DPV ban location

[Peach.T]

Hi, I am pretty new to DPV diving. Most of the dive I do is usually recreational with video rig, just got myself a dive xtras piranha and been in the water with it like 50 dive. However I heard that alot of famous dive site around the world ban the use of DPV as they claim it disturb the animal behavior. Do anyone have any idea about this?

 

[michael-fisch]

scooters are banned in many lakes, and quite a few caves too. Not many dive operaters like to see a tourist diver using a scooter to get way far away from them, if they don't have a scooter too.
Michael

 

[Basking Ridge Diver]

However I heard that alot of famous dive site around the world ban the use of DPV as they claim it disturb the animal behavior. Do anyone have any idea about this?

I have not heard this in the US. But I have heard that some Dive Ops dont want a DPV on the boats because they take up precious room needed for divers and their gear. As well I have heard that divers can end up in a Deco violation due to not paying attention - so there are reasons for not having one but mostly I think it is not mainstream yet. I would call locations and ask before I brought my DPV on a trip.
Since I dive on a private boat or from shore most of the time this is not an issue for me.

 

[Wookie]

First time I allowed DPVs on my boat, the team went in a straight line almost a mile before one quit. They got towed back. No. Just no.

 

[Johnoly]

.... famous dive site around the world ban the use of DPV...

E P C O T ...........

 

[Stoo]

I'd ban them anywhere they aren't necessary for actual serious exploration dives. When I'm putzing around on some sleepy little wreck that's 120' long, being circled repeatedly by someone on a whiny little machine drives me nuts. In those situations, they're the sub-aquatic equivalent of jet skis... pass me my gun and some rubber bullets.

I totally get it for long cave penetrations, or large wrecks etc, but in relatively confined areas, I think they need to be flooded and left as fish habitats.

 

[Peach.T]

Well i guess different people use it for different purpose for me it is mostly getting a little away from the group i am diving with so i can film something and not see too much fin in my shot also while i take more time filming something i can easily follow the dive leader back to the group. Hardly going above 25% speed on the dive xtras anyway what I dont like is some dive operator claiming that the sound it made disturb the marine life this i mean a group of 20 diver going into water with open circuit plus the big liveaboard entering the dive site does create more sound obviously.

 

[Vicko]

I really hate seing rec diver use scooters while diving with me, unless they bring one for me . Zipping around up and down, annoying everyone in sight, never close to their buddy, usually getting lost....

 

[Diving Dubai]

I'd ban them anywhere they aren't necessary for actual serious exploration dives. When I'm putzing around on some sleepy little wreck that's 120' long, being circled repeatedly by someone on a whiny little machine drives me nuts. In those situations, they're the sub-aquatic equivalent of jet skis... pass me my gun and some rubber bullets.
.

I get that you are entitled to your opinion, and agree that on small wrecks etc they're not required, However it remains that this is still a sweeping statement.

I along with my group of divers use DPV's all the time on open water reefs, we can be out in the blue father off teh reef than those with out DPV's might be comfortable in going, we can interact with larger schoals of sea life, and the flip side sis we have freedom away from the none dpv divers - who in the worst cases will be on top of each other hanging on to the reef in a current or crowding a whale shark desperately trying to keep up. Personally I'm glad of the freedom a DPV gives to "escape the masses"

But suggesting that DPV's are only suited to long cave dives is incorrect

I've also had the great privilege of accompanying a renowned underwater videographer, on his DPV, with his mahoosive 8k video rig, and watched as he was able to interact with large oceanic Mantas' who were incredibly interested and circled and played with us out in the blue.

All that said DPV's as pointed out do take up a lot of extra space on the boat, especially as you should also be using a decent size redundant gas supply, because even as a buddy pair you are effectively solo. Also DPV's do need the dive to pay more attention as it's too easy to go deep or have a saw tooth profile, and some experience is need to be able to judge how to "pad" the back half of the dive to account for the front half of that dive

 

[AJ]

Do anyone have any idea about this?

A lot of scooter jockeys are idiots and don't have a clue what they are doing and give DPV diving a bad rap. A well trained DPV diver won't misbehave like the samples mentioned above. He or she will certainly won't get into the kind of trouble mentioned before due to good planning and contingency management.