"Observations show an average 260 touches per one hour dive for a party of four."

[GameChanger]

"First, the reef is stressed by divers. Observations show an average 260 touches per one hour dive for a party of four."

I read this quote in a Facebook "Cozumel 4 U" thread. I tried to ask for a link (source) but a moderator closed the thread for comments. Cozumel 4 You

Does anyone have any FACTUAL evidence to corroborate this claim? (link?) Lot's of hyperbole in the FB thread. Slim on facts.

 

[MiloR]

"First, the reef is stressed by divers. Observations show an average 260 touches per one hour dive for a party of four."

I read this quote in a Facebook "Cozumel 4 U" thread. I tried to ask for a link (source) but a moderator closed the thread for comments. Cozumel 4 You

Does anyone have any FACTUAL evidence to corroborate this claim? (link?) Lot's of hyperbole in the FB thread. Slim on facts.

I am 110% certain that no one will have anything FACTUAL to support this. My math skills were never the best but IF I did it correctly that information equates to EACH diver touching ONCE every single minute of the hour.

Just not possible that EVERY group of four is touching something once every minute.

 

[archman]

Perhaps "touching" in this context is including any bodily/gear contacts (e.g. fins, wetsuit, hoses, regs).

 

[tursiops]

I am 110% certain that no one will have anything FACTUAL to support this. My math skills were never the best but IF I did it correctly that information equates to EACH diver touching ONCE every single minute of the hour.

Just not possible that EVERY group of four is touching something once every minute.

See http://faculty.wwu.edu/~shulld/ESCI 432/BarkerRoberts2004.pdf.
The number is not at all unreasonable, especially for a drift dive in Cozumel.

 

[Astran]

Perhaps "touching" in this context is including any bodily/gear contacts (e.g. fins, wetsuit, hoses, regs).

No doubt.

 

[NDL_Diver]

Have you watched some people with camera's?

They are a big problem IMHO. Some do anything to get the shot.

 

[archman]

Ah, thanks for the primary literature. I can track the details down.

"Taking the mean values from both the shore and boat dives, kicking and touching the reef substrate with fins was by far the most common form of contact(81.4%), followed by touching and holding with hands(10.1%). Most contacts (79.8%) caused minor damage(touch or scrape), almost half (49.0%) resulted in there-suspension of sediment, and a small proportion(4.1%) caused major damage, i.e. caused breakage. Fin kicks accounted for the greatest proportion of each type of contact: 95.2% (n¼138) of major damage,78.5% (n¼2228) of minor damage, and 90.8%(n¼1581) of re-suspended sediment. Divers holding onto the substrate with their hands and resting against the substrate with their knees were the next most problematic actions, followed by loose, dangling equipment (gauges and alternative air sources ‘octo-puses’) which brushed against and knocked into the reef."

 

[pauldw]

You left out the part about photographers often being the problem.

 

[archman]

Yeah... I read that bit after... my bad.

 

[JohnnyC]

Doesn't surprise me. I watched a photographer laying on top of the reef to take a photo of a turtle, while the foreign female dive guide was waving her flashlight around like a crackhead to get everyone's attention so they could do the same.

BTW, if you're the fat foreign female dive guide with the purple doo rag on that has zero understanding of underwater communication and the ethical compass of John D. Rockafeller, thanks, you're the reason that they're closing the southern reef.