How NOT to dive Monad Shoal in Malapascua. Is a Thresher sighting worth the damage?

[Bali Diver]

Very sad to hear this,especially at this site.but then to be honest i am not,those who do care about divers behaviour underwater are in the minority,from what i have seen and read in my experience of diving,here is just another example

 

[Mucksavage]

I am not sure in which class or with which agency this diver was taught the 'lie in the coral' technique. Monad Shoal continues to get trampled by people like this on a daily basis.

 

[h2odragon1]

To save the reef, the Dive Operations should build a platform, that could be lowered, and Positioned to Safely protect the reef! Confine the divers to that platform!

 

[Phil_C]

I think the DM/ dive guide should utilize the check dive to assess the skills of a diver and see if he/she is suited for a particular dive site (just a thought ) or better yet, the mainstream training agencies should emphasize trim and buoyancy during the certification process and make it a mandatory skill or at least teach the divers to maintain a respectable distance from the reef until they get their trim/buoyancy right (wishful thinking

).

Definitely wishful thinking that many dive ops will turn away a paying customer to protect the bottom. Sadly many are motivated by the dollar and not altruism, so the reef comes second to profit, no matter how short sighted that actually is in the longer term.

But basically we are four years on, but no further forward with the problems - P

 

[Hydreliox]

Limiting diver numbers as done in other places such as Sipidan may help to reduce damage as well. Certain shops have been known to send over 100 divers on a single morning to the site - plus all the other shops that send multiple boats. Might not help profitability in the short term, but could be a potential future investment.

I still think it would be a great place to instill 'scuba police' to get these people off the dives for causing damage.

Any possibility of local municipalities creating a fining system? It might get shops arguing with each other and create inter-shop tensions, but a further step towards self policing.

As usual, more effort needed by all parties required really.

 

[Mucksavage]

The Scuba Police idea has been suggested to the Mayor so lets see. Dive shops certainly have to take some blame and be way more proactive in briefings about what is not acceptable. However this forum is good for divers to consider how to behave and in no book does it say empty your tank, stretch out on the coral and relax. But people do it all the time.

 

[h2odragon1]

The Scuba Police idea has been suggested to the Mayor so lets see. Dive shops certainly have to take some blame and be way more proactive in briefings about what is not acceptable. However this forum is good for divers to consider how to behave and in no book does it say empty your tank, stretch out on the coral and relax. But people do it all the time.

A 'Scuba Policeman' Sounds like a reasonable Idea, but remember In the Philippines the Police can 'Look the other way' for a price!

 

[budasub]

Hi guys I have stay at Monad in January 2016 ,I went diving with Evolution diving, they encourage people before diving to maintain neutral buoyancy and not to lean ever to the bottom, I was not allowed to use either the aluminum stik that usually use to take pictures with my GoPro, i think it's fair to educate and encourage consumers to maintain the right set and not to ruin such a nice place, although it is difficult with tourists worldwide, i post my video of Malapascua, be good, are my first experiences with GoPro sorry for my english not very good

 

[Mucksavage]

Great video!

And no animals were harmed in the making of this movie.

 

[budasub]

Thanks, I'm glad of your policy in diving, in addition to preserving the sites should spur people to improve their buoyancy in the water, I'm not perfect but only immersing can be improved with the just guide, thanks