No Night Diving in Coz??? Aaaaaaargh!

[RiotNrrd]

I have done 8 dives over the past three days and the diving truly is fabulous! New swim-throughs, bigger swim-throughs, and abundant marine life.

I assume no one will be allowed to check out these new/bigger swim-throughs, unless they have a 6m diameter? At first, I wasn't too worried, because I read "3m" as "3ft." If its 3 meters, then this totally blows.

I hope that by the time I get there, this has been rethought. I intentionally kept my plans to go down there so that I could bring money into the economy, even though I've had to reschedule my trip twice and take extra days off work due to Continental's bu11**** flight cancellations. Now I'm going to be told "thanks for your money, but by the way, keep away from our reef because we don't think you know how to dive well enough to avoid damaging it?"

Unbelievable.

RiotNrrd

 

[Amy WJ]

There are other reasons for diving Coz. It's cheap, close to home, a great way to keep up your diving skills, excellent food and it's a safe and friendly atmosphere. You still have good chances of seeing sea life despite the restrictions on reef distances. While I can understand everyone's anger about the last minute rule changes, these rules are necessary for the least common denominator; they are to be expected.

A bad day diving in Coz is still better than a great day diving in Florida, IMHO. I can't wait to go back!!

 

[Humuhumunukunukuapua'a]

Christi, what exactly are the camera restrictions?

For my money, this sounds like a really lame overreaction. If divers were pounding the hell out of the reefs before Wilma, then that was a problem all its own. The fact of it is, coral takes a LONG time to grow, and a few months of these rules really won't make a bit of difference in the big picture. A hurricane messed up the reefs...why should divers be asked to follow a new set of rules to facilitate the recovery process when all of this is a result of natural events?

Is the snorkel vest thing really real? I can't just go snorkelling like I always do everywhere I go? Because the snorkel cops are gonna have to bust me for that one. Very very lame to have to wear a life jacket to go swimming IMO.

And I can't just go out night diving on my own?

I've never been to Coz (first trip in January), and, frankly, the whole setup already seemed a little overly controlling for my tastes (I can't just go shore diving without hiring a guide??). But these rules seem like they take an already fairly restrictive dive environment, and make it even more so. I hope I am wrong and that I am able to enjoy the sort of independant diving I am used to at home and in other locations.

I do look forward to going out with Christi on the boat and I hope the site selection isn't too limited. I'm sure she'll find us some great spots if a tenth of what I have read about her operation is true.

Why are all the southern deep sites closed? It seems like they would have sustained the least damage.

I do wonder if Coz is taking the dive tourists for granted. If they make the rules too restrictive, they may find people going elsewhere where they can dive when and where they want to. I don't mean I want to be reckless and harm the reef...quite the opposite. But having to stay 10 feet off the reef is excessive. RiotNrrd makes a good point...can you only swim through 6m or wider swimthroughs?

No offense intended to any of the Coz defenders...I am just concerned that the limitations, rules and regulations will regulate me out of the kind of independant diving I like to do. In my experience I don't need to stay 10 feet off the reef, leave my camera at home or wear a snorkel vest to keep from damaging the reef. I have learned to dive in a way that I do as little harm to the environment as possible, and I frankly don't need the authorities of Cozumel regulating SCUBA to reflect the abilities of the lowest common denominator to the point where my diving experience is limited. Maybe the authorities should instead focus on only allowing qualified divers to dive their reefs. Or maybe they should remember that the current damage is not diver-caused at all.

Maybe they should ban hurricanes from all the nice dive sites instead

Gregg

 

[Ayisha]

Where the article states the stipulations about group size and ratio of instructors to students, is the "Marine Park" just Chancanaab or is it all the sites?

If it is all the sites, this could be a problem for our dive group coming up in January...

 

[cardzard]

I certianly hope this is only temporary. I LOVE Coz and have been there 3 times.
I must say however and PLEASE DON'T TAKE THIS WRONG. I will not return until these rules are gone. IMO it makes no sense. Like Herman I shoot mainly macro and the 10' rule means leave your camera at home IMO. I PRAY temporary is the key word.

 

[halocline]

Well, not knowing the particular environmental facts about diver impact on Cozumel reefs, the exact nature of the damage, and not having an expert's understanding of reef eco systems and how they are affected by thousands of divers monthly as well as 2 major hurricanes in one season, I'd tend to welcome any environmentally motivated restrictions, even if they inconvenienced me somewhat.

How about you guys...are you sure you know enough to judge the validity of these regulations?

There is a MAJOR worldwide problem of coral reef destruction....I've read studies that predict that without large scale fundamental changes in human activity, coral reefs will be essentially extinct within 100 years. One of the reasons I got interested in captive coral propagation is because I'm afraid that many coral species will be extinct within my lifetime. Of course, the biggest problems are in the asian pacific reefs which are notoriously unprotected. While pollution, fishing, and destruction of coral for the curio trade are probably the largest contributors, the diving/snorkeling industry, as well as the aquarium trade, do have an environmental impact. We need to balance this impact with the hope that diving results in greater awareness and appreciation of coral reef habitats, which will hopefully result in greater pressure to protect these fragile environments. If this means restricted diving for some time, fine....I'm all for it. Night diving is definitely an issue as it is much more stressful on marine life, and with marine life, stress typically means susceptibilty to disease and death. For example, coral polyps open at night to capture food and are much more fragile during this time. Touching an open coral polyp is more damaging than touching the same polyp during the day. I'm willing to give up my night dives for a year or more to allow these creatures time to recover.

I'll go even further....I personally would support limiting the number of divers on the reef on any given day; this just means you'd have to plan for diving and the cruise ship divers might have more trouble getting on the reefs, and as far as I'm concerned, I'd just as soon see the cattle boats retired. It's always kind of depressing to me to start a dive and see 20 or 30 bad divers bouncing around. I'd be happy to pay a little more for this, and I'm hardly a wealthy person. We'll get a better diving experience, and the reefs will be healthier for us and the next generation.

 

[TheRedHead]

I really, really wish everyone would stop jumping to conclusions and making this all a bigger deal than it is. Cozumel is making record recovery history and some people just want to dwell on the little things that are really insignificant in the grand scheme of things.

It's a very big deal to divers, unfortunately. I'm very happy to hear that Cozumel is making a record recovery and I certainly didn't mind making monetary contributions to both the dive operators fund and the Coz Red Cross.

Honestly, I don't think I would mind so much diving damaged sites. But I really do mind these restrictions which have not been well thought out. Coz is a wonderful place to dive, but so are the Caymans, Bonaire, Belize, Roatan and many other destinations. I'm not sure what I'm going to do about my January trip. I hope that these draconian rules are going to be enforced. If they are, then I think I'm going somewhere else until things are back to normal.

I hope the dive operators try and persuade the government that this policy is a really bad idea.

 

[RiotNrrd]

My trip is pretty much locked in to Cozumel, but I tell you what: if these rules are in place, and my first few dives show they are being enforced, the cenotes are only a ferry ride away.

I'd prefer to keep my money on the island to help in the recovery, but I'm not going to waste my vacation trying to take pictures from 10 feet away, or twiddling my thumbs at night wishing I was in the water. I understand all the issues about coral recovery, but to me, that means "don't touch the coral" (which I don't do anyway) not "stay 10 feet away." I can get closer to sealife by standing in the National Aquarium down in DC.

It will be real interesting to see what happens if someone is wall diving, stays 10 feet away from the wall, and ends up at 200+ft when the current snatches them away. Hey, what's a little DCS, or even getting lost in the deep blue? At least you didn't get too close to the coral.

DiveOps - please protest this, and see if can be made more reasonable. This is just going to make people want to dive someplace else, tip low, and get angry.

RiotNrrd

 

[Christi]

Why are all the southern deep sites closed? It seems like they would have sustained the least damage.
Gregg

Where on earth did you get the idea that ALL southern sites are closed???? None of the southern sites are closed.

We have dove everything from Punta Sur to Punta Tunich now and planning Maracaibo tomorrow. I even conformed this with the marine park after reading this because it was not in any of the literature I received from the park.

Yucab, Tormentos, Chankanaab, and Paradise are the only reefs that are temporarily closed...these are shallow reefs and most of the "experienced" divers feel they are too good for paradise and Chankanaab to begin with, so what's the big deal? No one ever requests those particular sites anyway...all of a sudden because they are closed, everyone feels that they are being slighted or cheated in some way.

Gregg, I am not directing this post at you...it is in general to everyone who feels they will have a poor experience diving in Cozumel. This thread is a classic example of how things get blown way out of proportion and totally misinterpreted.

If you are an experienced diver and can demonstrate proper buoyancy control, you will be able to enjoy the Cozumel diving just as you always have. If you are a new diver with buoyancy control issues, you will be monitored more closely and kept further away from the reefs. Let me put it this way, my divers this week are raving about these dives this week being some of their best yet and aren't complaining about a thing! They are maintaining safe distances from the reef and they, who are actually here diving, have not peeped one complaint about the "closed" sites or the fact that they are required to control their buoyancy.

Gregg, where did you get the idea you were required to hire a guide for shore dives? That's only if you are shore diving at Chankanaab park which is a protected area.

I can't even read this thread anymore because all of the speculation and assumptions are way out of hand. If you (collectively...as in everyone who does) believe everything you read on the message boards from people that come here once a year and/or who don't live and work here...then I don't know what to tell you.

I just don't have the time or energy for this right now. I give up!

 

[WicketsMom]

We're arriving Wednesday, 11/23 and would have probably delayed if I had known there would be the night diving restrictions since that's one of my favorite things to do. I don't really have a problem with some of the sites being closed. I figured some of the sites would be closed due to damage, but I still haven't done all of them in all the times I've been to Cozumel, and definitely haven't seen everything on the ones I have seen. If they're closing the ones with the most damage, I would prefer to dive on the healthier reefs anyway. But, the dive operator we're using (Dive Paradise) did tell me that shore night diving is still available from our hotel (VillaBlanca). I prefer not to do shore night dives in Cozumel, but if it's the only way we can do it this time we'll do it - it's not the first time we've done one there, although there is alot more to see if you can dive from a boat.

Just my opinion, but I don't realistically see a way to enforce a 3m distance from the reef. I think that this is just to give them more leeway to deal with those with bad bouyancy control - and we've all seen our share of those on the reefs. I think that most operators will continue to operate as they did before the restrictions, and if you display good bouyancy and stay off the reefs (like we all should be doing anyway) that you will still be able to get up close to see the critters. At least I hope so since I'm still taking my camera and hope to get some good shots.

I'll post an update when we get back as to the impact of the restrictions and the quality of the diving when we get back. We're still looking forward to our trip, just viewing it as more of an 'adventure' this time and we don't think we made a mistake by going ahead with our plans on our regular schedule.