Save money while diving!

[deepdiverdan]

Having just returned from my holiday on Roatan with my girlfriend, I’m interested to find out whether what I saw happening at a dive shop is the normal for elsewhere.

We were staying in West End Village and as a beginner to scuba diving I was advised that it’s best to ask around to find the best deals and also get a feel for the shops. My friend had told me the worst thing to do is get an instructor who doesn’t make you feel safe. After asking around for a while I pretty much found that the majority of the dive shops charge a set rate for Open Water and Advance and then charge $10 for a Marine Park user fee. These dive shops said that to dive in their shops we would have to pay the fee which goes towards protecting the reefs.

One shop however said we wouldn’t have to pay the $10, this shop was Pura Vida. They said that it wasn’t mandatory and wasn’t necessary so their shop was cheaper than other dive shops in West End Village for dive courses. I thought it strange that a dive shop wasn’t interested in conserving their reef. It makes no sense to not help preserve the reef when running a dive shop. Are there shops elsewhere that aren’t interested in protecting their source of revenue?

Both me and my girlfriend decided to dive at Native Sons and are happy to say that we paid the $10 user fee. We would rather spend the money to help protect the reef than dive with someone that doesn’t.

My question is do other divers feel the same or am I just a coral hugger? Do people really choose a dive shop which can save them a few bucks but doesn’t promote conservation? Once qualified I even joined Project AWARE to show my ongoing support for reef protection.

 

[almitywife]

i might end up feeling the same way as you...may not have been what the guy was saying but how he was saying it and your feelings to that personality

im happy to pay a bit more if i feel the dive op is more professional or safe or gives me a overall better feel

cheers

 

[agwatts]

I think you did the right thing. The Oceans are our play ground and we need to preserve what we can while we can. I would gladly pay extra to protect our reefs and ocean life.

Bravo...

Greg

 

[Doc]

...or am I just a coral hugger?

Nah, a "local" feels the same way!

Pura Vida -....They also allow their customers to choose whether or not they donate top the marine park, which again reduces costs, sadly at the cost of conservation, frankly, I consider this aspect of their business to be an utter disgrace.

from Roatan Dive Shops, a handy little website chock full of fun "facts".

If you hadn't posted exactly the same harangue one year ago under a different first post user id, I would probably be righteously indignant.

But see- I remember you and that you were merely causing trouble for your competition.

You may have some readers fooled, but I've seen your malarkey before: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/bay-islands/176892-save-10-dive-luna-beach.html ...Last year's post.

Don't use a voluntary program and this free board to grind your axe... as worthy as it may be. You are not helping.

I think there are any number of big time operations you could attack from the shadows of a first anonymous post. Why don't you? Ahh- because these guys are your competition.

Go away. Again.

Here are the real facts:
http://www.roatanmarinepark.com/Website Images/Tag Sales 2007 - small.jpg

 

[deepdiverdan]

Thank you Doc for the information

I do think however you are confusing me with someone else. Having written 3,161posts, 3,162 once you respond to this message, you a veteran to this site and have read every message posted. Having read through the link regarding Luna Beach, it seems you are very opinionated and certainly speak your mind.

The point I raised was regarding conservation and it seems my question to the general public was misinterpreted by you. What I was trying to convey was asking people whether they would scrimp and save money by diving with operations that do not support conservation initiatives or are they willing to contribute to help preserve the environment. I feel that this is a very relevant topic and should be answered. The point with Pura Vida is that they said I don’t have to bother paying the $10, therefore making diving cheaper with their shop while other shops said I had to pay the $10 if I wanted to dive with them. In a way they were discouraging me purchasing the bracelet as it would be cheaper than diving elsewhere.

From looking at your attachment of Tag Sales in 2007 it provides an interesting perspective on tag sales. I can see that Luna Beach sold over 300 tags in 2007, indicating that what happened regarding the Luna Beach link you provided had an effect on sales. Looking at Pura Vida, a dive school which was certainly very busy while I was there, they sold 100 in a year, that’s 2 a week. The graph says it all. You yourself has provided people with an insight into dive shops that support the protection of the reef

Thanks

 

[jiminmd]

To me the the question is what does the Marine park do with the fees? It is my understanding that they have no real authority. I often see charter fishing boats trolling within the park boundry. Although when i was there a couple of weeks ago I noticed the the fishing boats seemed to be fishing outside the boundary. They can only enforce harvesting conchs or collecting short lobsters and I see this as only harrasing a few locals which does sustistance living. The one service the Marine Park does provide is maintaining the mooring bouys. It would go along way in garnering support if the federal government would give them more authority to enforce the park charter and if the Marine Park Authority would publish a finacial report listing income and expenditures. If they did this I think this would have more support for their voluintary fees.

 

[Doc]

I think, all in all Jim, that they are doing a pretty good job so far.

If they have done nothing else than establish and maintain mooring balls, that's plenty and a heck of a good start.

Their inherent inability to enforce is due in large part to the arcane structure of the legal and enforcement protocols of this country. It is mired in bereaucracy created with the best intentions of the Spanish and British.

I always throw down for the Marine Park Tag and also make separate donations. We paid off an importation duty and storage fee that was levied against the Reserve's mooring buoys by the Honduran Government.

Now think of that~ the Government held up the delivery of these buoys by demanding an import duty fee.... even though by law such items are not subject to import tax. In the mean time, storage fees were being incurred daily.

I say, God bless 'em for whatever they get accomplished. It has done wonders for the West and North sides allowing larger critters to flourish where there was not much left. You can go there and see larger individuals of what were once very common sights in the Mar Caribe.

Also- I urge you to look at the graph (that I posted above) of revenues from particular operators. Argue as one might in regards to how many this or that operation are not bringing in... look at the big operations that are at the bottom or not even on the charts.

Contributing and buying a tag should be a joyous experience and guests should be reminded about the potential benefits. At the place on the graph labeled "coco", at every turn, the guests are reminded of the potential good that this small amount of money will have. Look at what that gentle reminder caused: the single top tag sales & revenue producing dive operation. Consistently explaining added to a long standing tradition of reef preservation. It doesn't come out of thin air.

You gotta' start someplace.

 

[jiminmd]

Thanks Doc for your insite. My first few times to Roatan the place I stay at did encourage participation but stopped. Mainly because they felt (after reviewing the parks books) that the benifit was not worth the effort to collect the fee. I'll work on Ed to get back with the program when I get back in July. Even if they don't participate I will. The Marine Park area does have of a lot of larger critters.

Slightly of topic, after reading numerous post by you on the virtue of slowing down and finding the small neat stuff I did and WOW. Thanks for the tip. It only took a couple of years lurking, reading then finally doing it. But I'll never turn to the dark (south) side.

 

[Roatan Marine Park]

Please find attached a full break down of last year's accounts so you can see exactly where the money we received from user fees, donations, memberships, merchandise and grants went. If you look at our accounts you can see exactly what we spend and where we earn our funds. We have always promoted transparency and every month when we send the newsletter, I also attach a financial breakdown.

Our operations do much more than just install mooring buoys and patrol local waters. Please look at our website, Roatan's Sandy Bay and West End (West Bay) Marine Park, Honduras and read through our monthly newsletters to see what other projects we are currently involved in. We have helped set up a recycling program, the formation of the East Side group (AKA South Side Chapter Marine Park), a schools education program, establishment of a fishermen's and water taxi co-operative, alternative livelihood scheme to name a few.

The user fee is not mandatory and sadly if it did become so we wouldn't see a cent of it. The cash would be given to the municipality to distribute and it would be a similar situation as Utila. No one actually knows where the $3 daily fee that divers pay goes. Most dive shops make the fee mandatory as they strongly back our cause. They know exactly where the funds go and ensure that all divers pay. Some shops however do not and often fail to even mention the Marine Park in dive briefings. In the recent Lonely Planet on Honduras the Marine Park is mentioned and we are glad to see that it states that tourists should dive at shops that promote the Marine Park and not shops that simply use the moorings and discourage customers from paying the $10 user fee.

Regarding fishing, Honduran law states that it is illegal to use nets and spear guns and harvest lobster and conch (apart from several licensed vessels). There is no No-take area within the park regarding fish, therefore line fishing is permitted within the Park. We are currently working with the fishermen's alliance to strengthen bonds between divers and fishermen and are looking into the installation of FADs (Fish Aggregation Devices) to alleviate pressure on the reef

Hope this answers any questions. For more info please check our website out.

 

[Roatan Marine Park]

Dear Doc, one quick point, Coco on the graph is Coconut Tree Divers in West End and not CoCoView Dock Side even though they are a major supporter. The graph is just directed at the Sandy Bay West End Marine Park and does not include other shops outside the Park.

Jim, please provide me the name of the operation that you dived/stayed at. I would be interested to find out. Since we took over management 3 years ago there have been visual improvements with critters. I can gaurantee that if you snorkel in Half Moon Bay in West End you will see lobster and conch. Regarding sewage and development, we do what we can, but in reality it is the municipal that has the power to act.