
What will be your PSD Teams next move in this situation?….
Fish Habitats come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and materials which provide fish cover. In a sport fisherman’s eyes these are gold mines for harvesting big trophy fish. However, to a Public Safety Diver they cause major safety problems, compromises search pattern integrity and causes serious entanglement issues in low to zero visibility and could lead to worse, another Death Statistic to Public Safety Diving.
The Fish Habitats have been made during events and campaigns where hundreds of man made trees are made in a multitude of shapes, sizes, and materials and placed into local lakes, ponds and rivers. The materials range from 2” x 8’ PVC pipe placed in a concrete base to smaller 5/8” x 4’ rebar placed in a small concrete base with a chain and anchor attached. Others are made simply out of old pallets and scrap materials.
These Habitats are placed all across the US and in a multitude of areas within the bodies of water and at different depths, they have even been located in public beach areas. The only method of knowing how to mitigate these habitats are to be proactive during Non Discretionary time. Pre-planning with local waterway owners and local fishing clubs as well as sonaring these areas will best serve PSD Teams to ensure your team does not become another statistic.
I would encourage All PSD Teams to make your Divers aware of this type of entanglement hazard and work towards structured and safe training in a pool or controlled setting with a similar style man made prop and come up with solutions to overcome this hazard.