Truth to Irwin death affecting interest in Sting Ray City Tours?

[SFScuba]

I read this article today that said that Irwin's death had caused a decline in the Sting Ray City tours:

http://www.smh.com.au/news/travel/i...ay-city-tourism/2006/10/09/1160246053751.html

Just curious if anyone had first hand confirmation of this. Also, wondering if the decline is more in the snorkeler/cattle boats that head out to the Sand Bar as opposed to the divers/dive boats that tend to head to the North Sound side. I think most divers would continue to feel comfortable doing the Stingray City dive, but snorkelers not as comfortable/familiar with swimming with sea life, might be more afraid of doing so after all the news.

Any actual info from GC or thought?

 

[Walter]

We can only hope. At least some good may be coming from his death.

 

[cayman diver]

yes it is quierter than last year(according to local wekend paper) no real cancellations though just less people booking.
it will all blow over soon
an unfortunite accident to a top bloke, but noone thought ot would be a stingray that would get him.

 

[mike_s]

Actually we were talking about this right after his death and said "wonder how many less bookings that cruise "stingray city" snorkel customers there will be." This was easy to predict based on the media coverage it received.

I imagine that most of the folks are not divers and have no clue about stingrays except what they see on TV.

Maybe it's better for the stingrays though... but now they've been feeding them, it completely changes their eating habits so unfortunately it could be bad for some of them. Just like feeding bears repeatedly will eventually "kill them". Not because of what they eat but because they quit hunting for food and become dependent on humans to provide it for them.

 

[SFScuba]

Maybe it's better for the stingrays though... but now they've been feeding them, it completely changes their eating habits so unfortunately it could be bad for some of them. Just like feeding bears repeatedly will eventually "kill them". Not because of what they eat but because they quit hunting for food and become dependent on humans to provide it for them.

My understanding is that the Stingrays were being "fed" long before diving became popular in the area. They would actually gather around the inlet when fishing boats would come in and clean their catch, throwing the guts etc. overboard. Not that this justifies continuing their feeding, but the population there had been resident for a while.

 

[goodeatsfan]

It's sad what happened to irwin. It's sad what's happening to stingray and their rep since his untimely passing too.