Possible southern reef closure

[ChuckP]

Although people are arguing about the reason for the closure, the fact that these dive sites have been closed is why we at Undercurrent informed our subscribers, in a brief email, and told them, if it affected them, to contact their dive operator for more information. That is all. Don't shoot the messenger. There is a full article in Undercurrent for October, about to be published any day now.

Undercurrent is not driven by advertising revenue. (... and, yes, I have been to Cozumel many times during the last 30 years. My wife was there recently. Tambien hablo castellano)

Maybe the messenger ought to have his facts a wee bit closer to the truth..

As a paid for service, even a non profit paid for service, I'd hope that you could get closer to the truth.

Dive site maps of park sites are public knowledge, STLCD requires about 60 minutes of your time to get caught up on - seems like you bothered with neither.

 

[ggunn]

[QUOTE="John Bantin, post: 8775616, member: 476346"... and, yes, I have been to Cozumel many times during the last 30 years. My wife was there recently.[/QUOTE]
So, in your many trips there, and I assume you went diving, did you observe widespread contact of hard corals by divers?

 

[LimitedSlip7]

I have heard from three divers (independently) that just returned from Coz that the reefs were is the worst shape that they had ever seen and fish were scarce. All three said that they would never return. Is this a result of the disease? None of the three knew each other and all are experienced Coz travelers. I'm considering canceling a group trip in April. Very scary.

Huh so it wasn't just my imagination. My fiance and I just got back from a trip last week and we both noticed and commented on the significant drop in life from what we saw last year (went twice last year, in April and the same week in September). Far fewer turtles, only one nurse shark, a couple of green morays. Didn't see much on the southern reefs... Definitely blight on every stony coral head that I saw.

Positives - loggerhead turtle on our checkout dive in front of Blue Angel! Of course I left my camera behind for our checkout dive... Saw three eagle rays this trip. Night dive on Paradise was great, many octopus and other critters out. Didn't see as many lionfish I we did the previous two trips and the ones we did see were smaller.

 

[El Graduado]

I read a little about him on Wikipedia (google translated so questionable), and it seems that he is the President of the Cozumel municipality, as well as mayor of the city which is the seat of the municipality.

The Municipio (it is not a municipality) is a political division of a Mexican state. Quintana Roo has 11 Municipios. See the map below.

When the state of Quintana Roo was established in 1974, the lands included in the Municipio of Cozumel were the island of Cozumel and 4,431.70 square kilometers of the mainland, including the towns of Playa del Carmen, Tulum, Coba, Akumal, Xcaret, and Xel Ha, among others. In 1993, most of Cozumel’s mainland holdings were stripped away and reestablished as the municipality of Solidaridad. The only mainland territory Cozumel retained were the two small enclaves of Xcaret (11.9 hectares) and Xel Ha (90 hectares). Besides Xcaret Park, the Xcaret enclave is also host to the vehicle ferry pier and cruise ship pier at Punta Venado and the Calica limestone quarry.

Pedro Joaquin Delbouis is the current Presidente of Cozumel. He has three more years left in his current term.

There is no city named San Miguel in Quintana Roo. It ceased to exist in 1936, when the Mexican federal government changed the names of almost all cities in Mexico that had religious names to names with no religious connotation. San Miguel became officially known as Cozumel at that time and that remains the name of the Municipio, the island, and the largest town on the island to this day. People still call the largest town San Miguel, but that is not its official name, it is just a nick-name now.

 

[tridacna]

Th

The Municipio (it is not a municipality) is a political division of a Mexican state. Quintana Roo has 11 Municipios. See the map below.

When the state of Quintana Roo was established in 1974, the lands included in the Municipio of Cozumel were the island of Cozumel and 4,431.70 square kilometers of the mainland, including the towns of Playa del Carmen, Tulum, Coba, Akumal, Xcaret, and Xel Ha, among others. In 1993, most of Cozumel’s mainland holdings were stripped away and reestablished as the municipality of Solidaridad. The only mainland territory Cozumel retained were the two small enclaves of Xcaret (11.9 hectares) and Xel Ha (90 hectares). Besides Xcaret Park, the Xcaret enclave is also host to the vehicle ferry pier and cruise ship pier at Punta Venado and the Calica limestone quarry.

Pedro Joaquin Delbouis is the current Presidente of Cozumel. He has three more years left in his current term.

There is no city named San Miguel in Quintana Roo. It ceased to exist in 1936, when the Mexican federal government changed the names of almost all cities in Mexico that had religious names to names with no religious connotation. San Miguel became officially known as Cozumel at that time and that remains the name of the Municipio, the island, and the largest town on the island to this day. People still call the largest town San Miguel, but that is not its official name, it is just a nick-name now.

View attachment 543050

This is the most interesting post so far. Thanks!

 

[DandyDon]

The Municipio (it is not a municipality)

Municipality is the English translation for Municipio, isn't it? I don't have any abilities in Spanish and avoid insulting the language by trying.

In 1993, most of Cozumel’s mainland holdings were stripped away and reestablished as the municipality of Solidaridad.

Many Texas counties were created that way.

Pedro Joaquin Delbouis is the current Presidente of Cozumel. He has three more years left in his current term.

As well as the mayor of the city, right? We elect county judges to govern, but they don't also serve as mayors.

There is no city named San Miguel in Quintana Roo. It ceased to exist in 1936, when the Mexican federal government changed the names of almost all cities in Mexico that had religious names to names with no religious connotation. San Miguel became officially known as Cozumel at that time and that remains the name of the Municipio, the island, and the largest town on the island to this day. People still call the largest town San Miguel, but that is not its official name, it is just a nick-name now.

How about that.

 

[El Graduado]

Municipality is the English translation for Municipio, isn't it?
As well as the major of the city, right?

No, a Municipio and a municipality are not exactly the same. Neither can you equate it to a US county or parish, even though "Wikipedia" does. It is a Municipio, a Mexican political division. A Municipio encompasses a large swath of unincorporated lands, unlike a municipality, and also includes chartered cities within its boundaries, like a county, but it is headed by a Presidente and not a commission. There are more differences as well.

There is no "mayor" of Cozumel. Pedro is the Presidente of the Municipio, and Cozumel is a town in Cozumel Municipio. You can't equate Texas political divisions and laws to Qunitana Roo's.

 

[DandyDon]

There is no "mayor" of Cozumel. Pedro is the Presidente of the Municipio, and Cozumel is a town in Cozumel Municipio.

Ah, ok, thanks. Also rich, well connected, and powerful it seems. That seems to be common.

You can't equate Texas political divisions and laws to Qunitana Roo's.

Nope, just comparing some similarities and differences. It's your country's government and none of my business. I'm glad you don't keep taking Santa Anna back as you used to.

 

[John Bantin]

[QUOTE="John Bantin, post: 8775616, member: 476346"... and, yes, I have been to Cozumel many times during the last 30 years. My wife was there recently.

So, in your many trips there, and I assume you went diving, did you observe widespread contact of hard corals by divers?[/QUOTE]

Yes.

 

[Charred]

So, in your many trips there, and I assume you went diving, did you observe widespread contact of hard corals by divers?

Yes.[/QUOTE]

If people were hitting the hard corals, you'd think all those barrel sponges, which present 3D obstacles, would be destroyed be now. Yet I always find it remarkable how pristine those barrel sponges are.

Given the health of the barrel sponges, I find it hard to believe there is widespread contact with the hard corals. Your observation strains credibility.