Possible southern reef closure

[ChuckP]

This video was posted on YouTube yesterday. What I get out of the video is that more emphasis needs to be placed on education. The guy that posted this probably didn't think there was anything wrong with it. Last year a DM from Playa got in a bunch of trouble for something similar. If this DM thought he was doing wrong, why would he let himself be videoed? 19 seconds in and you will see what I am referring to.

My uneducated guess is it's not a dive shop that gets their tanks from Meridio (sp?) But oh look, we found more videos, same guy. Oh look at that, there's that aluminum poker clipped off to that guys left side and oh what a view of the boat.

That's utter BS, close reefs but allow this crap.

 

[Mike Walker]

The guy that posted this probably didn't think there was anything wrong with it.

This reminds me of a couple of dives in Curacao.
On the boat was a gentleman from Texas.
Said Texan had his stick.
On each dive anything and everything got poked whether it needed poking or not.
And I do mean everything.

I'll never forget the expression on one eel's face.
I never imagined a fish could so succinctly express 'WTF man!?!'.

On the plus side that video makes me less weary of scorpionfish - that one put up with a lot...

 

[NDL_Diver]

Most people with camera's these days have barely the skills to dive. Put a camera in their hand and they think the shot is the most important thing.

I have been diving for 25 years and I take pride in my buoyancy skills. I must admit I occasionally get tunnel vision staring at something and lose track of my surroundings. In those moments I do become vulnerable of my space. That is when i may wind up accidentally touching (though rare) the reef.

Put a camera in your hand and you get tunnel vision all the time. You focus on the subject. Couple that with trying to get the perfect shot, adjusting you lights... and you get photographers constantly touching the reef.

I have been pushed out of the way by photographers too anxious to wait there turn. I have had a photographer turn around in devils throat in front of me to try and get the shot.

My wife and I no longer signal other divers of things we see if we have a photographer in our group (unless we know there skill).

With Gopro, everyone has a camera no matter what skill level.

I did not like being lumped in the A$$ hole category so I hung it up my camera about 10 years ago.

 

[Lewis88]

This broad generalizations about photographers don't help anything. The root cause is divers doing things before they're ready (ie. adding a camera, new gear, new certs, etc).

Many photographers take absolute care around the reef.

 

[tridacna]

This broad generalizations about photographers don't help anything. The root cause is divers doing things before they're ready (ie. adding a camera, new gear, new certs, etc).

Many photographers take absolute care around the reef.

Politely disagree. I’ve been diving for over 43 years and have found that most photographers (not all) are absolutely oblivious to anything not in their viewfinder. I don’t think that their behaviour is deliberately destructive. It’s just that if it’s not in the frame, it does not exist. It takes a rare photographer to balance this.

 

[ChuckP]

Politely disagree. I’ve been diving for over 43 years and have found that most photographers (not all) are absolutely oblivious to anything not in their viewfinder. I don’t think that their behaviour is deliberately destructive. It’s just that if it’s not in the frame, it does not exist. It takes a rare photographer to balance this.

Fortunately I’ve dove with some fantastic photographers, I have seen some train wrecks too but the few we dive with often are great

 

[DandyDon]

This reminds me of a couple of dives in Curacao.
On the boat was a gentleman from Texas.
Said Texan had his stick.
On each dive anything and everything got poked whether it needed poking or not.
And I do mean everything.

I'll never forget the expression on one eel's face.
I never imagined a fish could so succinctly express 'WTF man!?!'.

On the plus side that video makes me less weary of scorpionfish - that one put up with a lot...

Did you or anyone have words with the diver? I think that one dive of that crap would be plenty.

People tend to remember Texans, but not always in a good way.

 

[Mike Walker]

Did you or anyone have words with the diver? I think that one dive of that crap would be plenty.

People tend to remember Texans, but not always in a good way.

He made sure we all knew he was from Texas

From my perspective this was one of those 'dive and let dive' scenarios. He wasn't really harming anything, just bothering them - kind of like one does with a passing cat. Plus, I was kind of hoping to see something with teeth provide some more direct education... the underwater world is not defenseless (despite the views of some on this forum) and can often bite back when needed.

He was a nice enough guy - just had a peculiar way of interacting with things. As with us humans at the surface - it was important to him that everything knew he was there.

 

[cvchief]

Where do you get those sticks? Asking for a friend...

 

[DandyDon]

He made sure we all knew he was from Texas

There are all sorts of Texans. I'm a small town dirt & cow farmboy and sorta sometimes resent being compared to our big city citizens, but that's silly I guess.

He wasn't really harming anything, just bothering them - kind of like one does with a passing cat.

Huh? What does on with a passing cat? I usually say hi. Yard dogs inside town bother me when I'm out for a walk.

I try to treat wildlife the same underwater as I do in parks: Observe, but don't bother. I have no sympathy for those who tease Bison, then get medivaced to a hospital.

Where do you get those sticks? Asking for a friend...

Why do you want a stick?