Possible southern reef closure

[MrBigfins]

You are missing the point - I only asked that they wait for the formal meeting which was to take place in two days.
I would feel the same as you under the circumstances - but it does help to have all the facts and the premature release by somebody living in Texas who decided to release a badly translated English report, probably will not give you all the information you need. Thank you.

It may not give us all the information we need, but it gave us more information than any other source. This may have been very important to someone who only gets 1 week of vacation a year and was planning to schedule that trip this weekend? Any information about this issue would be extremely valuable.

 

[ggunn]

Read more about this sea urchin die-off in my latest book, Natural History of Cozumel. The damn things are now making a comeback, but I'm not so sure I am happy about that. It is kinda like if mosquitoes had a massive die-off and then made a comeback. Everybody on Cozumel used to have calcified spines of the suckers under the skin of their hands or feet.

And of course that wasn't my point, although urchins are not the invasive species in Caribbean waters, we are. But it was ships that brought the disease that killed so many of them, not divers.

 

[scubadada]

It seems to me that the reefs in Cozumel are under tremendous pressure, This is due to SCTLD, coral bleaching from increased ocean temperatures and other stressors, contamination from the land due to sewage and runoff, and perhaps due to diving pressure. Unless the conditions are made more favorable, our favorite reefs may be lost. Detailed, well collected, scientific information is in our best interest. If that is an inconvenience for divers, so be it.

What is the option, let it go unchecked?

 

[Scuba_88]

Does anyone know where all the raw sewage from theses cruise ships actually goes when the ships dock? Is it treated in a waste treatment plant? Just curious because in March these things were filling all the ports and some were the size of small cities. If Cozumel keeps building more cruise ship ports I feel like the sewage from these things will overload their systems.

 

[ChainDiver]

It may not give us all the information we need, but it gave us more information than any other source. This may have been very important to someone who only gets 1 week of vacation a year and was planning to schedule that trip this weekend? Any information about this issue would be extremely valuable.

This is my situation. I was just about to book flights.

 

[Johnoly]

This is my situation. I was just about to book flights.

Most divers go to Coz to see the beautiful fish,,,,,,,,,They are still there,,,,,Book a flight !!

 

[MrBigfins]

Most divers go to Coz to see the beautiful fish,,,,,,,,,They are still there,,,,,Book a flight !!

I respectfully disagree, the main reason I love Cozumel is the massive coral structures of the southern reefs. I tolerate the northern sites because of the pretty fish and feel it's a give and take with the group I'm diving with. So for some it is a huge deal. Palancar caves and Punta sur are hands down my favorite dives there, and both may be off limits.

 

[Dave Dillehay]

BTW, if they stop diving in the south the lion fish will take over and eat all the small fish. The DMs with spears have done a good job of controlling them, but with the proposed closing there will be unintended consequences and the idiots in charge ought to be reminded of that.

my 2 cents

Dave Dillehay
Aldora Divers

PS Before Aldora started diving Punta Sur in 1992 almost no dive op would take you that far, too much gas, so much unknown, yet Cozumel was a prime dive location without the far south.

 

[MrBigfins]

It seems to me that the reefs in Cozumel are under tremendous pressure, This is due to SCTLD, coral bleaching from increased ocean temperatures and other stressors, contamination from the land due to sewage and runoff, and perhaps due to diving pressure. Unless the conditions are made more favorable, our favorite reefs may be lost. Detailed, well collected, scientific information is in our best interest. If that is an inconvenience for divers, so be it.

What is the option, let it go unchecked?

I agree that they are definitely stressed, but I have seen no scientific data that divers produce a significant portion of that stress. I also have not seen or heard of plans to address the larger stresses that occur on the island that have scientific data showing that changes can make a difference.

 

[ReefHound]

We can justify any action as long as even one life is saved, or it's for the children, or to protect the environment...