"Observations show an average 260 touches per one hour dive for a party of four."

[Eric Sedletzky]

Did you read the part about where divers would just take their dollars elsewhere? I have 1500 dives and work as a boat DM, I'm not about to put another dollar in and get another specialty card. I'd just go to Roatan or Bonaire or a bazillion other places instead. I like Cozumel but I don't *need* Cozumel.

Btw, do you really think that would "save the reef"?

Great, go.
Good riddance.

 

[DeepSeaExplorer]

Wow, so much hating on photographers and other crappy divers. 10 feet away from the reef? Confiscating gear? Seriously?

To answer your question... No, I wasn’t serious.

But, it does ruin my entire dive when I sea someone knock over a sea fan.

—————

10 feet above the reef is a little over the top. Height is not the issue, it’s contact.

 

[ReefHound]

I guess it’s all about the money then right?
Screw the reef, there’s money to be made!
I thought the idea was to try and save the reef.
My mistake.
I guess when there’s nothing but sand and bare rocks they’ll be happy?
Or do you think they will shut them down before then and not let anybody go there.
If reefs get systematically destroyed by touchers don’t you think that will put more pressure on the ones still intact by the same idiots who destroyed the prior ones.
At least what I’m proposing allows people to continue to enjoy the reefs without inadvertently damaging it through ignorance.

Welcome to the real world. It's always about the money. Are you keeping a straight face when you imply that it's divers who are systematically destroying the reef by touching it? Feel good measures might make you feel good but that's about all they will do. Your "proposal" will not fly. Tell us why two of the three top hot spots in the region for prevalence of dead coral colonies are in areas with very few divers.

 

[ReefHound]

Great, go.
Good riddance.

It'll be me and a couple million others. Then there will be no dive ops in business to take you out.

 

[doctormike]

To answer your question... No, I wasn’t serious.

OK, cool!

But, it does ruin my entire dive when I sea someone knock over a sea fan.

Me too!

10 feet above the reef is a little over the top. Height is not the issue, it’s contact.

Agree.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

Welcome to the real world. It's always about the money. Are you keeping a straight face when you imply that it's divers who are systematically destroying the reef by touching it? Feel good measures might make you feel good but that's about all they will do. Your "proposal" will not fly. Tell us why two of the three top hot spots in the region for prevalence of dead coral colonies are in areas with very few divers.

I’ll always be in favor of education and improved skills over dumping a bunch of modern OW divers out on a delicate reef willy nilly just to protect a revenue stream.
If a reef is pristine and special enough I think people would be willing to spend a half day class and a few hundred bucks to go see it, and have a certificate of completion that allows them to see other reefs that may be protected by the same program. You get revenue from the course plus the cost of the charter. You get better educated divers with better skills and more money. It’s a win win.
It’s certainly not an ultimate solution, but every bit helps and it’s a step in the right direction.
Nobody said the course had to be affiliated with PADI BTW, it could be any agency or put on by an independent party.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

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.

Not every one, just the ones who don't give a rip. I joined a group of photographers from some web forum years ago for a sunrise shoot at Mt. Rainier. I couldn't believe the number of people from that group stomping through the meadows to get to the best patch of wildflowers. There was plenty just at the edge of the trail. IG has made it a lot worse.

Then there's Michael "Duraflame" Fatali who set fires in national parks twice (well, he was caught twice) as "Using only natural light" (from his website). What a joke.

So yeah, just as on the surface, under the surface, there are a lot of poorly behaving photographers. Percentage wise, they are in the drastic minority. But they are so visible and flagrant with their transgressions, it results in the rest of us not having nice things.

I've only been to Coz once in my early days of diving. I just didn't get much in the way of shots on the drift dives as the current was strong and I wasn't going to waste gas finning against the current to get an blurry picture. I sure wasn't going to grab anything, and I didn't want to risk kicking the reefs. I wasn't 3 meters away, but I was generally 2 meters away so that I wouldn't run into coral sticking out of the reef.

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.

Yes, we are part of the ecosystem, but when people who should know better do it anyway, then regulations need to be put into place and enforced. Sucks for the rest of us, but the health of the ecosystem is far more important than our self gratification. Come dive in my part of the world and touch away, as the life here is pretty tough, based on how the life in Cove 2 (local dive site) stands up to all the open water courses held there.

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.

That's the result of millions of years of evolution.

The tone of this thread so far is absolutely disgusting and the extremists need to perhaps take a step back and examine statistical reality.

As a photographer above and below the surface, I find the tone completely understandable.

 

[doctormike]

If a reef is pristine and special enough I think people would be willing to spend a half day class and a few hundred bucks to go see it, and have a certificate of completion that allows them to see other reefs that may be protected by the same program.

Wait, are you saying that there is a difference between all of the various coral reefs in the world? They all look the same to me!

 

[ReefHound]

I’ll always be in favor of education and improved skills over dumping a bunch of modern OW divers out on a delicate reef willy nilly just to protect a revenue stream.
If a reef is pristine and special enough I think people would be willing to spend a half day class and a few hundred bucks to go see it, and have a certificate of completion that allows them to see other reefs that may be protected by the same program. You get revenue from the course plus the cost of the charter. You get better educated divers with better skills and more money. It’s a win win.
It’s certainly not an ultimate solution, but every bit helps and it’s a step in the right direction.
Nobody said the course had to be affiliated with PADI BTW, it could be any agency or put on by an independent party.

And I disagree. Cozumel is probably the #1 destination for new divers. Require an additional specialty card they don't have and it can be #51. But the real hit will be the experienced divers with hundreds of dives whose days of taking classes alongside brand new divers are long ago. I'm curious what the veterans here like Dandy Don and Gordon think. Guys with 1000 dives who have been diving Cozumel for 20 years suddenly being told they aren't qualified to dive in Cozumel until they take a class.

And again, will you answer the question as to whether you really think divers are the cause of the reef destruction and keeping divers off the reef will restore reefs to "pristine" condition. I think you're making up a hypothetical without any basis then proposing a "solution" based upon it.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

Wait, are you saying that there is a difference between all of the various coral reefs in the world? They all look the same to me!

Lol