.

Water temps were between 24-29 C and I was fine with just a dive skin.

The dive prep area was tidy and the crew took care setting up the gear and refilling the tanks in place. After the last dive, the crew took care of cleaning and drying the gear. All I needed to do was pack it up! (I will say there's an exception for the inside of boots, which seem very difficult to dry!)

Overall, I enjoyed the liveaboard experience. I would be cautious next time to see who I might be diving with though. I can understand that some people aren't aware of what they doing underwater sometimes, and I would say I am guilty of that at times, but I've not actively chased turtles, used reef hooks or pointers to cause reactions in critters.

 

[outofofficebrb]

I would ask for the difference in MP fee back from PADI Travel and let them know that others paid on board and paid $60 less than you. The fee is a flat rate regardless of what cabin you bought into.

Thanks for sharing your report!

Komodo’s life and colors really wowed me and was my first real taste of the coral triangle. I’ve dived in other parts of the coral triangle over the last few years and Indonesia, specifically Komodo and Raja Ampat, still tug at me.

 

[MelasLithos]

I vote @MelasLithos for Reef Ambassador!

Haha, thanks, but now way I still have far too much to learn before anything like that can ever happen
I'm just passing on all the info and knowledge fantastic divers have shared with me on dive boats and Scubaboard I still remember, not so long ago, when I was the clueless one (and still am, more often than not).

 

[Ryan Francis]

I am not the greatest diver by any means, and I shouldn't be with my amount of dives, but my instructors always taught me diving etiquette and courtesy underwater. One thing that I do enjoy is people watching underwater, it can be just as entertaining as fish watching. I tend to float back a little ways from the cluster and watch both the reef and the dive group for kicks and giggles.

 

[StefinSB]

You see that crap all the time in the Phillipines. Usually, it’s a group from Korea or China.

 

[Laurie S.]

I attended an underwater photo workshop at Anilao last December. On one night dive, there was a mimic octopus that nicely posed for me. I finished and was moving away when another boat of divers in the same workshop descended on the poor octopus. It looked like a feeding frenzy. Worst of all, they landed on a fish and killed it. Yes, I complained about them when I got back that night.

 

[Kharon]

You see that crap all the time in the Phillipines. Usually, it’s a group from Korea or China.

It's probably not limited to a country. It's probably dependant on the geographic area with the highest proportion of divers - where most divers come from. On Bonaire it's Dutch divers that suck. At Coco View Texans.