Trisha
Contributor
Airleron -- "Weekend before last when High Tide was around 1ish, by my guesstimate, there were 150 divers. That may not seem like a ton, but cram those into that area, and wow!"
That's insane.
What are the locals saying about this? Good for the retailers and restaurants, maybe, but what about the families who take their kids to the beach and the playground, who enjoy dinner on the grills, who relax with a fishing pole... you know, the tax payers who built that park?
I feel like I'm their guest.
One way to get rid of a pushy guest is to do what the park officials have done at night -- ban almost all diving. Which may be counterproductive with a national magazine like Scuba Diving inviting the world to play in the shallows.
What a nightmare for the rangers and police, trying to deal with angry vacationers by the carloads, turned away at the shoreline. After all, the divers are bringing in revenue to what looks like a depressed area. Times are tough. If the park is a tourist draw on the way to Singer Island, or Disney World, or Ft. Lauderdale / Miami / the Keys, that's a good thing, right?
What about the marina? Are the boat owners negatively affected by the larger number of divers? They do have a responsibility to keep the area safe. This gets into the vehicle vs bicycle debate -- where the motorized things go, limit access. Or get ready to call the ambulance when someone zigs instead of zags.
Who has jurisdiction about activities that negatively impact the marine life? They should weight in on this. Just don't expect them to make a distinction between skilled and unskilled divers in a heavily trafficked zone, which may have species that are protected by federal law.
Access at night is easy to control -- the beach is closed. No one is in the water without a permit, which is limited to a few local dive shops and can be revoked as needed.
Access in the day would be easy, too -- no diving, period.
No other solution could be enforced consistantly and fairly.
I still wouldn't want to be a ranger on beach patrol that first season.
That's insane.
What are the locals saying about this? Good for the retailers and restaurants, maybe, but what about the families who take their kids to the beach and the playground, who enjoy dinner on the grills, who relax with a fishing pole... you know, the tax payers who built that park?
I feel like I'm their guest.
One way to get rid of a pushy guest is to do what the park officials have done at night -- ban almost all diving. Which may be counterproductive with a national magazine like Scuba Diving inviting the world to play in the shallows.
What a nightmare for the rangers and police, trying to deal with angry vacationers by the carloads, turned away at the shoreline. After all, the divers are bringing in revenue to what looks like a depressed area. Times are tough. If the park is a tourist draw on the way to Singer Island, or Disney World, or Ft. Lauderdale / Miami / the Keys, that's a good thing, right?
What about the marina? Are the boat owners negatively affected by the larger number of divers? They do have a responsibility to keep the area safe. This gets into the vehicle vs bicycle debate -- where the motorized things go, limit access. Or get ready to call the ambulance when someone zigs instead of zags.
Who has jurisdiction about activities that negatively impact the marine life? They should weight in on this. Just don't expect them to make a distinction between skilled and unskilled divers in a heavily trafficked zone, which may have species that are protected by federal law.
Access at night is easy to control -- the beach is closed. No one is in the water without a permit, which is limited to a few local dive shops and can be revoked as needed.
Access in the day would be easy, too -- no diving, period.
No other solution could be enforced consistantly and fairly.
I still wouldn't want to be a ranger on beach patrol that first season.
