How to deal with the “coral breaker”?

[Boarderguy]

Do you now the guys first name? I have an older friend who was down there a 3-4 weeks ago and he's a handsy diver. I don't know if he switched to a go pro down there or kept using his other camera.

 

[PR_SMITH]

BFK?

Big F' Kick?

 

[Hoyden]

This is a situation that I have encountered too often. It bothers me enough that I actively avoid situations where I might be diving with people like this. I have used video to show divers the destrution that they are causing. I have also physically intervened once - I swam behind a guy holding his fins up off of the reef. He didn't even look back to see what was happening. In his case, I complained to the trip organizer (shop owner) and he said, "He's better now, you should have seen what he used to look like." This was my last trip with this shop. I know that avoiding seeing it doesn't prevent it from happening, but it does improve my enjoyment of my vacations.

 

[FishWatcher747]

If you want to actually change his behavior you'll have to have a pretty uncomfortable conversation. The hard but crucial part is avoiding triggering the fight or flight response in him. So if you start with "WTF, dude you're breaking all the coral" or "your buoyancy sucks, you need to improve it" you've lost already.

I don't think one should be that worried about "triggering the fight or flight response". His response is largely out of your control. "Are you aware that you are destroying up to 400 year old coral by your holding it with your hands and kicking it with your fins? Please stop doing that."

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

Here is a sure fire way to stop people from breaking coral. You must disregard any consequences.

Come over the top of the perp. Empty your BCD/wing. As you land on the perp, grab their inflator hose and deflate their BCD. Grab their valve and close it.

Pretend you are at the rodeo, grip their cylinder with your knees, and hold on as best you can. Eventually the bucking will stop as well as the breaking of coral.

(note to the MODs, yeah I get this probably violates the ToS, but it's a joke).

 

[lexvil]

Here is a sure fire way to stop people from breaking coral. You must disregard any consequences.

Come over the top of the perp. Empty your BCD/wing. As you land on the perp, grab their inflator hose and deflate their BCD. Grab their valve and close it.

Pretend you are at the rodeo, grip their cylinder with your knees, and hold on as best you can. Eventually the bucking will stop as well as the breaking of coral.

(note to the MODs, yeah I get this probably violates the ToS, but it's a joke).

I did the rodeo part once with a friend (or so I thought )on a Thailand trip, pretty embarrassing when it turned out to be someone I didn’t know.

more effective than the BFK would be to disallow exposure protection or rash guard, I had a quick brush with one of these

with the inside of my thigh, I still have scars, it burned for two days.

 

[overthinking_diver]

I don't think one should be that worried about "triggering the fight or flight response". His response is largely out of your control.

I don't think his response is out of your control at all. This is the whole point of the thread - how to approach the situation to get the response and the behavior change you want.

In my experience as a people manager in a very, very different industry the way you deliver constructive (negative) feedback is very important. It is often more important than the validity of the feedback itself.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

I don't think his response is out of your control at all. This is the whole point of the thread - how to approach the situation to get the response and the behavior change you want.

In my experience as a people manager in a very, very different industry the way you deliver constructive (negative) feedback is very important. It is often more important than the validity of the feedback itself.

so starting with yelling at the top of my lungs "Hey you dumb mοtherfυcker..." is not something you'd recommend?

That's the value of SB. I learn something new every day I come on here!

 

[Boarderguy]

so starting with yelling at the top of my lungs "Hey you dumb mοtherfυcker..." is not something you'd recommend?

That's the value of SB. I learn something new every day I come on here!

No, that's the best way to ensure they know you're A) talking to them and B) you emphatically mean what you're about to say. Makes everything clear and concise.

 

[rmssetc]

I have seen this several times but the most recent was four weeks ago while diving in Cozumel.


So how would others deal with this situation? I am not the police of the ocean and I know everyone at some point in their diving experience has maybe touched or broke a piece of coral. Pretty sure I did on accident but I have always strongly been aware of the coral and how fragile it is. I will also add that the dive master did repeatedly say during his pre-dive briefing, not to touch the coral, stay three feet off the bottom. This guy in my opinion has blatant disregard for wildlife and I am quite sure just in the four dives I did with him, he broke a dozen or more pieces of coral. Thoughts?

Assuming a typical CZM dive, in the marine park, with a DM.... You could [quietly] explain the situation to the DM and ask them to reiterate the park rules (and good diving practices) during the briefing for everyone before the next dive. That would establish proper behavior without confronting just one individual, and make it easier for you or the DM to say something to the offending diver if this continues.

Hopefully the DM puts preservation of the park, diver education, and the possible tip they'll get from you ahead of the possible loss of a tip due to reprimanding a problematic diver.

Oh, wait.

This is Scubaboard, and I just gave a calm and helpful reply.

Let me fix that....

How to address a diver who is damaging the reef?

Collect the broken coral and put it in the guy's wetsuit during the surface interval.