The growing cost of diving

[Blackcrusader]

The most expensive part of diving is taking the time off from work.

Unless like me you are your company founder and the company pays for the dive vacations.

 

[admikar]

I’m unfamiliar with that last word, what is “work”??

IDK, it sounds kinda edible?

 

[DogDiver]

Well living in North Florida. I have almost 20-30 cave diving sites within a 50 minute drive. No charter fees. No sea sickness. Almost no weather issues other hurricane season. State park fees $4 per car per day. Ginnie Springs $25 per day or $400 annual pass for 24/7 diving. 32% nitrox is sold by the cubic foot so it’s cheeper than air. Oh, and “cave” fills to 3,800 psi.

 

[DogDiver]

Self service 24/7 banked 32%, 100% or Air. Fill your cylinders to what ever psi your comfortable with. Amigos Ft White Dive Center.

 

[TMHeimer]

Well living in North Florida. I have almost 20-30 cave diving sites within a 50 minute drive. No charter fees. No sea sickness. Almost no weather issues other hurricane season. State park fees $4 per car per day. Ginnie Springs $25 per day or $400 annual pass for 24/7 diving. 32% nitrox is sold by the cubic foot so it’s cheeper than air. Oh, and “cave” fills to 3,800 psi.

Though your diving and sites are way more interesting than mine, think I got you beat with shore diving costs. I have about 15-20 sites within that same radius but no provincial (state) park fees and no annual passes. No lifeguards, park anywhere you want free and walk in the water (just like NY area, yuk yuk). Our fills cost $6.00 Canadian (with fill card- our 15% tax on everything included), which = $4.70 US.
Other than our $2.00/litre gas ($8.00C a gallon), those are my total expenses other than any repair stuff.

 

[Etmutt]

Cost went up in Saudi as well, but marginally ( fill went from 6 to 7 $, boat from 90$ to 120$).
What really makes the diving more expensive here is the rapid depletion of the dive spots. Fishing (and scuba spear fishing) is doing a lot of damage. Only a few spots are still worth it but those are the ones the further away from shore and are more expensive to get to.

 

[Ana]

Cost went up in Saudi as well, but marginally ( fill went from 6 to 7 $, boat from 90$ to 120$).
What really makes the diving more expensive here is the rapid depletion of the dive spots. Fishing (and scuba spear fishing) is doing a lot of damage. Only a few spots are still worth it but those are the ones the further away from shore and are more expensive to get to.

What do they use for fishing?
Dynamite by their nets? power-heads on the shafts of the spear guns ? Shhhhesss

Here is S Florida things are nowhere close to 80's when I came to the area but what you describe sounds extreme.

 

[BlueTrin]

What do they use for fishing?
Dynamite by their nets? power-heads on the shafts of the spear guns ? Shhhhesss

Here is S Florida things are nowhere close to 80's when I came to the area but what you describe sounds extreme.

Don’t know if accurate:

Red Sea fish market assessments indicate high species diversity and potential overexploitation

In many parts of the world, particularly remote and underdeveloped regions, reports of fisheries catch, effort, and landing data are limited. In order…

www.sciencedirect.com

 

[plaamook]

Costa Tropical, S Spain.
Not a huge amount of sites but I like it well enough. 45-60 min dive generally.
Say 5€ for a 12 of air, tenner for petrol. Could be worse.

I don’t bother w boats. Haven’t found one local that will let me do my solo thing so it’s not really worth the cost. Can’t really afford it either way. But it’s about 80€ for two rib dives. Less than a mile trip I’d guess.

 

[Etmutt]

What do they use for fishing?
Dynamite by their nets? power-heads on the shafts of the spear guns ? Shhhhesss

Here is S Florida things are nowhere close to 80's when I came to the area but what you describe sounds extreme.

Nothing so extrem! Just a lot of fishers, really good at targeting the top of the chain. It may not seem like much, but a reef that is spear fished everyday of the year does not look as good as one that is not.

Eventually you can see a strong difference between the spot near from a fishing port and the one far away. And of course, given that we use the same port, the one far away are more difficult to access