Possible southern reef closure

[uncfnp]

I hate to say it but after our planned 2020 trip Cozumel may no longer be the must dive trip for us that it has been. The condition of the reefs is a small part of it. The uncertainty of the closures another small part. Then there are the cruise ships and congestion associated with the ships in port, a big deterrent for me. Now toss in the increasing pressure from the street hawkers. They were especially aggressive our last trip. And the prices for flights with Delta! It all adds up to maybe just not worth it.

I truly do not understand the rationale of the reef closures when they allow, indeed encourage cruise ships and the known environmental issues they bring. Yes, I know it is all about the dollar but I find it insulting that they then focus on us divers, restricting some sites and calling that an effort to halt the harm to their reefs.

 

[deepsea21]

Has Coz really gotten that bad?
It has been over 10 yrs for us and are now considering a visit but your post and others give us pause

Go elsewhere. The best sites have now been closed. I'm looking at canceling and re-routing elsewhere for our December trip and checking with friends to see if they are also willing to pay the air fare penalties and go elsewhere who are locked in. It sucks paying the penalty but having the best sites closed sucks more.

 

[morecowbells]

I cannot imagine how this will affect the southern hotels, condos and all of the restaurants. While the officials are doing everything possible to accommodate and encourage the cruise ships, once evening rolls in, they are gone. Only so much business can be done during lunchtime hours.

 

[flyboy08]

Next to be heard.....airfare sale! $250.00 RT NY-COZ.

Then all of a sudden 15-20 closed sites just won’t be an issue.

 

[Lewis88]

Here is the statement we posted on my Facebook page:
Blue XT~Sea Divers

In the spirit of total transparency, we want to make our divers aware of the current situation in Cozumel which will affect our clients in the upcoming months. The Marine Park has announced that it is temporarily closing a section of the reef from Palancar Gardens all the way around the south tip of the Island. This includes the entire Palancar system, Colombia, and Punta Sur. You can see the planned closures in red in the graphic.

The closure is planned to go into effect October 7 and expected to last until January 2020, when they will re-evaluate the health of the reef. The water sport organization, ANOAAT, is working with the marine park in an attempt to stagger the closures, but it remains to be seen if they will consider that tactic or not. So for now, we must plan for this restriction and wanted to inform our divers of this development. We will keep everyone posted with any new information that comes from the Marine Park.

We apologize for the inconvenience and sincerely hope that this will not cause any of our divers to cancel their dive trip to Cozumel. The other reefs will remain open. And who knows? Maybe our DMs will discover some new reefs north of the park that would be suitable for our clients.

Please feel free to contact us at info@bluextseadivers.com if you have any concerns.

So it does include the entire Palancar system. This is immensely disappointing. Some of my absolute favorite sites are down there.

was there any feeling of this possibly being rescinded during the meeting.

 

[Charred]

Go elsewhere. The best sites have now been closed. I'm looking at canceling and re-routing elsewhere for our December trip and checking with friends to see if they are also willing to pay the air fare penalties and go elsewhere.

I am thinking the same for our booked Nov trip. Partly because the best sites are closed and partly because this makes no sense. If they were also banning cruise ships Id walk back my comment.

 

[Scuba_88]

First off if cruise ships are dumping crap they should be fined at ever increasing amounts until they can no longer afford to commit the infraction or are driven out of business. They take in money and turn a profit they can pay fees to do things the right way. However if the ships dock in the north and the currents come from the south and flow north it makes it difficult to say that anything they dump is making it down to the south end of the island... Unless there is some sort of counter current or they are dipping further south than they need to or they are originating from the south this is probably not the cause.

It's not a question that these ships are dumping sewage in the waters around the Yucatan. Like I said earlier Carnival alone was busted 800 times just from April 2016- April 2017. They are under probation but still continue to dump waste in the ocean. This is the path that some of these ships take and you can see that a lot of the ports are actually further south than Cozumel. They probably dump south of Cozumel before they enter back into US waters as to avoid heavier fines.

 

[Dave Dillehay]

I really don't know. The government powers that be are beyond stupid and who knows when they might reverse themselves when reality sets in. I BET IT IS PRETTY SOON.

Dave Dillehay
Aldora Divers

PS I am a Mexican Citizen and embarrassed by these fools

 

[Lewis88]

I am thinking the same for our booked Nov trip. Partly because the best sites are closed and partly because this makes no sense. If they were also banning cruise ships Id walk back my comment.

Unfortunately we cannot change without losing a ton of money so we’re going in November. Just really disappointed that they’ve closed some of my all time favorite sites and they’ll be closed for my wife’s first time diving there.

And it’s all for nothing. This does nothing to address the problems and punishes divers. SMH at the government and this knee jerk reaction.

 

[flyboy08]

I really don't know. The government powers that be are beyond stupid and who knows when they might reverse themselves when reality sets in. I BET IT IS PRETTY SOON.

Dave Dillehay
Aldora Divers

PS I am a Mexican Citizen and embarrassed by these fools

Toss them a 1000 pesos.....