"Observations show an average 260 touches per one hour dive for a party of four."
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Mike Walker
Contributor
So I'm assuming when y'all go hiking in the mountains you hover?
While every reasonable effort should be made to avoid contact - the idea that photographers are evil and every diver is incompetent and should remain 3 meters from the reef is simply absurd and, frankly, anyone promoting it comes off as a fool.
Like it or not, humans (and lionfish) are now part of the ecosystem. Those who care will make a solid effort to minimize their impact; those who don't can almost certainly not be classified as coming from any single group.
Education and technique can always be improved - I certainly try every single dive - but 4 or 5 legit 'touches' (unintentional) of the reef over a week of diving are hard to feel bad about when there's a turtle or parrotfish munching away nearby.
The tone of this thread so far is absolutely disgusting and the extremists need to perhaps take a step back and examine statistical reality. Sixty five touches in an hour from every diver is a problem - a very occasional brush of a leg past a soft coral swaying in the current is not. I would posit the second is far more common if one looks past their cherry-picked 'worst I've ever seen' examples. The study reference later in the thread as supporting evidence of the sensationalist headline involved only one data-collector diving with the same op in the same location for the duration - there was some diversity of season due to the length of study, but it's hardly a large enough sample to draw any sweeping conclusions.
(Well, perhaps I can conclude I need to get a job in academia so someone can pay me to dive for 28 weeks in St. Lucia.)
Besides, we all know the bigger threat is everyone needs to stop peeing in the water - it's raising the temperature and causing bleaching.
(Would it be fair to assume one good bleaching event can cause more damage than every diver worldwide for a year....? Any data on this?)
While every reasonable effort should be made to avoid contact - the idea that photographers are evil and every diver is incompetent and should remain 3 meters from the reef is simply absurd and, frankly, anyone promoting it comes off as a fool.
Like it or not, humans (and lionfish) are now part of the ecosystem. Those who care will make a solid effort to minimize their impact; those who don't can almost certainly not be classified as coming from any single group.
Education and technique can always be improved - I certainly try every single dive - but 4 or 5 legit 'touches' (unintentional) of the reef over a week of diving are hard to feel bad about when there's a turtle or parrotfish munching away nearby.
The tone of this thread so far is absolutely disgusting and the extremists need to perhaps take a step back and examine statistical reality. Sixty five touches in an hour from every diver is a problem - a very occasional brush of a leg past a soft coral swaying in the current is not. I would posit the second is far more common if one looks past their cherry-picked 'worst I've ever seen' examples. The study reference later in the thread as supporting evidence of the sensationalist headline involved only one data-collector diving with the same op in the same location for the duration - there was some diversity of season due to the length of study, but it's hardly a large enough sample to draw any sweeping conclusions.
(Well, perhaps I can conclude I need to get a job in academia so someone can pay me to dive for 28 weeks in St. Lucia.)
Besides, we all know the bigger threat is everyone needs to stop peeing in the water - it's raising the temperature and causing bleaching.
(Would it be fair to assume one good bleaching event can cause more damage than every diver worldwide for a year....? Any data on this?)
I took to strapping my gopro to the tank facing backwards for a few dives to get a better idea of fin position. I was horrified to see that I dangled my fin tips and now primarily use frog kick and look under / behind me often to make sure my fins aren't sagging. I found the exercise very helpful to get better position in the water column and in relation to the reef.
Recently, while diving in Oaxaca, I was dragged across a rock by the crazy surge because I was busy ogling a fish and didn't have situational awareness. Mother nature's way of reminding us to pay attention, I guess. I pay attention now.
Recently, while diving in Oaxaca, I was dragged across a rock by the crazy surge because I was busy ogling a fish and didn't have situational awareness. Mother nature's way of reminding us to pay attention, I guess. I pay attention now.
pauldw
Contributor
Confiscated and destroyed in front of them.
When I hike, I follow proper, low impact ethics. In otherwords, "leave no trace" ethics. If someone coming by the next day can tell I've been there, then I've done something wrong. And if I can't leave no trace, then I don't belong in the backcountry. Period. Regarding the ocean, if divers can't do something similar, or at least adopt a similar approach, then no matter how badly they want to spear something or photograph something or fiddle with something, they shouldn't be there.
Wow, so much hating on photographers and other crappy divers. 10 feet away from the reef? Confiscating gear? Seriously?
Hey, I'm all for avoiding obviously destructive behavior - I don't touch live coral, sponges, etc... It's not wrong to try to make people better divers, but let's be a bit less arrogant about our expensive little first world hobby.
If y'all really want to preserve aquatic nature, dive locally and skip a flight to the tropics. Pass on a couple of hamburgers and save 2000 gallons of fresh water. Spear your own fish or even catch your own lobsters (hah!), and spare the marine environment the impact of commercial harvesting, purse seine and longline fishing, with all of the bycatch and breeding stock degradation that goes with it. Or even better, become a vegetarian, to stop contributing to water pollution. Don't drink bottled water. Tell people taking cruises that they suck.
It all seems kind of NIMBY. This PARTICULAR tiny piece of the ocean environment is conveniently accessible to scuba divers, so it must be preserved like a sacred relic, but the massive impact that people have on the overall ecosystem doesn't get the same treatment. Anyone want to cancel their trip to Bonaire to save some carbon?
I don't lie down on the reef, but I certainly do lie on the sand to get a macro shot. Sometimes in shallow water on my rebreather.
Hey, I'm all for avoiding obviously destructive behavior - I don't touch live coral, sponges, etc... It's not wrong to try to make people better divers, but let's be a bit less arrogant about our expensive little first world hobby.
If y'all really want to preserve aquatic nature, dive locally and skip a flight to the tropics. Pass on a couple of hamburgers and save 2000 gallons of fresh water. Spear your own fish or even catch your own lobsters (hah!), and spare the marine environment the impact of commercial harvesting, purse seine and longline fishing, with all of the bycatch and breeding stock degradation that goes with it. Or even better, become a vegetarian, to stop contributing to water pollution. Don't drink bottled water. Tell people taking cruises that they suck.
It all seems kind of NIMBY. This PARTICULAR tiny piece of the ocean environment is conveniently accessible to scuba divers, so it must be preserved like a sacred relic, but the massive impact that people have on the overall ecosystem doesn't get the same treatment. Anyone want to cancel their trip to Bonaire to save some carbon?
I don't lie down on the reef, but I certainly do lie on the sand to get a macro shot. Sometimes in shallow water on my rebreather.
Most leave no trace hikers are following a trail along which a lot has been damaged. But that thin sliver of damage is better than randomly tramping over the vegetation. Even then the only reason most cannot tell that they have been there is because most folks are not good trackers. I do not believe zero trace is possible unless walking only on barren rock with zero growth on it and even then probably not.
I think that was the point, although if there is a trail that is certainly more than a trace that someone was there, maybe not you and maybe not yesterday, but your footsteps contribute to the trail as much as any other footsteps. And I think the point was that there are hard contacts that damage the reef and there are soft contacts - such as a fin lightly brushing soft corals - that leave no trace.
Mike Walker
Contributor
Won't somebody think of the bacteria!!
Yes.
And 'doctormike' did a great job covering the other half of the argument.
It's important we all make an effort to improve on average. It is completely absurd to think that everything out there is so fragile and precious that it can't take a little bit of wear and tear from the other factors in it's environment. Hurricanes, currents... the bar jack i saw plow head first into a very healthy coral in a failed hunt attempt... sometimes life is rough.
The biggest casualty of my last trip was a crab that thought it was a good idea to hang out in the gravel right in front of my gear locker at night. Sometimes bad things happen despite out best efforts. A realistic and achievable target is to keep the averages down and understand that there are many, many factors contributing to the decline of any particular ecosystem - most of them far more hidden than an occasional brush from a fin or arm.
Eric Sedletzky
Contributor
There should be a sensitive reef specialty and card.
The specialty should include PPB, underwater naturalist (tailored to the particular environment), no dangle gear reconfiguration, and no silting finning technique.
If people don’t have this training and present the card they aren’t allowed to dive on the reef. It may not be perfect but it’s a step in the right direction.
Just like OW card, no card no dive...for whatever level the dive requires.
If a DM observes someone being a destructive idiot they’re benched for rest of the trip. And if you are a total ass causing mega destruction you get a fine, just like if you’re caught off trail in a park causing destruction.
It’s amazing how people will straighten out if there’s money and fines involved.
The specialty should include PPB, underwater naturalist (tailored to the particular environment), no dangle gear reconfiguration, and no silting finning technique.
If people don’t have this training and present the card they aren’t allowed to dive on the reef. It may not be perfect but it’s a step in the right direction.
Just like OW card, no card no dive...for whatever level the dive requires.
If a DM observes someone being a destructive idiot they’re benched for rest of the trip. And if you are a total ass causing mega destruction you get a fine, just like if you’re caught off trail in a park causing destruction.
It’s amazing how people will straighten out if there’s money and fines involved.
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