Possible southern reef closure

[El Graduado]

In this posting, I don’t notice any reference or informative rebuttal about the reported lack of any waste treatment capabilities in southern Cozumel resorts, and their dumping of waste in the ocean which compounds the waste dumped by cruise ships. To what extent is this true, and what regulations exist to protect the Cozumel waters and to what extent are they enforced?

No I did not address the unfounded and false rumors that the southern resorts don't treat their sewage; I addressed those rumors in an earlier posting when I spent a long time copying, cropping, and pasting a typical multi-page environmental impact statement from one of them showing the make, model, and specifications of their modern sewage treatment plant. It was on the internet due to Mexico's transparency laws. Anybody can look it up, but most people don't want to invest the time.

People on this board say there is no or little enforcement of the environmental laws in Cozumel. I can only point out things like the immediate stoppage of the survey work being done at Inmobiliaria Jaguar's property at Palancar, the blockage of the road that the ex-President of Mexico (now that guy had pull) wanted to build to Laguna Ciega in front of Isla de la Pasion, and now the "all hands on deck" move to address the problems (effectively or not) of the reefs. This government takes environmental laws and Cozumel's environment seriously.

 

[JohnWoods]

Over 400 dives in Cozumel and the most damage I've ever seen done to the reef was done by a turtle. Wish I had it on video but I was so amazed at the level of destruction I was witnessing that I never thought of recording it. It gnawed and gnawed at the base of about a 5' tall coral with all its strength (front flippers firmly planted for leverage) until it finally toppled over like a tree... It wanted to eat the white interior inside the base of it. As soon as it toppled over fish came rocketing in from everywhere eating all the scraps while the turtle gorged on the white interior of the base. I've never seen a diver do such a level destruction to the reef.

How about parrot fish spending all day crunching on coral ?? If a spreadable disease is upon the reef , I believe the natural inhabitants would do a very good job of spreading it unknowingly of course...... unlikely divers.

 

[ChuckP]

No I did not address the unfounded and false rumors that the southern resorts don't treat their sewage; I addressed those rumors in an earlier posting when I spent a long time copying, cropping, and pasting a typical multi-page environmental impact statement from one of them showing the make, model, and specifications of their modern sewage treatment plant. It was on the internet due to Mexico's transparency laws. Anybody can look it up, but most people don't want to invest the time.

People on this board say there is no or little enforcement of the environmental laws in Cozumel. I can only point out things like the immediate stoppage of the survey work being done at Inmobiliaria Jaguar's property at Panancar, the blockage of the road that the ex-President of Mexico (now that guy had pull) wanted to build to Laguna Ciega in front of Isla de la Pasion, and now the "all hands on deck" move to address the problems (effectively or not) of the reefs. This government takes environmental laws and Cozumel's environment seriously.

At least one, and I'm sure there are others, appreciate your insight.

We went to Maricaibo today - an old timer boat captain put his arm around me and said take a good look over there (at El Cielo), we can only pray it still looks like that when we are allowed to return. The captains typically make a beeline for our drop spots but today, he ran a lot closer to shore than usual..... There are many that have a complete love for this island, he's scared for this paradise and I hope he's wrong.

 

[Ron Lee]

At least one, and I'm sure there are others, appreciate your insight.

We went to Maricaibo today -

How was it? Did you see anything that might be SCTLD?

 

[ChuckP]

How was it? Did you see anything that might be SCTLD?

Yes, unfortunately. SCTLD has a firm foothold on the island as well as a lot of other places.

The good thing to report, six divers, three hours underwater and I seen one coral impact - maybe if we dive more often we can skew the parks numbers closer to reality.

 

[Christi]

Breaking official news: reefs will close from
October 7 and will re-open on December 15

This was the result of a meeting today with members of the dive community and the council that made the decision to close last week.

More information about the closure, enforcement plans, etc will be revealed in another meeting on Friday.

This is all of the information I have at this point.

 

[MMM]

Breaking official news: reefs will close from
October 7 and will re-open on December 15

This was the result of a meeting today with members of the dive community and the council that made the decision to close last week.

More information about the closure, enforcement plans, etc will be revealed in another meeting on Friday.

This is all of the information I have at this point.

Good job! I didn't think it would stand for long.

 

[John Bantin]

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.

Other things to get angry about in October's Undercurrent:

An economical trip aboard Raja Ampat Explorer

Advances in integrated-weight systems on BCs

Sea Saba - a delightful village and pristine Caribbean diving

After the storm – a Bahamas update

The tragic tale of the Conception fire

Dive vessel inspections – it’s not always as it seems

A design student’s concept is a full-face flop

Mexican Customs gets tough on underwater photographers

Climate change is affecting South Africa’s sardine run

Hotel choices for those not getting enough time underwater

Dying coral closes much of Cozumel diving

 

[Doctor Rig]

No I did not address the unfounded and false rumors that the southern resorts don't treat their sewage; I addressed those rumors in an earlier posting when I spent a long time copying, cropping, and pasting a typical multi-page environmental impact statement from one of them showing the make, model, and specifications of their modern sewage treatment plant. It was on the internet due to Mexico's transparency laws. Anybody can look it up, but most people don't want to invest the time.

People on this board say there is no or little enforcement of the environmental laws in Cozumel. I can only point out things like the immediate stoppage of the survey work being done at Inmobiliaria Jaguar's property at Palancar, the blockage of the road that the ex-President of Mexico (now that guy had pull) wanted to build to Laguna Ciega in front of Isla de la Pasion, and now the "all hands on deck" move to address the problems (effectively or not) of the reefs. This government takes environmental laws and Cozumel's environment seriously.

Thank you for your informative reply, El Graduado!

I just thought of another possible “diver impact” cause that doesn’t seem probable, but could be possible. I don’t recall seeing it discussed...... but could SCTLD contaminated divers equipment (maybe inside one’s BC) from other places around the world be a source of concern? Has this been considered?

 

[Doctor Rig]

From my own quick research, I’d say not probable......

What is possible is..... regulations specify that certain ships conduct ballast water exchanges beyond 200 nautical miles of any shore prior to discharge of ballast water within U.S. waters. In additional, vessels are encouraged to use their existing ballast water management systems to treat ballast water prior to release. Outside of U.S. waters, unmanaged ballast water should not be released within either 12 nautical miles of any shore or water less than 200 meters in depth.

Here’s a good reference.... Florida Reef Tract Coral Disease Outbreak | Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary