That is good to know, thank you. Since posting this question I have looked on travelocity as well and a lot of people have posted that Ecologic Divers is a very environmentally conscious shop (no touching of anything under water). I will most likely book all of our dives through Ecologic Divers.
Any dive shops that do not chum the water or handle marine life?
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That is good to know, thank you. Since posting this question I have looked on travelocity as well and a lot of people have posted that Ecologic Divers is a very environmentally conscious shop (no touching of anything under water). I will most likely book all of our dives through Ecologic Divers.
What's wrong with chumming (assuming they arenot using poison)? I agree with no touching and I too want to see fish. But I do not think I could tell the difference between a pretty fish naturally and a pretty fish that has come to be near me because it is being fed. Where is the harm?
LiquidDivingAdventure
Contributor
Hi Fred,
Well chumming can cover a wide territory. I used to live in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii and there is a neat little protected bay called Magic Sands. We used to have to get after the tourists for chumming so to speak as they were feeding the reef fish frozen peas. What's the big deal...? The fish fill up on food that has no nutritional value to them, kind of like being fat but starving to death.
On the same island town there was an Atlantis submarie operation that engaged divers to chum for fish as the route was not really populated with a lot of marine life. They quit that practice after some divers were bit by morays who had become used to the regular feeding and aggresive when they didn't get fed. We used to sing a song dedicated to those divers (sung to the tune of When the moon hits your eye)... Stick-a your hand in a crack, if you hand don't-a come back, that's amore (a moray).... The divers were being just plain stupid.
So there's two reasons for "no" that I have experienced. My personal thought is that it may just tend to unbalance the natural order of the reef. I am largely undecided about spearing lionfish and trying to get sharks, eels, groupers, etc to eat them. Lionfish are not in the natural order of Caribbean reefs so don't know what the right thing is on this issue in the long run.
I have done a shark dive off Roatan and it was OK, but not sure I'd do it again. It was up close and personal with the sharks but if I had my druthers, there are lots of places to dive with sharks without feeding them. If I want to dive with sharks now, I'd do Cocos Island or the Socorros off Baja.
I was on one dive off Roatan out of Coco View where the DM was trying to draw a fish out of a small rock cave and he crushed up some urchins. I thought that was pretty stupid and made mention of it. I guess I was the only one offended. But then, besides my dive travel business, I am also president of a non-profit marine conservation group that focuses on sea turtles. So I guess there's my third reason "no" to chumming. Why intentionally kill another critter just so a couple of divers can see a fish they might have otherwise missed....?
As to the touching of the critters and reef....I must admit I stick my finger in the sand to stop while taking pics. I also do the same on the occasional rock. Having a saltwater aquarium and breeding corals, I am well aware of the difference between a rock and live coral. I have also touched the occasional friendly grouper that brushes against divers in the Caymans. Last trip off Little Cayman, we literally had to gently push a grouper away from us as the fish would swim right under us. Given the way I have seen groupers dive into rocks after prey and turtles scrape their shells on rock overhangs, I'm reasonably sure a light human finger touch doesn't endangers the critters. That said, I never dive with gloves regardless of location. Using the Cayman manta trips and other areas where I have come in contact with rays, it seems human touch is not fatal to some marine critters.
I have also been fascinated by some cleaner shrimp and have found with patience the little critters will climb on your hand. Kind of an interesting interaction with the ocean, but not really chumming unless you consider the shrimp picking at the skin on my hands....
That's my two cents....
Well chumming can cover a wide territory. I used to live in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii and there is a neat little protected bay called Magic Sands. We used to have to get after the tourists for chumming so to speak as they were feeding the reef fish frozen peas. What's the big deal...? The fish fill up on food that has no nutritional value to them, kind of like being fat but starving to death.
On the same island town there was an Atlantis submarie operation that engaged divers to chum for fish as the route was not really populated with a lot of marine life. They quit that practice after some divers were bit by morays who had become used to the regular feeding and aggresive when they didn't get fed. We used to sing a song dedicated to those divers (sung to the tune of When the moon hits your eye)... Stick-a your hand in a crack, if you hand don't-a come back, that's amore (a moray).... The divers were being just plain stupid.
So there's two reasons for "no" that I have experienced. My personal thought is that it may just tend to unbalance the natural order of the reef. I am largely undecided about spearing lionfish and trying to get sharks, eels, groupers, etc to eat them. Lionfish are not in the natural order of Caribbean reefs so don't know what the right thing is on this issue in the long run.
I have done a shark dive off Roatan and it was OK, but not sure I'd do it again. It was up close and personal with the sharks but if I had my druthers, there are lots of places to dive with sharks without feeding them. If I want to dive with sharks now, I'd do Cocos Island or the Socorros off Baja.
I was on one dive off Roatan out of Coco View where the DM was trying to draw a fish out of a small rock cave and he crushed up some urchins. I thought that was pretty stupid and made mention of it. I guess I was the only one offended. But then, besides my dive travel business, I am also president of a non-profit marine conservation group that focuses on sea turtles. So I guess there's my third reason "no" to chumming. Why intentionally kill another critter just so a couple of divers can see a fish they might have otherwise missed....?
As to the touching of the critters and reef....I must admit I stick my finger in the sand to stop while taking pics. I also do the same on the occasional rock. Having a saltwater aquarium and breeding corals, I am well aware of the difference between a rock and live coral. I have also touched the occasional friendly grouper that brushes against divers in the Caymans. Last trip off Little Cayman, we literally had to gently push a grouper away from us as the fish would swim right under us. Given the way I have seen groupers dive into rocks after prey and turtles scrape their shells on rock overhangs, I'm reasonably sure a light human finger touch doesn't endangers the critters. That said, I never dive with gloves regardless of location. Using the Cayman manta trips and other areas where I have come in contact with rays, it seems human touch is not fatal to some marine critters.
I have also been fascinated by some cleaner shrimp and have found with patience the little critters will climb on your hand. Kind of an interesting interaction with the ocean, but not really chumming unless you consider the shrimp picking at the skin on my hands....
That's my two cents....
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Liquid, where do you get the fish in your aquarium and where do you think that they come from? Have you ever seen how fish are captured for the business?
LiquidDivingAdventure
Contributor
I would have to assume that at some point back in time, the corals I have were wild caught. I propagate corals from frags and grow those to share with other aquarium folks and many of us are trying to reduce the wild caught impact. As for my fish, I have a breeding pair of nemo clowns that are ORA raised, not wild caught. Not to take the high road, but out of my 8 fish, 7 are not wild caught.
Having lived in Kailua-Kona, I dove with, but did not participate with, several fish collectors back in the late 80's and early 90's. I do realize the impact and part of my aquarium goal is to help reduce the wild caught species in the trade. But I am just one guy....
Having lived in Kailua-Kona, I dove with, but did not participate with, several fish collectors back in the late 80's and early 90's. I do realize the impact and part of my aquarium goal is to help reduce the wild caught species in the trade. But I am just one guy....
Phew. Thanks Liquid.
yakivet
Contributor
How about using only lion fish remains for the chumming. Then all the baby reef fish would be happy too.
Esmerelda is as sure a thing for nurse sharks as you can get in Belize. On my second dive there I was disappointed that there were none to be seen. There were 2 groups of divers from our dive shop on the trip. Turned out that the divemaster of the other group had chummed the nurse sharks. They saw lots, we got screwed.
At risk of saying something non-PC, may I ask WHY you're so appalled at DMs handling some sea life? The nurse sharks here are very tame, and if they aren't approached by divers they will nudge the divers themselves. They WANT attention. Similarly some groupers, which actively want to be touched and stroked. At Esmeralda you will be mobbed by nurse sharks.
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