How to deal with the “coral breaker”?

[SATurner]

As I have read through this, I haven't been sure what I would or wouldn't do if I saw similar behavior. Once upon a time, it was okay to approach people and point out what they might be doing wrong. People wanted to learn and wanted to do better. Lately it seems like doing so is more likely to be received negatively.

I hope my approach after the dive would be to talk to the person. Discuss photography and maybe even ask if they could share some of their photos. Then also bring up how fragile the corals are and how long it takes them to grow. Through this, point out that a few times they had damaged the corals during their dive and ask if they had considered their impact and what would happen if everyone did that. How quickly the environment would deteriorate without the corals and sponges. The impacts to the other animals.

Maybe they really didn't know or realize. In so many environments things recover quickly just as in many others the recovery is slow if at all. I don't claim to know all things about everything, who can?

Of course all of this is in the vacuum of the internet and a bit of a rose colored glasses sort of view. As can be seen in many different ways, some people truly suck and believe it is "their" world and we're all just living in it.

 

[Zef]

As I have read through this, I haven't been sure what I would or wouldn't do if I saw similar behavior. Once upon a time, it was okay to approach people and point out what they might be doing wrong. People wanted to learn and wanted to do better. Lately it seems like doing so is more likely to be received negatively.

I hope my approach after the dive would be to talk to the person. Discuss photography and maybe even ask if they could share some of their photos. Then also bring up how fragile the corals are and how long it takes them to grow. Through this, point out that a few times they had damaged the corals during their dive and ask if they had considered their impact and what would happen if everyone did that. How quickly the environment would deteriorate without the corals and sponges. The impacts to the other animals.

Maybe they really didn't know or realize. In so many environments things recover quickly just as in many others the recovery is slow if at all. I don't claim to know all things about everything, who can?

Of course all of this is in the vacuum of the internet and a bit of a rose colored glasses sort of view. As can be seen in many different ways, some people truly suck and believe it is "their" world and we're all just living in it.

It is equally interesting and exhausting that we have to spend so much energy tiptoeing around the subject with offenders to get the point across, instead of just succicntly stating something like:

"Dude, your Fxxxing up the coral....knock it off".

There was a time when that was enough to cause reflective thought and change behavior....now one might get shot.

-Z

 

[lexvil]

This is the July 4th weekend, go down to the closest boat launch ramp and observe humanity for a little while, it’s best to avoid engaging with people in the wild.

 

[Kimela]

I can't figure out a way to engage without ruining their dives AND yours. I 'turn a blind eye' and hope they improve. They're not going to listen and they will think you're a jerk for mentioning it. They probably think they've got great buoyancy and you're just being unkind. If you can get video of them doing it and gently show them, without comment, it might make an impression - but only 'might'. I remember diving with someone who brought a Christmas ornament along (this was in Kona) to get the 'perfect shot' for their Christmas cards (it was in September). I don't know how much damage they were doing to the coral but they were holding up the entire group. They clearly didn't care about either the coral or the group. They were having fun.

That said, on the last trip I saw a guy get into a tight spot that he was having a hard time getting out of. His brother was diving with him and he just grabbed his tank and pulled him up. I suppose you could do something like that and later say "it looked like you were having some trouble with your fin tips kicking that sponge so I was helping you out".

If the dive op can't figure out how to fix it you probably won't be able to either. Enjoy your dives and hope they will observe your skills and they'll strive to be better?

 

[Saboteur]

I have seen this several times but the most recent was four weeks ago while diving in Cozumel.

Older gentleman, nice and friendly guy on the boat. He had a new Go-Pro camera and had to get every single shot that he could no matter the cost to the coral. I noticed this on his second dive on day one, I never said anything. On our first dive on day two, (I was watching him a bit more now) he was constantly grabbing huge chunks of coral to “get the shot”. Strong current in Cozumel so he needs to stop and grab something to get his picture. Upon grabbing the coral with his hand, he is also finning and breaking coral with his legs and fins. I swim over to him and motion to him to come up off the bottom, he does not. On the surface interval, I am contemplating saying something to him, politely. My wife talks me out of this and says it’s the dive masters job to watch out for this kinda thing.

Second dive, same day, it’s more of the same except this time he breaks a massive barrel sponge. At this point I’m pretty pissed and I swim over to the guy again and more directly tell him to get off the coral. I then swim over to the dive master and communicate to him what the guy is doing. The dive master keeps his eye on him for five minutes, but of course, now the guy doesn’t touch the coral.
So how would others deal with this situation? I am not the police of the ocean and I know everyone at some point in their diving experience has maybe touched or broke a piece of coral. Pretty sure I did on accident but I have always strongly been aware of the coral and how fragile it is. I will also add that the dive master did repeatedly say during his pre-dive briefing, not to touch the coral, stay three feet off the bottom. This guy in my opinion has blatant disregard for wildlife and I am quite sure just in the four dives I did with him, he broke a dozen or more pieces of coral. Thoughts?

Get hold of me…

I don't recommend or condone the following...but:

You can always "accidentally" puncture their BCD/wing before a dive/during the surface interval....that will end the coral killer's day of diving.

You can also put some visine in their beverage in hopes that the stomache upset will get them to sit out a few dives.

Think of this less as "destruction of property / "assualt" and more as persuasion of behavior to achieve greater good.

-Z

It’s what I do..

 

[Jaan]

You'd think the good examples, education, awareness would have an impact.

I remember one of the marine parks in Hawaii (Hanauma Bay) there was a mandatory video before you could get in the water that promoted protecting the reef. Despite that, we still saw people standing up on the reef ... ARG.

 

[overthinking_diver]

There was a time when that was enough to cause reflective thought and change behavior....now one might get shot.

I think the offender is an older gentleman so we can't blame this one on "entitled millennials/gen Z".

 

[Zef]

I think the offender is an older gentleman so we can't blame this one on "entitled millennials/gen Z".

Being a sh!ty diver without any respect for the enviroment is not an issue specific to any particular generation.

I don't know if these kind of folks believe their skillset and situational awareness is better than it is or if they don't care because they are having fun, or both.

Also (not specific to your post), I don't go diving to collect photographic/video evidence of idiots doing idiotic destructive things. I too am diving to have fun. I don't confront or expect others to confront these fools because arguments and confrontations at dive destinations do not lead to increased fun. Instead, I live and let live / dive and let dive.

I acknowledge that our presence has a negative effect on the reef/marine park. I acknowledge that I can't control others and their destructive behavior. I also acknowledge that even if everyone's comportment is aligned with good diving etiquette on the boat I am on, there are bound to be sh!ty divers elsewhere acting in a way that is destructive, wantonly or not.

In my mind, the most impactful thing I can do is set a good example with my own diving. Hopefully folks see how I dive and reflect on that in comparison to how they dive, or perhaps they see good technique/skills in how I dive and they engage me in conversation that leads to a discussion that gets them to think/reflect on what they do/how they dive.

In the end, as George Carlin so eloquently stated, no matter what we do, "the planet will shake us off like a bad case of fleas".



Go out and enjoy a dive while there is still diving left to enjoy.

-Z

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

Maybe there needs to be a Mr. Williams to educate people on the importance of not touching coral.

 

[boulderjohn]

I did a week of diving at the Atlantis Resort in Puerto Galera, Philippines. Before I could do the first dive, I was required to watch a film about not destroying the reef. The film seemed to assume that all the divers at the resort would be using huge cameras, because that was the focus of the film. It was a good film.

It turned out that pretty much everyone there did indeed use a big camera, and the ones I saw diving did not have the buoyancy skill needed to use it. On one dive, our DM went behind a diver and lifted his legs off the coral (like he was using wheelbarrow) while the guy took pictures. I talked with the DM (who I thought was very good) about it later, and he was clearly frustrated. He said most of the photographers that came there simply did not have the buoyancy skills they needed to to use those cameras.

I then went to Dumaguete for the rest of my trip, and we had several photographers with us who had excellent buoyancy skills. I just finished diving in Fiji with a photographer with excellent buoyancy skills. It can be done.