Possible southern reef closure

[Damian G. Finch]

The ridiculously high price of flying to Cozumel almost killed my New Year's trip to Cozumel. I just decided I would suck it up rather than break a 21-year tradition. I hope this isn't the beginning of the end for my beloved Cozumel ...

 

[ReefHound]

This past week I've been roughing out my 2020 plans. Among that was Cozumel in Feb/March. I may change that now.

Yes, it appears Iberostar is just north of the closure. But what concerns me is the abrupt, arbitrary, senseless actions of the powers to be and apparent disregard for the dive industry. Something like this should be discussed and planned well in advance. And the remote areas closed probably account for less than 1% of the effects. It does nothing about the sewage and runoff from resorts and beach clubs. It seems more about reducing the range that park rangers have to patrol.

My biggest concern is the instability and unpredictability. If they are willing to suddenly do this without regard for divers then next they may extend the closure further north. The next shoe to drop may be to reduce marine parks in proportion to marine sanctuary area closed.

 

[ChuckP]

The Navy.

That’ll be a full time job won’t it??

You can pay the navy full time to run boats up and down the coast but yet they can’t enforce existing rules - dishearting

 

[gopbroek]

I do not think that this was a senseless action
It is a feel good announcement that really does not effect the main economic players in Cozumel. There are no beach clubs, hotels or basically any dwellings between Playa Palancar and Rasta's. Diving was eclipsed long ago by the cruise ship tourism. I think they are gambling that the loss of a few divers will be a minimal hit economicly. Pure genius up there with a plastic straw ban fixing the oceans.

 

[ReefHound]

I do not think that this was a senseless action
It is a feel good announcement that really does not effect the main economic players in Cozumel. There are no beach clubs, hotels or basically any dwellings between Playa Palancar and Rasta's. Diving was eclipsed long ago by the cruise ship tourism. I think they are gambling that the loss of a few divers will be a minimal hit economicly. Pure genius up there with a plastic straw ban fixing the oceans.

Hmmm, in my book "feel good announcement that really does not effect" = "senseless action".

 

[ReefHound]

Was there any discussion at all with ANOAAT? There's nothing about this at all on their FB page.

 

[El Graduado]

That’ll be a full time job won’t it?? You can pay the navy full time to run boats up and down the coast but yet they can’t enforce existing rules - dishearting

As they said, they will announce to all the boat owners the new rules. The port captain will announce the new rules also. Then, the Navy will just have a fast boat at the pier in Palancar and will stop anybody heading south, which should be very few. The Navy does not need to patrol the whole park; no one is going to go all the way around the island to come up from the south.

Can you or anyone else specifically say which dive sites will be off limits? Are we talking an entire closure to all of the Palancar Reef system? Like everything south of La Francesa? Or does it even include Francesa and Dalila? Thanks...

The area that will be closed begins in Palancar reef, so parts of the northern end will still be accessible.

Was there any discussion at all with ANOAAT? There's nothing about this at all on their FB page.

The president of ANOAAT was at the meeting.

 

[Manatee Diver]

The area that will be closed begins in Palancar reef, so parts of the northern end will still be accessible.

Considering that some of the best diving I've had in Cozumel is in Palancar, I'll probably be skipping out on Cozumel until I am sure that it is reopened. In fact I am planning a trip for next year, I was planning on splitting the week between Cozumel and Tulum. I'm probably going to skip Cozumel altogether and just cave dive in Tulum the entire week.

 

[GameChanger]

Looks like I am going back to Grand Cayman for my dive trips...

 

[ggunn]

It also seems to me that if human traffic of some sort is bringing the White Blight to the island it's far more likely that it's cruise ships rather than divers.

I apologize for replying to myself, but I remember some years ago when there was a major dieoff of sea urchins in the Caribbean it turned out that the culprit was ships coming through the Panama Canal bringing non-indigenous disease organisms in from the Pacific. It seems to me far more likely that something like this has brought the White Blight to Cozumel than divers.