Killing Aquatic life?

[kevinj1]

I dive, because I like to see how things react in their natural environment. I am a visitor in their home. I do my best to leave everything just they way I found it.

I agree..............

 

[Captain12Pk]

It used to be a pretty common practice out here. Thankfully though, I haven't seen it done in quite some time. My though; if you want to attract sea life, bring some frozen peas as fish food. The fish LOVE peas. You'll have so much sea life around you won't know what to with it all.

 

[Mr.X]

A little later, I heard a loud bang, went outside and saw smoke billowing from the water. When I asked what happened, I was told the crew had thrown a firecracker at a school of fish trying to escape some predator close to the surface, and a sea gull had picked it up in midair. By sheer luck the gull dropped it, otherwise its head would have been shredded to pieces.

I thought to myself, "Gee, I thought we were in a marine reserve here."

But even if not, treating the ocean like **** doesn't make for good advertising in my opinion.

I'm kind of wondering whether I should go diving with them again.

Geez. Which boat was this? From the mainland? Honestly, what weiners would be throwing firecrackers into the water to scare off predators, or risking the life of seabirds? Wow.

X

 

[ROE'N]

Hi, People. I'm a California Sea Urchin Diver. I understand the view of not killing for entertainment. This should have been observed by the trappers killing off the sea otters. Today however, there is a different issue. I invite you to view a very important point ... go to Youtube and view an 8 min. film named "Mumlaka" . It is scientific, informative and has beautiful underwater photagraghy. There is a crisis afoot that all divers should know of, it's called an URCHIN BARREN.

 

[sabbath999]

Night Of The Living Dead Thread.

 

[NJ to FLA]

:O i have never heard of dive professionals killing sea urchins to attract other fish. We were told to touch NOTHING.

 

[vinegarbiscuit]

Sounds bloody awful. Any so-called dive professional pulling a stunt like that would lose me as a paying customer indefinitely. Seems akin to a guide stabbing a zebra while leading a safari and waiting to see what kind of wild animals will stop by for a feed. All for the paying guests' amusement, of course.

We humans adversely affect the oceans quite enough as it is - must we rain down even more destruction when we're guests underwater, too? Herbivory is probably the most important process influencing reef community structure. Sea urchins and fishes - parrotfish and surgeonfish especially - are the two most important groups of herbivores that control the abundance and species composition of both corals and algae, particularly the larger “macroalgae” that are in direct competition for space with corals. They remove/bite off algae and effectively "prime" existing structures so that more coral can grow, much like preparing a wall before it's painted or wallpapered. The critters' demise can result in a rapid increase in macroalgae: I believe that vast numbers of urchins sudenly died throughout the Caribbean in the early eighties, resulting in a dramatic and rapid increase in macroalgal cover on many reefs.

As divers, we're in the best position to see what sort of damange is happening underwater, and act as topside advocates for the critters' survival - those same critters that give us all so much joy during our underwater journeys. But I guess not everyone thinks like that.

 

[gndpdr]

this may be a little ot but i just read an article talking about the fact that each year beach goers /divers/water sports folks wash off about 60.000 tons of sunblock and in turn the chemicals in the sunblock has on impact on coral reefs

 

[vinegarbiscuit]

this may be a little ot but i just read an article talking about the fact that each year beach goers /divers/water sports folks wash off about 60.000 tons of sunblock and in turn the chemicals in the sunblock has on impact on coral reefs

I've read studies reporting that several commonly found sunscreen ingredients can awaken dormant viruses in the symbiotic algae called zooxanthellae that live inside reef-building coral species. The chemicals cause the viruses to replicate until their algae hosts explode, spilling viruses into the surrounding seawater, where they can infect neighboring coral communities. I'm aware that some folk consider the research and evidence found to date lacking or inconclusive. Perhaps more studies from varied sources are needed, I don't know.

Whatever the side of the fence one falls on, wearing biodegradable sunscreens and sunblocks that easily break-down when washed off the skin, or using a skin while snorkeling, is probably a good course of action. However, biodegradeable sunscreens are usually a bit pricier than regular sunscreens, and they're not always readily obtainable in some parts of the world.

 

[Chugwhump]

Interesting Thread.
I will stay tuned.
Chug