Prevention of Coral damage

[Dectek]

If the diver is surveying damaged coral we can also take the word damaged as "Dead". He would not be there if it was not dead or damaged. If it is already dead ......is there harm in allowing his fin to make contact?

That arguement asside...I agree with Runvus4 in the fact that he is not in contact with this fin. You can positively see a ligher area between the fin and shadow of the fin on the reef.

 

[MikeFerrara]

cstreu1026 once bubbled...
Its amazing that the editor of the article would have chosen that picture. I would guess that he or she isn't a diver.

Just like most of the other pictures in all the other magazines.

Cold water diving does suck and the viz in quarries is usually terrible. But there are a lot of fish, at least at the one i have visited, and it is much cheaper than a weekend trip to the carribean.

Cold water doesn't mean that I'm cold. We get some fantastic vis before the other divers show up. None of the text books mention that the day of the week had a greater effect on vis than any other single factor but it is true.

 

[JDostal]

Eh, what's it matter anyway if the guy's foot is touching the coral?

That's prettry minor compared to some of the other atrocities I got to see on my Blackbeard's trip. Chunks of coral being knocked off the reef, sea fan's toppling....and that was only one week.

I can see how the WWF is getting angry at scuba divers. I mean c'mon - if what I saw is representative of only a week, what kind of damage must that reef get in a given year?!

 

[Jester]

Just 'cause some of us take pictures doesn't mean we all do damage to the coral. I for one, am extremely careful not to touch anything, and if I have to touch some coral to take a picture, then I don't take the picture.

As for the cold water and low vis, y'all need to visit Balmorhea in west Texas. 75 degrees, 60 ft. vis, and THOUSANDS of fish. Unfortunately, it's not very large or very deep.

DSAO

 

[DiverBuoy]

I think I might just have to write the editor. I think it's obvious to me that the scubapro gorilla pro fin is bending against the surface of that coral, and it doesn't look dead to me. Either way it's a rediculous shot to be chose as the "model" - considering the material contained in the article!!!

 

[DiverBuoy]

Dear Editor,

I must say that I am completely apalled at the choice of picture for the article on coral reef damage, citing divers as a major cause. Here is a link to your article: http://www.cdnn.info/eco/e030223/e030223.html

The picture depicts a surveyor with a PVC rig taking pictures of or measuring reef damage. However, this diver's own right-side ScubaPro Gorilla Jet fin is impacting the reef and even bending! As a PADI Instructor I can reassure you that this diver was not trained by me! It is an absolute NO NO to ever touch a reef with any part of your body or equipment - even when concentrating on U/W photography, you can't brace yourself for a good photo, you must learn perfect buoyancy technique and lung volume control for fine tuning!

Of all the articles you could choose to attach such a photograph I can only gasp at the logic of your selection! I must assume the editor who chose that picture is not a diver themselves. I would ask that you change out that shot with a less incriminating image. In doing so you can set better role-model behavior for the very divers your article is trying to make an appeal.

 

[Conor]

The comment on photographers was only targeted at the minority who were discribed in the previous post.

DB, let us know if you hear anything back on that.

 

[diverkim]

hoover once bubbled...
Just 'cause some of us take pictures doesn't mean we all do damage to the coral. I for one, am extremely careful not to touch anything, and if I have to touch some coral to take a picture, then I don't take the picture.

As for the cold water and low vis, y'all need to visit Balmorhea in west Texas. 75 degrees, 60 ft. vis, and THOUSANDS of fish. Unfortunately, it's not very large or very deep.

DSAO

As Conor pointed out the comment was not meant to infer that all photographers are destructive of the environment. I commend your care of the environment when taking photos.

Also I'm interested in this Balmorhea in west Texas. Warm, great viz, and "THOUSANDS of fish." Sounds like you guys have been keeping a good spot secret. What kinds of fish?

 

[diverkim]

DiverBuoy once bubbled...
Dear Editor,

I must say that I am completely apalled at the choice of picture for the article on coral reef damage, citing divers as a major cause. Here is a link to your article: http://www.cdnn.info/eco/e030223/e030223.html

...

Of all the articles you could choose to attach such a photograph I can only gasp at the logic of your selection! I must assume the editor who chose that picture is not a diver themselves. I would ask that you change out that shot with a less incriminating image. In doing so you can set better role-model behavior for the very divers your article is trying to make an appeal.

Well done DiverBuoy. I went to the website and also posted the following response:

Dear Cyberdiver,

Great article on a topic important to all divers: protecting coral from damage. However, the photo is rather incongruent with the text. In the photo we see a diver either with lack of concern for the environment or with poor buoyancy. His fin is in contact with the coral. A photo chosen showing proper buoyancy and thereby depicting proper respect for the environment would have been in better keeping with the article.

 

[JDostal]

It would be interesting to see if you actually get a response to it.

It's definitely one heck of an interesting photography rig the guy has in the picture. I can't say I've ever seen anything like it before.