Marine conservation and divers

[drm]

As a diver, do you feel there is a need for marine conservation? Are you seeing problems at your favorite diving spots that require our attention?

Also, do you actively practice marine conservation when you go diving? Do you avoid taking things and stepping on corals? Do you ever clean up the reef on a dive, like picking up fishing line or other pieces of trash on the reef? Do you support marine conservation organizations such as Ocean Conservancy or The Coral Reef Alliance?

Just trying to get a sense of the diving community's feeling about and participation in marine conservation.

Dave
www.divingindepth.com

 

[Rick Murchison]

yes/yes/yes/no/yes/yes/yes
Rick

 

[drbill]

I recently posted a new thread on the reasons I feel marine reserves are important. I was surprised that only one response was posted.

To me it would seem logical that all divers, whether non-consumptive or not, would want to support marine conservation. The non-consumptive users should want to see fish and invertebrates in healthy ecosystems to view and film. Consumptive users should want to see healthy fish and invertebrate stocks to ensure there are enough left to continue their hunting.

I have dived off-and-on for 44 years, 36 of those in the waters off my home of Santa Catalina Island. I have observed declines in a number of species (abalone, sheephead, kelp bass for example) and increases in a few (giant sea bass) due to conservation measures taken.

Anyone who thinks our marine ecosystems are healthy needs to take a longer view of them. When I read accounts of the fishing and life in general around Catalina a century or so ago, it is obvious how significantly fish stocks have declined. Even diving protected areas and adjacent unprotected areas can give you immediate insights into how over-fished many areas are.

It is my opinion that divers really need to get behind sound, scientifically-based conservation strategies. I would like my son to be able to harvest abalone in the future just as I did 25-35 years ago, or just enjoy filming them as I do now.

 

[Fish_Whisperer]

I touch nothing, take nothing, and I'm careful about my buoyancy control so I don't bang into anything. I don't harass, grab, or otherwise disturb any of the creatures I happen to encounter, beyond photographing them and uh... whispering to them.

 

[drm]

Drbill,

Thanks for your response. I've been diving around Florida for over 20 years and have seen big declines in fish species as well as many other forms of marine life. I feel that conservation minded teaching should be implemented in every open water, advanced, etc. scuba class being taught today. There have been some good things...like the black sea bass in CA and the Goliath Grouper (Jewfish) here in Florida that have made decent come backs. That's great to see. But this year off the Gulf coast in the Tampa area, massive red tide bloom killed off millions of fish, invertebrates, corals, turtles, and some dolphins. The red tide has backed off some now, but it still lingers off shore and who knows where if will kill again.

Anyway, happy diving.
Dave
www.divingindepth.com

 

[dpbishop]

Mangement and preservation of the Marine ecosystem needs to be addressed on the local, national and international level. There have been some encouraging examples of marine fauna brought back from the edge, ( Brown Pelicans, Giant Sea Bass and White Sea Bass come to mind), but it seems that nothing gets done until the situation is critical. Demand for ocean resources has grown so high that the impact of shifts in fishery practices can be devestating. The New Zealand Orange Roughy fishery is a prime example.

As divers, we need to exert our political voice to counterbalance that of the commercial industries, who often work to their own long term disadvantage in favor of short term goals. I sometimes dispair at the lack of knowledge displayed by our elected and appointed officials about the ocean. When the San Diego Oceans Foundaton was obtaining Coastal Commision Approval of Project Yukon it oftened seemed as if the commisioners were the least knowledgeable people in the room.

We also need to educate ourselves and our friends about the need for sustainable practices. The Monterey Bay Aquarium, for example, publishes a list of Seafood sorted by their endagered status. A printable wallet size version is available from http://www.mbayaq.org/cr/seafoodwatch.asp . I would encourage all ScubaBoard members to carry one when they go out to eat.

 

[Lisa0825]

I haven't had my first dive trip yet, but in general, I always try to make environmentally friendly choices.

On a related note, what do the folks in this topic think of cruises? I occasionally see people post on SB about cruise deals. As cheap as I see them go, I resist, knowing what the cruise industry does to the environment.

 

[Lisa0825]

Mangement and preservation of the Marine ecosystem needs to be addressed on the local, national and international level. There have been some encouraging examples of marine fauna brought back from the edge, ( Brown Pelicans, Giant Sea Bass and White Sea Bass come to mind), but it seems that nothing gets done until the situation is critical. Demand for ocean resources has grown so high that the impact of shifts in fishery practices can be devestating. The New Zealand Orange Roughy fishery is a prime example.

As divers, we need to exert our political voice to counterbalance that of the commercial industries, who often work to their own long term disadvantage in favor of short term goals. I sometimes dispair at the lack of knowledge displayed by our elected and appointed officials about the ocean. When the San Diego Oceans Foundaton was obtaining Coastal Commision Approval of Project Yukon it oftened seemed as if the commisioners were the least knowledgeable people in the room.

We also need to educate ourselves and our friends about the need for sustainable practices. The Monterey Bay Aquarium, for example, publishes a list of Seafood sorted by their endagered status. A printable wallet size version is available from http://www.mbayaq.org/cr/seafoodwatch.asp . I would encourage all ScubaBoard members to carry one when they go out to eat.

Great message! And thanks for the link! I saw something similar on another site last year, but it wasn't as nicely laid-out and printed.

 

[cudachaser]

Very supportive with exception to the terms of the Endangered Species...that tends to go way overboard, ie manatee protection

I'm very supportive of the Sanctuaries Act...that provides a sane, sensible means of protecting the environment.

I am trying develop a "Grass Roots" effort in east central Florida to create a Sanctuary from Port St Lucie Inlet extending northward to above the Kennedy Space Center and from the west bank of the Banana River outward to 34 miles offshore. The Sanctuary would not close any existing fisheries beyond what is now closed. Prerservation would come with smart means of increasing productivity

The 34 mile boundary would encompase a huge, delicate deep water coral reef that has already been decimated in part by trawlers. This reef is in 250 to 300ft of water. It's a nursery for many of the food fish that range up to the North Carolina Coast

 

[drbill]

On a related note, what do the folks in this topic think of cruises? I occasionally see people post on SB about cruise deals. As cheap as I see them go, I resist, knowing what the cruise industry does to the environment.

Not all cruise lines are as negative re: impacts on the environment as some. I participated in some educational efforts to get tighter controls on cruise ships visiting California waters, especially Catalina's port of Avalon. The trash, sewage, oil and smoke emissions that are released by some of the big liners is very bothersome.

However, I also work for a cruise line (Lindblad Expeditions) that focuses on eco-tourism and tries to minimize its impact on the environment whenever possible.