Divers getting bent

[Diver0001]

OK, I'll bite. What's WCB? A Canadian regluatory agency?

WCB = Workers compensation board. A dept of the Canadian government that deals with occupational health and safety regulations, subsidies, workers and employers rights insurance issues, compensation, prevention, reintegration etc. etc. etc.

R..

 

[tainosoldier]

Just look at the facts, and see how good that money is for those families, it is not easy to make someone give up good money. I am talking in comparison to the rest of the population:

http://www.undp.org/hdr2001/indicator/cty_f_NIC.html

 

[Drewpy]

The largest buyer of these lobsters from Nicaragua/Honduras is the Red Lobster Chain.
Think about that next time you think about eating there....

 

[wolf eel]

Diver0001 WCB = Workers compensation board. A dept of the Canadian government that deals with occupational health and safety regulations, subsidies, workers and employers rights insurance issues, compensation, prevention, reintegration etc. etc. etc.

R

Not to take this off topic but it has nothing to do with the canadian government at all. It is a provincial act but has be given the ability to avoid the feds by very lazy Judges who did not want to have to deal with insurance claims like the states but at least you can sue in the states which is far better then here. Unless you work for WCB

 

[wolf eel]

Drewpy The largest buyer of these lobsters from Nicaragua/Honduras is the Red Lobster Chain.
Think about that next time you think about eating there.

And feel good about it you just fed a family where others are starving.

 

[Diver0001]

Not to take this off topic but it has nothing to do with the canadian government at all. It is a provincial act but has be given the ability to avoid the feds by very lazy Judges who did not want to have to deal with insurance claims like the states but at least you can sue in the states which is far better then here. Unless you work for WCB

Well look at that....you learn something every day. thanks

R..

 

[wedivebc]

And feel good about it you just fed a family where others are starving.

I totally agree. We will not solve the worlds problems by patching up the symptoms.
People think we can boycott lobster, seal fur, tuna, California rasins, etc etc and everything will be alright.
While I think mikerault has his heart in the right place I don't think dive computers will solve the underlying issue. People are starving and no amount of computers or government or PADI intervention will fix it. Sorry but thats the cold hard truth.

 

[mikerault]

Well, not quite the response I expected. But none the less valid for that. Yes, I agree, if we could fix the base issue the problem will go away. Give me a couple a billion dollars, a few hundred thousand troops and I will fix the base problem, their government sucks and doesn't care. However, mean while hundreds more will get crippled for lack of good equipment and training. I included training in my suggestion.

I am sorry if Canada screwed you, it isn't germane to the issue we are discussing. It took three tries to get my daughter on disability here in the states even with their doctor, their psychologist and their advisors saying "Yes she is disabled", we finally had to get a lawyer and give up 1/3 of her settlement to him to get it done. He probably split it with the Judge. So based on that I should tell the rest of the world to go stick it where the sun don't shine?

The point is, we throw away or give away on Ebay equipment they could use. I'll bet here in the states you could take a tax credit for donated equipment that is bigger than the price you could get on EBay for it. You win, the other divers win, maybe you save a life.

Boycott Lobster if you want, but let's see if we can get them good equipment and training, if they choose not to use it, or ignore the training to make more money, that is their choice.

It isn't just dive computers, its tank pressure and depth gages, jeesh, basic damn equipment we are talking about.

Mike

 

[Web Monkey]

It pains me to agree with H2Andy but he is correct. It's too easy for we "civilized" westerners (or easterners, or wherever) to rail against deadly lobster diving, shark finning, seal pup beating, etc. but it's the demand for the final product and the fact that almost everyone, everywhere needs to earn money to feed their family that will keep those industries alive and well regardless of the death toll or the heinousness of the deeds. To truly help those poor buggers you need to send them money or help them find a less dangerous job.

It's a bear of a problem, since it doesn't really matter what you fix. It will always something.

Next week there could be a big demand for worverine testicles and the next thing you know there will be people somewhere who are willing to grab a knife and go wrestle wolverines for more money than they can get in whatever local jobs are available..

There will always be something scarce or dangerous that one person is willing to pay for and another is willing to go get.

Probably the best thing we could get these divers a a sheet of notice written in their native language that explains what happens when you dive 15 times a day. It's probably not news to them, since they see what's happening to their friends and relatives, but maybe it would help.

Terry

 

[guymenton]

For those of us without an account to that Magazine, if the article is not too long, can you post it here for us to read? I'm just starting out in the sport, and don't have any old equipment, but I'd still like to read the article and learn about their plight -- esp. since the state of the poverty in that country has a lot to do with the 10year civil war waged by US-backed Contras. Hopefully there are others here willing to donate. Good luck!

I read with interest and horror an article in UTNE magazine, the Jan-Feb 2005 edition (www.utne.com) about lobster divers in La Miskitia, Nicaragua who routinely do 15 dives per day with no depth gages, poor or no pressure gages and aging and failing equipment. (Dying for Lobster, page 18) This pace of 15 dives per day is kept up over 2-3 weeks at a time to depths of upto 120 feet or more. Needless to say the rate these divers die or get seriously impared from deocmpression sickness is very high.

A group called SubOceanSafty is providing decompression chambers but usually the divers reach them much too late.

However, we can help I think. If I can arrange it, would any of you (and your friends) be interested in donating old, but functional, dive equipment that would be a tax deductable item? Providing these divers with dive computers, tank and depth gages and a minimal amount of training could save hundreds of lives.

Think about it folks. (Oh, by the way, the sum total they make for 2-3 weeks of 15 dives a day is room and board and maybe 300 dollars).

Thanks,

Mike Ault