Philippine dive industry...to progress or not to progress.

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bisugo767

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Messages
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Location
BC Canada
# of dives
25 - 49
Disclaimer: Again, this is just my personal take on this matter. You may dispute or agree with me but, please, avoid flaming people. Voice out your own opinion and be done with it. Don't be rude. Just enjoy the discussion. Cheers!

This topic came from a thread I started concerning the reasons why Philippine dive sites are not too popular in North America. A couple of folks have submitted their responses they're off-track but quite interesting nevertheless. Here I quote:

Ben_ca:
”There's only a small number of the operations that have internet presences... the local operators that do often only have the simplest of pages. Now does that mean that they aren't good? No it sometimes means that they are operating fine and doing well with just word of mouth and they want to stay that way.

When I'm off on a diving excursion I don't want a ton of people at the resort I'm staying. A few fellow divers, some peace and quiet and no overloaded boats would be fine.

You can keep the bus loads of drunk and loud tourists and cattle boats.”

Mr. Blues:
“Hmmm....so if you charge more per dive you're going to attract more divers? The reason I dive in Asia/Indo/Phils/ is because the diving is excellent and affordable and is worth the extra money spent on airfare and I can also stay longer. I don't dive the Carribean anymore because each time I ended up asking "where's all the fish???", and the dives were more costly. I prefer "sleeper" locations and enjoy "the road less traveled." That's why I keep coming back to dive Philippines - this year was my fourth time. Be careful what you wish for. You may just get what you want plus all the trappings that goes with it. Club Med type operations, cattle boats, spoiled high rollers, not to mention reef damage from an increased numbers of divers, and on & on. If you don't believe me just ask some of the elders who can remember when Cozumel only had about a dozen dive shops, or just dive Jamaica and you'll end up asking "where's all the fish?" “

Now, the questions is: Which is the lesser evil? Cattle boats and increased diving activity or dynamite or illegal fishing?

If we stunt the growth of the local dive industry to make some people happy by keeping the Philippines their own best kept secret, local fishermen will be forced to resort to drastic means to make ends meet. Because of your selfish reasons, fishermen will be forced to resort to illegal fishing, cyanide fishing, and dynamite fishing to earn a living. Now, this can't be good! Good for you, maybe or maybe not. Because if more reefs are damaged by over-fishing, cyanide poison, and dynamite then your best kept little secret is no longer going to be attractive. You won't care about visiting and diving around the Philippines anymore. The fishermen on the other hand will just go on doing their thing until nothing is left. No more reef.

On the other hand, if the dive industry flourishes and grows up, we can establish several nature park reserves to protect the valuable reefs and wildlife. Help the locals by getting them into the dive industry by being captains and dive masters instead of resorting to illegal fishing activities to make a living. Yes, with progress, prices will go up but part of this will go towards reef protection, education, and promoting tourism. With progress, visitors and locals alike will be educated about the value of keeping the reefs intact and healthy. They now have a very good reason to protect it. Now, this does not mean that all dive businesses will become cattle boats. Like Cozumel, there will still be the small outfits who will specialize on small groups. I say (as a former business-owner myslef, if you can't beat your competition then specialize. Personally, when I go diving, I hate cattle boats so I seek out the small guys for a more personalized service. Small groups also make me get better acquainted with everyone as I tend to watch over members of the group when we are underwater. This is a force of habit as I always want to be a very good buddy. If you want a less crowded atmosphere, visit the dive site during the off-peak season. Not only do you get the best airfare and accomodation rates, you will have your peace and quiet. This is what I do when I fly off and go diving especially in Cozumel. Now, in the case of the Philippines and its 7,100 islands, there are a lot of dive sites that are off-the beaten path and not yet popular or have yet to be discovered. There will always be dive sites that will be less visited compared to others. So, in the end, in the midst of progress and all the cattle boat operations, you will have your cake and eat it too.

So after hearing my thoughts, which one do you prefer? Reef destruction to due an increased number of divers or illegal and brutal ways of fishing. You decide!

Phil (bisugo767)
 
It is time to get your team and play in the big leagues. Start now because it will take time. Time to cooperate, time to plan, time to promote, time to follow up and time to enoy your fruits of patience.

The Philippines has a lot to offer. I was born there and I have dove there extensively. What has been lacking is the promotion of your destination to the right people. The people who will make it or break it for you dive destination are the LDS that is in the know. They will plant the seed and give their customers the right contacts and ease their concerns about their travel across the Pacific Ocean.

It has started improving in the last 5 years. Just in my area I know of three LDS's that have run trips to the Philippines in the last 12 months. That comapred to 0 in the 90's. All of the feedback has been great.

Your concerns about economics (the dynamite fishing vs diving employment) will be be a mute issue once people start diving there. You can speculate as much as you want. Till you can replace the fishermans job with a better paying job, outside of shooting dynamite fishermen, it would be hard to prevent it from happening. Don't blame the goverment, they have been trying. The local diving industry has been trying. Things just have to fall in place. Time and patience.

I love country of birth. I have tirelessly promoted it as my "favorite" dive site to my students for the last 27 years. I find it so difficult to arrange a trip there. I can set up a trip to Thailand, Indonesia, Australia, Red Sea, Palau, Saipan, and Truk real easy. Trying to set up a trip the Philippines is getting easier. But if my group had a choice to travel it would be to somewhere that we could get the assurance that when we sign the dotted line, we will be taken care of. All the locations above have made the commitment and the investment to insure that the American diver will have a good time abe be safe. Now it's time for the Philippine Dive Industry to do that.

Just my (Long) 2 centavos,
Jim
 
Now, the questions is: Which is the lesser evil? Cattle boats and increased diving activity or dynamite or illegal fishing?

So after hearing my thoughts, which one do you prefer? Reef destruction to due an increased number of divers or illegal and brutal ways of fishing. You decide!

Phil (bisugo767)

It's not even close. Dynamite and overfishing destroys the reef enviro much worse than heavy diving.
One problem in the past has been that the Philippines has never been the most attractive country for foreign investment and the county lacks capital. It used to be that it had to be 51% Filipino owned and foreigners couldn't own land. Not to mention import duties on most things one would need to start up a business. (Car, machinery etc etc) But I believe this is changing so it could improve quickly if the most valuable asset the Philippines has (the Filipinos) is released and can do what they are renowned for worldwide....work...
 
I have a group of 19 students from a local christian school going through OWD-classes with us right now. In February they're all going to the Philippines for 4 weeks, without me! :(:(:(

Now since most of them are 19 year old girls, some will likely make it to THAT's what's so bothering. :gr1: :drooling:

Whatever... But I've seen the pictures from the place they're going to, and for this one sake I'm willing to say I'm more sorry to miss out on the DIVING rather than the company of these fine young women! For what I know from people who not only visit the Philippines regularly, but actually live there 6 months of the year, they have some of THE FINEST tropical diving in the world.

I don't know how much it means for the average US dive tourist. Here in Norway we see a lot of fishing tourists visiting from Germany. Some come every year, and almost all of them come back once or twice. So it seems they are happy! BUT, hardly any of them come on their own, or with Norwegian agencies. They come with German agencies. And they pay a lot more than they have to for the "safety" of not having to deal with "foreign" businesses. I have no idea why. Many of us even speak German, so language shouldn't be a problem. But I have a feeling it's this fear of getting ripped off or cheated by "someone" they don't know. I've been trying to get German divers come up here for years. I have found that to do that I need to team up with someone IN Germany who they trust. I will mean extra cost for them, but that's how it would have to be if we were to follow through on this.

Maybe it's the same with US tourists? Do they feel better if they could have an American "guarantist" for their holiday? Also, I know that many US citizens have a very short vacation compared to our standards, and therefore they want to make the most of it. Therefore, planning everything in detail ahead makes them comfortable. Perhaps easier with well known destinations, like Cozumel and likewise?
 
Thanks for your feedback! This is good input concerning why there seem to be a lot of Europeans visting the Philippines compared to North Americans. I will keep this one in mind and add it to the list of reasons I am building up for another thread I started.

Too bad you won't be with the chicks on their trip to the Philippines. I guess you can't have everything.

Phil (bisugo767)

I have a group of 19 students from a local christian school going through OWD-classes with us right now. In February they're all going to the Philippines for 4 weeks, without me! :(:(:(

Now since most of them are 19 year old girls, some will likely make it to THAT's what's so bothering. :gr1: :drooling:

Whatever... But I've seen the pictures from the place they're going to, and for this one sake I'm willing to say I'm more sorry to miss out on the DIVING rather than the company of these fine young women! For what I know from people who not only visit the Philippines regularly, but actually live there 6 months of the year, they have some of THE FINEST tropical diving in the world.

I don't know how much it means for the average US dive tourist. Here in Norway we see a lot of fishing tourists visiting from Germany. Some come every year, and almost all of them come back once or twice. So it seems they are happy! BUT, hardly any of them come on their own, or with Norwegian agencies. They come with German agencies. And they pay a lot more than they have to for the "safety" of not having to deal with "foreign" businesses. I have no idea why. Many of us even speak German, so language shouldn't be a problem. But I have a feeling it's this fear of getting ripped off or cheated by "someone" they don't know. I've been trying to get German divers come up here for years. I have found that to do that I need to team up with someone IN Germany who they trust. I will mean extra cost for them, but that's how it would have to be if we were to follow through on this.

Maybe it's the same with US tourists? Do they feel better if they could have an American "guarantist" for their holiday? Also, I know that many US citizens have a very short vacation compared to our standards, and therefore they want to make the most of it. Therefore, planning everything in detail ahead makes them comfortable. Perhaps easier with well known destinations, like Cozumel and likewise?
 
Now since most of them are 19 year old girls, some will likely make it to THAT's what's so bothering. :gr1: :drooling:

Ahh, Chip will be there then.. and he will be so happy.. :wink:
 
I can't help it but I need to write this to thank you for your input. I was also born there however did not get into diving until I moved here. But, part of me still belongs back home and it pains me that progress in all fronts have been very very slow.

Once again, thanks for your valuable input.

Phil (bisugo767)

It is time to get your team and play in the big leagues. Start now because it will take time. Time to cooperate, time to plan, time to promote, time to follow up and time to enoy your fruits of patience.

The Philippines has a lot to offer. I was born there and I have dove there extensively. What has been lacking is the promotion of your destination to the right people. The people who will make it or break it for you dive destination are the LDS that is in the know. They will plant the seed and give their customers the right contacts and ease their concerns about their travel across the Pacific Ocean.

It has started improving in the last 5 years. Just in my area I know of three LDS's that have run trips to the Philippines in the last 12 months. That comapred to 0 in the 90's. All of the feedback has been great.

Your concerns about economics (the dynamite fishing vs diving employment) will be be a mute issue once people start diving there. You can speculate as much as you want. Till you can replace the fishermans job with a better paying job, outside of shooting dynamite fishermen, it would be hard to prevent it from happening. Don't blame the goverment, they have been trying. The local diving industry has been trying. Things just have to fall in place. Time and patience.

I love country of birth. I have tirelessly promoted it as my "favorite" dive site to my students for the last 27 years. I find it so difficult to arrange a trip there. I can set up a trip to Thailand, Indonesia, Australia, Red Sea, Palau, Saipan, and Truk real easy. Trying to set up a trip the Philippines is getting easier. But if my group had a choice to travel it would be to somewhere that we could get the assurance that when we sign the dotted line, we will be taken care of. All the locations above have made the commitment and the investment to insure that the American diver will have a good time abe be safe. Now it's time for the Philippine Dive Industry to do that.

Just my (Long) 2 centavos,
Jim
 
again....hmmmm.....certainly not a flame ...just trying to understand your logic about fishermen "being forced" into dynamite fishing to survive, due to "my selfish reasons." It seems to me that regardless of the prosperity of the dive industry, illegal fishing will continue. Am I to assume that those who participate in dynamite fishing will someday become enlightened and elect to join a dive operation and pursue a new marketable set of skills? I think not. It's fast, easy money to blow up the fish, than use conventional, legal fishing methods, and to some it beats humping a lot of scuba tanks. Take a look a Palau. It's famous for sharks, and lots of big stuff. It's expensive, certainly popular, and has lots of promotion. Yet, the shark finning continues. There was even a movement amongst some divers to boycott diving Palau in the hopes that the government would take notice of the supposed decrease in revenue from lack of divers invading the islands. Instead this would simply give shark finners a green light to increase their practices, because it was the divers that blew the whistle and complained when they would see vessels with shark fins hanging. Fewer divers, fewer complaints! I submit that most illegal activity is conducted by payoffs, i.e. corrupt officials who agree to look the other way, for a price that far exceeds what dive operations can bring in. Everyone involved knows it's wrong, yet it still goes on. Perhaps REAL enforcement is a solution? That's another related issue.
Don't get me wrong. I'm all for people striving for a better life for their family and perhaps better promotion of the Philippines dive sector can enhance that goal. I just think that the choice you present, of reef damage by lots of divers, versus dynamite fishing doesn't correlate for me.
It's the same old story of environmental impacts that "development" brings. I'm just saying don't be in such a hurry, take a look around and see what others have tried, what works, what doesn't,
and in the meantime cherish and protect what a wonderful gem Philippines diving already is.
Happy New Year

everyone
 
Dear Mr. Blue,

I am qouting you from your post:

"It seems to me that regardless of the prosperity of the dive industry, illegal fishing will continue. Am I to assume that those who participate in dynamite fishing will someday become enlightened and elect to join a dive operation and pursue a new marketable set of skills? I think not."

You statement has been proven to be ignorant of some succesful operations around the world. FYI, when Mexico turned the reef on the west side of Cozumel in the early 70's, the island was a fishing island. There was a small group of people in th ebusiness and political world down there that had the foresight to train and employ the fihermen to take divers to the reef. So where is Cozumel now in the diving scene?

El Nido in Palawan (Philippines) did the same thing when they started. They have been successful till Abu Sayaf came around, but that's another story.

As I stated in an earlier qoute, it takes the goverment, business, and the local diving industry to get the ball rolling. It is starting to roll, as many of the posts on this forum have already metnioned the Rodale's ratings for best dives sites gives the Philippines very good marks for the very first time.

I have traveled enough in my years of diving to know that the diving and the people in the Philippines are great.

Jim
 
oops, wrong thread.
 

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