Curse of the daytrippers

[Dave Zimmerly]

Check it out:

http://smh.com.au/news/caribbean/curse-of-the-daytrippers/2006/03/30/1143441261270.html

Dave (aka "Squirt")

 

[landlocked]

Sad. I worry about the reef. Perhaps I am making a bad assumption, but I would think that alot of cruise ship divers would be low on SCUBA skills. How may of them would be dragging their gauges, standing on the bottom and stirring the reef with their fins? You can find a large number of pictures of just that here on SCUBA Board and the board members should be a step above the average diver on a cruise ship. But what do you do?

 

[Dave Zimmerly]

Yeah, it makes you wonder if the price of tourism from pod-people is worth the trouble they bring. 600 people on a dive site. Can't even imagine.

Dave (aka "Squirt")

 

[www.scubamazing.com]

yeah, this is why I'm such a fan of artificial reefs. We've got to do our part to help rebuild.

 

[Humuhumunukunukuapua'a]

Yeah, it makes you wonder if the price of tourism from pod-people is worth the trouble they bring.

Doesn't seem like it to me. There are certainly those of us who try to avoid cruise ship destinations, so that must have some impact too. And once the cruise ships wear out the reef, parks and attractions at a given location, how many people will even want to visit anymore?

I truly don't understand why people even enjoy travelling in such massive herds.

 

[stevenq99]

Lets be realistic a lot of divers in general lack basic scuba skills it has nothing to do with being a "pod person". Tourism in general is bad for the environment. Many vacation spots have been built up beyond their ability to cope.

Is diving in general worth the damage to the enviorment?

 

[Meng_Tze]

Doesn't seem like it to me. There are certainly those of us who try to avoid cruise ship destinations, so that must have some impact too. And once the cruise ships wear out the reef, parks and attractions at a given location, how many people will even want to visit anymore?

I truly don't understand why people even enjoy travelling in such massive herds.

Remember slash and burn farming?..........Once the reef is 'finished' the cruise ships will move on to the next reef with fish and corals.....

People like people, they like 'to be in the same boat' If something nice happens, oh that is a nice experience I have. If something bad happens, well at least we are in the same boat. Makes us modern humas feel good.... we are not the only ones. :earthors:

 

[BigJetDriver]

When the "Pod People" arrive, it is time to move on. If you do not, you will be ground up and tossed aside along with the reef and its creatures, or you will be assimilated!!:cyborg:

 

[stu_in_fl]

Lets be realistic a lot of divers in general lack basic scuba skills it has nothing to do with being a "pod person".

true, you can see divers lacking in skills anywhere, however, I guess on the cruise ships, most are not there for a dive vacation but for a cruise, so usually fall into the category of infrequent divers (which often goes hand in hand with less practiced skills)....

Many vacation spots have been built up beyond their ability to cope.

- definately true.

 

[miscbadvr]

I have dove when I've been aboard cruise ships and I've taken a few dive vacations; I have to say that usually the skills between the two are about the same. You have to have a C-card either way. You have some really good divers and some you try to stay away from. Fortunately, the groups described in the article tend to be semi-snorkelers, the kind that wouldn't go UNDER the water if their life depended on it. So the coral damage should be minimal from them. I would be more concerned about the environmental impact from that number of boats' emmissions. The other concern I would have would be the impact on the fish life from being molested by 600 people.