Cutting Coral and Fish Picture Cozumel

[Sideband]

Response from DWM:

Wow!

Joe

 

[underwater daphne]

do not touch anything underwater! leave things as they are.

 

[JPG]

I'm pretty bummed. I dove with DWM and loved it. There were a few people on one or two ot the dives that were meat heads and always seemed to be bumping and rubbing something. The DMs were really pretty good though. I was comfortable with them and enjoyed the experience.

 

[Christi]

the DM most certainly would know the marine park rules and from the number of violations does not seem to care at all. I'm just guessing here but for a step like termination, I'm thinking that this was either not the first time or that the DM did not seem to care when he was spoken to.

the divemaster (who was not identified) claimed that he only picked up the crab and told the people not to touch anything.

1. You can't molest marine life and then tell the divers not to.
2. I find it hard to belive that the divers caught the crab and picked it up. He had to have given it to them to hold.
3. Looked like the divemasters hand with the pufferfish
4. Do you think a recreational diver caught the octopus to play with it? Probably not.
5. I guess the divemaster didn't see them posing for pictures with the marine life? If not, then thios poses an entirely different issue.

NOW, I just got a very defensive e-mail from the photographer...and she claims that it was the divemaster who picked up the crab and other stuff and gave it to the "other" divers and that if I would look at her other albums I would see that she never does these things.

She is truly clueless isn't she!

Now, another link to ANOTHER trip report with DWM was posted on another board and displays the same behavior from a DIFFERENT divemaster. This diver in her report says after the divemaster "puffed the pufferfish to the size of a basketball" that it was the "perfect end to the trip."

http://www.cozumel-hotels.net/yabbse/index.php?board=12;action=display;threadid=2325

I don't even know what to say at this point!

 

[Natasha]

What about their BVI pics? Another Dm is at fault? Or just bad training?
I looked at their whole boring photo album too. The new house, the dogs, seem like these people would know better Dm or not.

 

[underwater daphne]

a dm friend of mine actually pulled her knife underwater coz the students/divers kept touching things.

 

[parrotheaddiver]

the divemaster (who was not identified) claimed that he only picked up the crab and told the people not to touch anything.

1. You can't molest marine life and then tell the divers not to.
2. I find it hard to belive that the divers caught the crab and picked it up. He had to have given it to them to hold.
3. Looked like the divemasters hand with the pufferfish
4. Do you think a recreational diver caught the octopus to play with it? Probably not.
5. I guess the divemaster didn't see them posing for pictures with the marine life? If not, then thios poses an entirely different issue.

NOW, I just got a very defensive e-mail from the photographer...and she claims that it was the divemaster who picked up the crab and other stuff and gave it to the "other" divers and that if I would look at her other albums I would see that she never does these things.

She is truly clueless isn't she!

Now, another link to ANOTHER trip report with DWM was posted on another board and displays the same behavior from a DIFFERENT divemaster. This diver in her report says after the divemaster "puffed the pufferfish to the size of a basketball" that it was the "perfect end to the trip."

http://www.cozumel-hotels.net/yabbse/index.php?board=12;action=display;threadid=2325

I don't even know what to say at this point!

Now I'm curious if it was actually one rogue dm or several that work for Martin. I would think he would know what's going on within his own business. I know they do underwater video for customers doing 5 day pkg. I wonder if any of this is caught on video and does Martin do the editing? Surely he would see this happening.

 

[ggunn]

Back when I was just a snorkeler, I was staying at a waterfront hotel on Cozumel, and I was diving to the bottom and turning over rocks, picking up brittle stars and such to bring up to show to my (then) 6 year old daughter who was playing in the shallow water next to the shore. Then I grabbed a bristle worm....

 

[getwet2]

http://www.cozumel-hotels.net/yabbse/index.php?board=12;action=display;threadid=2325

The DM mentioned in this report is Pablo, that's the same one I gave s..t to on my night dive with DWM, that was in March of this year, he did the same thing to a Pufferfish that night too. Apparently by the date on this report he really doesn't seem to care either because he's still doing it.

Also, the dive shop I deal with in Port Dover has used DWM on their trips and mentioned when we were talking about Cozumel that they also complained about Pablo and his need to touch things.

 

[ggunn]

Now I'm curious if it was actually one rogue dm or several that work for Martin. I would think he would know what's going on within his own business. I know they do underwater video for customers doing 5 day pkg. I wonder if any of this is caught on video and does Martin do the editing? Surely he would see this happening.

FWIW, all the videographers I have met on Cozumel have been independent contractors who do their editing in their own studios.