Future of Diving in 25 years or less

[aquacat8]

The problem is we don’t adapt to ecosystems, we change them to suit us, and in doing so destroy them. We are smart but otherwise pathetically inept creatures. A mouse can outrun me. (One has recently, the Cat, member of a species far superior in many ways, brought it in). No really good fangs or claws. No decent fur or scales or feathers so need clothes. No lateral line system, or gills, or magnetic navigation, or eclectro receptors. Poor sense of smell. Inability to live feral, permits formation of slave scocieties with nasty dominance hierarchies. The scientific consensus is that yeah, this time the die off is our fault. But so what. Only we think we are the coolest species ever, and if you pay attention underwater that is a laughable assertion.

 

[woodcarver]

So what you are saying is that nature will eventually recover ocve we have totally screwed it over. We many not be around when it happens, but nature will recover. There may be no humans to enjoy it, but nature will recover with us. Got it.

Unfortunately, that may well be the case. But I do think a lot of the developed nations are making progress in reducing our impact.

That reminds me of the trip I took to Thailand a decade or so ago. We went to several reefs that used to be great, but now they were just rubble--the result of dynamite fishing. The dynamite fishers know they are destroying the reefs, and they know that without those reefs, there will be no fish to catch in the future. But the future is years away. Now is now. If they drop dynamite on the reef, they will eat now. The future will be a pure horror show, "but in the meanwhile, let's enjoy the version we have!"

While we, developed countries, understand the damage being done and are trying to influence countries such as Thailand in better methods to manage their fisheries, it takes time and education. Especially when dealing with what I would assume is a fairly uneducated population, at least in this arena. Don't take this wrong, I do NOT condone dynamite fishing or some of the other methods used by third world fishermen. But outside of the diplomatic channels, there isn't anything you and I can do to prevent that kind of abuse. Help educate where we can perhaps. In some parts of the world, the next meal is as far into the future they can see. An unfortunate reality.
I'm an optimist, not a fatalist. But I'm also very pragmatic. So I can see nature repairing whatever damage we do eventually; we may or may not be here to see it. And I can see her wiping us off her face when it's time. I'll help where possible with the former, and not worry too much about the latter since it truly is out of our control.

 

[John C. Ratliff]

Unfortunately, that may well be the case. But I do think a lot of the developed nations are making progress in reducing our impact.



While we, developed countries, understand the damage being done and are trying to influence countries such as Thailand in better methods to manage their fisheries, it takes time and education. Especially when dealing with what I would assume is a fairly uneducated population, at least in this arena. Don't take this wrong, I do NOT condone dynamite fishing or some of the other methods used by third world fishermen. But outside of the diplomatic channels, there isn't anything you and I can do to prevent that kind of abuse. Help educate where we can perhaps. In some parts of the world, the next meal is as far into the future they can see. An unfortunate reality.
I'm an optimist, not a fatalist. But I'm also very pragmatic. So I can see nature repairing whatever damage we do eventually; we may or may not be here to see it. And I can see her wiping us off her face when it's time. I'll help where possible with the former, and not worry too much about the latter since it truly is out of our control.

Actually, this assertion that there is nothing we can do about dynamite fishing is wrong, and provably so if you will only watch Cousteau's first big hit movie, The Silent World. He filmed dynamite fishing in the 1950s and showed the world how inefficient it was, as only a very small number of the fish killed floated to the surface where they could be harvested. The rest were on the bottom, dead and decaying. Showing that to those Thai fishermen might get them to change their ways. And, perhaps you could go back half a century or a bit more and review the film. Maybe then you'd have a better perspedpctive too.

While you are watching, compare the corals and reefs the this film documents with today's. Now watch about dynamite fishing.


This video shows that free divers are harvesting all the fish, but it is entirely indiscriminat.


SeaRat

 

[woodcarver]

This is definitely straying from the original post, but is certainly a valid conservation issue.
I am not disputing the damage that dynamiting fish can have on a reef. Or that it is still occurring. Or the waste that method causes. But the fact that Cousteau documented it 50 years ago and started trying to end the practice, and it is still going on today, shows the difficulty of educating those that continue the practice. It is largely a cultural problem. How to get a region, not just one country, to change their ways is the problem. I would not suggest ignoring it simply because it's difficult to change, but it isn't going to happen soon. Be realistic about what it takes and the time involved to make it happen.
There are countries that have outlawed dynamite fishing, including the US. But there are still those that continue doing it, even in the US. I refer to them as poachers. As other countries develop means to pass and enforce bans on its use, it will diminish. We, individuals, can support the push to pass some of these laws, including MPA's. But when someone, especially an outsider, attacks someone's livelihood, you can bet there will be resistance. And this type of cultural change moves at the pace of government.

Edit-BTW, thank you for putting Cousteau's movie out there. It is worth watching.
Edit2-So are yours. That river is cold.