Eel Attack in Cozumel (The Feeding of Lionfish)

[vladimir]

Also, you said you made a CESA, but then you said a buddy helped you make a controlled ascent. Which was it?

Actually she said she "made a CEA" (?), but why is a Controlled Emergency Swimming Ascent not consistent with a controlled ascent?

 

[fire_diver]

Because a "controlled emergency ascent" is an emergency procedure. It's getting to the surface as fast as possible without blowing a lung. That's why every single agency teaches CESA as a "blow and go" operation. If someone has hold of you, is dumping your air, comunicating with you and controlling your ascent, it's no longer an emergency operation. It's a just a regular controlled ascent without a safety stop.

 

[Karibelle]

It should NOT be "getting to the surface as fast as possible." It is CONTROLLED which means a safe ascent rate.

 

[W8less]

Same in Belize

Belize last week. Out free swimming and more than just curious. Keep your fingers in.

 

[fire_diver]

It should NOT be "getting to the surface as fast as possible." It is CONTROLLED which means a safe ascent rate.

Please list the agency that teaches that to OW students.

I still haven't seen a response from the OP as to whether this was a controlled ascent, or an emergency ascent (that prompted fears of DCS).

 

[Karibelle]

It should NOT be "getting to the surface as fast as possible." It is CONTROLLED which means a safe ascent rate.

Please list the agency that teaches that to OW students.

From the PADI Open Water Instructor Manual:

Controlled emergency swimming ascent
Briefing the Skill
Instruct student divers to:
• Retain their regulators in their mouths.
• Not drop their weights. Remind students that in an actual
emergency, they ditch weights only when any doubt exists
about their ability to reach the surface.
• Not use the control line for assistance — the line is only for
the instructor to use for control and emergency stopping.
• Maintain a normal ascent rate.
• Make a continuous sound throughout the ascent.
• Resume normal breathing if you stop the ascent, or if they
experience any difficulty.
• Orally inflate the BCD or drop weights upon reaching
the surface.

Conducting the Exercise
<snipped 1 through 4 as not relevant to the question>
5. Observe and maintain control during the ascent, not
exceeding 18 metres/60 feet per minute. The student
should be held near and just below you, which allows
you to listen for the student&#8217;s sound and tends to make
the student look up toward you. Watch to be sure the
student exhales continuously. Stop the ascent if there
is any doubt. If you must interrupt the ascent, have the
student repeat the exercise from the beginning.

Bold text emphasis added by me.

-kari

 

[fjpatrum]

Seeing as the eels/grouper aren't being taught how to avoid the wonderful sting of a lionfish, I'd wager this process might be doing more harm than good.

Then again, they probably have no idea what fish they're being fed so it's not likely to cause them to hunt lionfish, but as you suggest, more likely "hunt" for food from divers.

This is something I probably wouldn't participate in, even if I had the skills to do so.

 

[DandyDon]

I think it is time to start asking our Ops to not feed lionfish to the native predators if they want our business. Kill 'em and drop 'em for the crabs.

 

[joyceschur]

Karibelle – you’re correct and thanks for supplying PADI's skill brief. A “controlled” emergency ascent is not about getting to the surface as “fast as possible”. You exhale to avoid lung damage and skip the safety stop, but try to maintain a normal ascent rate to minimize risk of DCI.

Fire Diver – your suggestion that an experienced DM wouldn’t be concerned about DCI when there’s been any sort of emergency ascent in a “recreational dive” profile is as misinformed as your remark about controlled emergency ascents and your belief that CESA with assistance is some kind of contradiction. The word “emergency” doesn’t disappear underwater just because someone else takes charge of a situation, especially when injury, pain and bleeding are involved. Hopefully you don’t rely on such a unique philosophy when rescuing people from fires.

Dumpster Diver – since you know an eel bite “hurts like hell”, you might consider that excessive pain and bleeding affected my ability to a) fully control my own gear and b) access the severity of the injury - it felt and looked worse than it was, but clearly I don’t possess your EXTENSIVE and superior experience with eels. I think, however, that an instructor who's been "bit several times" and believes "eel bites aren't unusual" lacks more credibility than a DM who doesn’t know if morays are toxic (turns out they are, even without venom, which accounts for the unusual amount of pain and bleeding). Where, other than dumpsters, do you dive or is PADI offering a new specialty course I haven’t heard about?

Glad we agree that feeding predators is problematic.

 

[paddler3d]

I think, however, that an instructor who's been "bit several times" and believes "eel bites aren't unusual" lacks more credibility than a DM who doesn’t know if morays are toxic (turns out they are, even without venom, which accounts for the unusual amount of pain and bleeding).

I have a friend named Oscar that I get to feed regularly. I've had the joy of being up close and personal with Oscar. I've had him wrap around my hear like turban. He'll hold onto your leg for leverage.

I've never heard about a Green Moray being toxic, in terms of venom. I have heard that their mouths are loaded with bacteria. I will indeed ask the aquarist about this.

What I do know about the Green Moray is they have long thin teeth, they have poor eye site, and they have a pharyngeal jaw. The have a mouth inside their mouth and that mouth has teeth. Think of alien from Aliens.

If you are bit by a Green Moray, and likely other eels as well, you're likely going to get bit on the hand and it is easy for those teeth to hit tendons.

When we are feeding Oscar and Felix, yes, 'The Odd Couple', we are very, very, very conscience of where our hands and fingers are.

Oscar, more so than Felix, knows that the divers bring him food. We have tasty mackerel, squid, shrimp, and smelt for him. 90% of the time when he sees you with that little black back, he comes to you.

We've been feeding him his whole life and we've never had a problem of a diver getting bit. We trained them to feed from a pole or to put their head in the bag and take what they want.

With that said, I'm not going to ever feed one in the wild. Oscar and Felix are well feed. We keep them well feed so they don't eat the rest of the exhibit.

If in the wild one were ever to come up to me like Oscar does, I'm going to let them swim and go where they want to go. I'm going to ball up my hands and keep them away from their head. They're going to poke around and swim off when they realize you're not food and don't have any.