Camera ban coming to Sipadan?

[cageybob]

Sipadan History and Upcoming Sipadan Underwater Camera Ban|Underwater Photography Guide

I was planning on a trip to Mabul/Sipadan for a photo workshop in October. Never mind. The person heading the trip and all of the attendees are not going to risk the expense and hassle of traveling to Malaysia only to find out that we can't use our photo gear. Way to go Malaysia tourism bureau, you just lost tourists. I understand and appreciate the intent as there are lousy photographers who have lousy buoyancy skills and ignore their personal impact upon the reefs (same applies to non-photographers). However, this ban will help because there will be no divers at all to affect the reef.

 

[String]

Looks like an amazing way to kill off a massive slice of business. Problem far better solved with good quality guides who keep an eye on people, stop them and restrict divers themselves based on their action.
Never understood the fish pointer bans either - given a choice of a diver bouncing around in surge or a current, crashing into things or hitting with fins trying to keep stable vs a small stick in the sand or dead coral i'd go for the latter.

 

[Oldbear]

This is too bad. My daughter and I have been planningon going there for a few years...now with my recent job change it would have been a few more years.

I would much rather see a Photographer's permit issued. Maybe the extra money would scare off the very novice diver who generally has the buoyancy & trim challenges. Then again if a person pays all that money to travel there, what is a few extra $$$$ to take some pics.

 

[vladimir]

I'll leave my camera at home to dive Sipadan. I bet there are a lot of divers who will. The place is perennially oversubscibed as it is, so from a business standpoint, it makes sense to either take further steps to preserve the resource or raise the price to extract as much money as possible out of it now.

I wish my pictures from the 1995 trip were better—they might become valuable.

The proposed exemption for professional photographers was obviously conceived by somebody who has never seen one work.

 

[String]

Photographers permit (not extortionate) and an assessment dive or two first would seem more sensible. The only issue there is they'd need experienced guides and instructors to police it. They cost more money so cant see people interested.

I'd have no problems paying a bit more money and even doing a "proof of skill" dive or so in advance provided it wasn't ridiculously over priced. Quite simply for me most of my diving is for photography. If im not working and i haven't got my camera then im not diving full stop.

 

[Oldbear]

+1 Permit and Assessment Dive to pay for photo cops (aka UW Park Rangers)

 

[ivakdiver]

Lots of other places in the world to see!

 

[Oldbear]

Lots of other places in the world to see!

I wish I was born a Trust Baby so I could afford to see and DIVE them ALL!!!

 

[James R]

I am glad I got to shoot photos there, and really wish I had a better camera for that trip now! I was hoping to go back in a couple years, but may not if this ban happens and is still there. There are many other places I need to see anyway. Sad what the dive community has done to itself yet again.

It's quite sad what people will do for a photo. I saw a woman diving at Sipadan Island trying so hard to get a photo of a turtle that she didn't even notice the coral she kicked off of the reef. When we tried to stop her, she didn't seem to care at all. She just kept pointing at the turtle. Keep in mind turtles there are anything but a rare find. Her nickname of "kickoff" stuck, despite her protests and anger.

 

[Peter69_56]

I agree some divers are just bad news and rude to boot. When we went to Sipidan it was with a group of (supposedly) experienced good divers (who we did not know) from interstate. We joined this group after reading an advertisement in a diving magazine as we come from down south in Australia. What we found was some (supposedly experienced and good) divers who had little control for their buoyancy, so bad that one landed on a large plate coral and sheared the side off it, and then swam off with no apparent concern. This diver then pushed in when people were looking at a small creature, not realising he was inches above a large turtle in the sand. Pity it didn't kick him with its rear legs and cut him badly in response to his lack of caring. The local DM nearly broke his neck at one stage in frustration. This obnoxious and rude behaviour continued the whole trip with a number of people in the group. The bad behaviour of these obnoxious people reflects badly on all divers. Perhaps there is a new skill for PADI to add to their list. "How to be a caring and conscientious diver without piXXing off all the dive group, the locals and destroying the local reefs". I guess some would just fail and fail as its not in their nature to have a conscience or to feel any guilt. Perhaps we can enact a law to kill off stupid, insensitive, obnoxious, uncaring divers. Mistakes happen to all, but stupidity and obnoxiousness is something you develop as you grow and mature (or not!).