Divers dying every lobster opening. This has to stop!

[fire_diver]

I don't quite get the idea of letting someone kill themselves to strengthen our gene pool. Address the problem before government steps in to ban harvesting lobster altogether. Perhaps issue licenses after a short course in diver safety, but do something. To let people go out and die isn't a good solution. With medicine and knowledge, we change the concept of survival of the fittest. Most of us would be dead were it not for outside help, such as medical or our beloved PADI training. Go ahead and make another PADI certification.

The financial burden of an uninsured, crippled diver is astronomical. Long term medical care is expensive. I , as a taxpayer, would rather not pay for another persons lack of preparation or recklessness... At the very least, require insurance before issuing a lobster license. We do it with our driving rights.

Stay safe

Insurance is to pay for damage you cause to others, there is no requirement to have insurance to pay for your self-inflicted damage. We don't need PADI. People were scuba diving long before PADI was ever dreamed of.

WE don't need to do ANYTHING. I guess by your thinking we should ban all driving because some people drive drunk. We should also ban all knives because people commit crimes with them. Better ban all alcohol sales and all unhealthy foods. Should probably just outright permanently ban all scuba diving because people die while doing that whether bug hunting or not.

You should probably be wrapped in bubble-wrap and sit in a padded prison cell 24/7 so that you can't possibly harm yourself.

In other words, QUIT TRYING TO DICTATE HOW EVERYONE ELSE LIVES! Go "stay safe" in your padded cell, I'll go sky-diving and scuba diving and many other things which might end my life prematurely simply because I enjoy doing them.

 

[Basking Ridge Diver]

Address the problem before government steps in to ban harvesting lobster altogether.

Why would the government step in?
This is not a harvesting issue - at least I dont see it that way - no one died from a spear shot or a lobster mauling...
They died from poor planning and basic water/scuba skills... How do you fix that? That is what may need to be addressed - although I am not a proponent of that either - SELF RESPONSIBILITY will fix that in my opinion.

"You should probably be wrapped in bubble-wrap and sit in a padded prison cell 24/7 so that you can't possibly harm yourself." - Didnt Plastic bags get banned just recently? No bubble-wrap either - falls under the plastic bag ban...

 

[vincent54]

Insurance is to pay for damage you cause to others, there is no requirement to have insurance to pay for your self-inflicted damage. We don't need PADI. People were scuba diving long before PADI was ever dreamed of.

WE don't need to do ANYTHING. I guess by your thinking we should ban all driving because some people drive drunk. We should also ban all knives because people commit crimes with them. Better ban all alcohol sales and all unhealthy foods. Should probably just outright permanently ban all scuba diving because people die while doing that whether bug hunting or not.

You should probably be wrapped in bubble-wrap and sit in a padded prison cell 24/7 so that you can't possibly harm yourself.

In other words, QUIT TRYING TO DICTATE HOW EVERYONE ELSE LIVES! Go "stay safe" in your padded cell, I'll go sky-diving and scuba diving and many other things which might end my life prematurely simply because I enjoy doing them.[/Q

Insurance pays for medical due to an accident, at least in Michigan.


I dove long before the certification requirement. As the number of divers and the number of accidents grew, the need for safe training was identified and established . Same with our hunting, driving cars,planes and motorcycles. Early days required no license, but as number of participants and accidents increased , guess what? Licenses are now required.. PADI is a recognized agency, just a suggestion.

Your defiant attitude is admirable, but 4 deaths in a short time period tells me the current concept is wrong.

And to BRD, look whats happening in Florida to Shark dives(Ex. Emerald Diving). A perceived problem to the public will bring government interference whether you like it or not.



As always stay safe

 

[MaxBottomtime]

You should probably be wrapped in bubble-wrap and sit in a padded prison cell 24/7 so that you can't possibly harm yourself.

Apparently that won't work either.

Coast Guard Rescues Man In Floating Bubble - The Daily Catch | The Daily Catch | TerraMar Project

 

[vincent54]

Apparently that won't work either.

Coast Guard Rescues Man In Floating Bubble - The Daily Catch | The Daily Catch | TerraMar Project

That will be my next crusade, keeping people out of plastic balls. However, I'm only one person. Cheers

 

[Basking Ridge Diver]

And to BRD, look whats happening in Florida to Shark dives(Ex. Emerald Diving). A perceived problem to the public will bring government interference whether you like it or not.

Taken from
South Florida dive boat operators charged with shark feeding - Sun Sentinel
But shark feeding was banned by the wildlife agency out of concern it was altering sharks' behavior in ways that could put the public at risk.
"Wild animals of any kind are unpredictable," said Lt. Dave Bingham, an agency investigator. "Any time you change their behavior you're creating an unnatural environment that could be extremely dangerous, and it could cost you your life."

How does feeding sharks and harvesting lobsters connect?
Feeding sharks will encourage them to check out other divers so I kind of get that - don't agree with it but I can understand that and they were foolishly enough in State waters not in Federal water. If California chooses to do something - not much from NJ I am going to complain about that is a local issue to me.
Chasing a lobster or abalone or a sea star is not the issue to me - the issue is these folks are not responsible for themselves. And I dont see how a statute or new class is going to change that - unless California changes a law for annual refresher courses or renewable licenses - but how would you enforce it?
More tax dollars would work - then what program receives less? Prisons - social services - infrastructure?
Don't see it happening and not sure I would accept something like that in NJ without a serious discussion and push-back...

 

[vincent54]

In the publics eye, both are dangerous. Whether real or not. And there will be laws to save the general public. It happens time and time again.(for example our motorcycle helmet laws) Hunters and fishermen all pay a fee in our area, and young hunters are required to take a safety class. A safety class for lobster harvesters wouldn't solve all the problems but it would be a start. Allowing this to continue will eventually bring outside interference and possible restrictions. No deaths, no problem. In terms of pushing back, it's usually easier to prevent things than try to change the DNR's mind once they make a decision. Cheers

 

[vcblklion]

I am very disappointed in this thread. I came here to read up on specifics that may have been offered into the unfortunate deaths of these divers....instead I saw a whole lot of comments speculating, insulting, denegrating, posturing and bragging about.........nothing really.

Not one of these threads provided an ounce of factual information as to how these divers died....Was their equipment faulty? Did they drown? Did they suffer some form of DCS? Was there some sort of entanglement? If they were swept away by current how did it happen?

I, for one, do not underestimate the danger of this activity and for that reason I try to read up on as much case study as I can of mistakes or accidents that happened to others. This thread however was unbelievably devoid of factual information (other than the very informative comment made by DrBill on the decrease in marine life here in the U.S.).

Shame folks.......

 

[vincent54]

The OP asked, "What can we do, as a community, to stop this?" I didn't see this thread as an accident analysis.

 

[Dr. Lecter]

Allowing this to continue will eventually bring outside interference and possible restrictions.

Society accepting that as an inevitable, much less acceptable, outcome is a much bigger problem than a handful of accidental deaths.