Code of Conduct for Diving with & Photographing Pygmy Seahorses

This is a link to an article that was just published by Dr Richard Smith on what he considers to be a Code of Conduct for Diving with & Photographing Pygmy Seahorses .
The article and downloadable PDF can be found at Code of Conduct for Diving with & Photographing Pygmy Seahorses | Richard Smith

To summarize,
... when care is not taken to observe and photograph them, the delicate seahorses and their seafan home can easily be damaged or killed by poor diver practices. Luckily, following surveys of several hundred divers, I found that they overwhelmingly support a Code of Conduct to protect pygmy seahorses and that avoiding only a few actions can significantly reduce harassment of the seahorses.
Summary of Code of Conduct:
1. Do Not Touch Pygmy Seahorses
2. Do Not Touch their Gorgonian
3. Do Not Use a Torch/Flashlight
4. Five Photo Limit per Diver
5. No Artificial Light for Video
6. No Night Diving with Pygmy Seahorses
7. Beware of the Surrounding Environment


Background to the Code of Conduct:
I spent many hundreds of hours observing natural pygmy seahorse behaviour, but also the interactions between divers and seahorses. I found that certain actions by divers cause stress to these miniature fish, which can have major implications for their health, reproduction and even survival.
Pygmies also have many other threats to contend with, such as destruction of their coral reef habitat and their reliance on healthy seafans for their survival. During my population estimates I found that they have one of the lowest population densities of any unexploited seahorse yet studied. Their reliance on seafans means that they can easily be protected within marine protected areas, however these areas are frequented by divers. Thus the aim of this Code of Conduct is to minimise the impact divers have on seahorse populations.
The seafan (gorgonian) home of the seahorses is also hugely susceptible to damage. Seafans are very delicate and slow growing, with large seafans easily reaching 100 years of age. Sadly, when they come into contact with the equipment, camera or bubbles of divers they can be damaged so much they are no longer inhabitable by seahorses. Pygmy seahorses require a healthy, living seafan where they spend their entire adult life on a single seafan, meaning that if the seafan dies so does the seahorses.

Sign me up! I still believe we need "ten" rules for underwater photographers, accepted and taught by all agencies. Include:

1. No more than one finger on a dead part of the reef, sand, substrate.
2. Do not manipulate, herd, or move the creature.
3. Do not manipulate any structures, living or "dead".
4. Inform dive guides you do not expect them to manipulate creatures for you.
5. If you cannot get the shot without doing any of the above float away.
6. If the guide finds it take 4-5 quick photos, float out of scene and get back in line.
7. If you find it take all the time you want. Other photogs need to stay out of your shot and not pressure you.
8. Always be thinking of relationship to the reef to help avoid coming in contact with it.
9. ADD AS YOU SEE FIT......

Ok so maybe only 7 rules....

I find it amazing that someone has come up with a code of conduct for watching/photographing sea horses

And no "reef skewers"... those stainless steel muck stick coral-kabobs.

After you get the photographers to sign on, get the divemasters aboard. The divemasters in Lembeh, for example, are convinced that their tip relies on their photographer charges getting great shots, and they are willing to poke, prod, and otherwise stage shots to that end. With the language barrier, it is often difficult to communicate the idea that you would prefer to photograph undisturbed wildlife, to the extent that is possible (once you've fired your strobes the wildlife has been disturbed, if your approach didn't already). I have found resorts that make quite a show of reef conservation still have divemasters willing to flout all those rules posted in the dive-briefing area.

Code of conduct for photographers!!!
Fat chance.
There is no such thing as etiquette for them. It is first come first serve, the rest can wait or pi#% o&*.

I have been kicked so many time by these bunch anti-social SOB that I know how to deal with them.

Centrals:

Code of conduct for photographers!!!
Fat chance.
There is no such thing as etiquette for them. It is first come first serve, the rest can wait or pi#% o&*.

I have been kicked so many time by these bunch anti-social SOB that I know how to deal with them.

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Suggestions: A) Don't put yourself in the way of another divers' fins, photographer or not. B) Find your own stuff to look at--it's a big reef. C) Wait until they're done--there's a lot of other things to look at in the meantime--it's a big reef.

Five photo limit? What is that so that his photo sales are better? The number of photos taken has nothing to do with potential damage. At most, this would seem to be targeted at limiting the time spent in a location to limit potential damage. If so, say no more than 5 minutes or something. IMHO, this photo limit takes whatever credibility this so called code had and throws it out the window.

we should try to be very aware of whats going on around us when were taking pictures,,i tuck all hoses into something and fin very gentlely when im getting in close to the reef or theres something hiding away in an awkward place,,i have had other divers come right over to where im taking pictures and kick me in the head with there fins because they think there gonna miss something so other non camera weilding divers can be a pain in the arse too

vladimir:

Suggestions: A) Don't put yourself in the way of another divers' fins, photographer or not. B) Find your own stuff to look at--it's a big reef. C) Wait until they're done--there's a lot of other things to look at in the meantime--it's a big reef.

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(A) They will come from nowhere and barge in if they know I had seen something nice. They believe they have all the right.
(B) I always do and keep the distance from them.
(C) I never wait because I never interested what they had seen.