Dan
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A ScubaBoard Staff Message...
1.4 billion Chinese unsustainable appetite on shark fins & rhino horns have almost wiped out the species. Sea cucumbers are next in line. Sad!
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Conservation and harvesting sea cucumbers
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1.4 billion Chinese unsustainable appetite on shark fins & rhino horns have almost wiped out the species. Sea cucumbers are next in line. Sad!
Johnoly
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Hopefully I can give you the view from a spearfisher's perspective........
The USA is very unique in that we are one of the only countries that allow spearfishing and hunting on Scuba Gear. Most every other country in the world requires ALL HUNTING by freediving only. {hunting on scuba is considered an unfair advantage}
In Fiji,, remember that each village is run by the 'chief'. The national government has very little enforcement or power in a village. If the chief allows Scuba/UBA/Hooka/Etc then it takes place. Just because a national minister says 'no' they really can't enforce it since they don't have the resources or money. In the village,,,it's the chief that has the power and enforcement.
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I know that I suffer from perceptional biases clouded by 64 years of living mainly in the US , Puerto Rico, and the Bahamas, and although I have traveled a lot, never once has someone asked me what I would like for dinner and the words "sea cucumber" come out of my mouth. Same goes for jellyfish, insects, raw octopus (although fried its quite tasty), or , perhaps the most repulsive thing I have ever seen anyone eat, a balut.
Eric Sedletzky
Contributor
Looks like a colorful oyster to me.
scubafanatic
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I'm more concerned about the 'poor' sea life being exterminated than I am about the 'poor' 3rd world 'divers' getting bent/killed. They are doing evil things on behalf of today's Evil Empire (Communist China) and deserve any bad karma they receive. Helping such 'divers' is akin to supplying Hitler with Zyklon B!
ummm, yeah.... probably not...
people need to survive, make enough of a living to eat, the rest of the world doesn't see everything as 1st world countries do, they see exploiting nature and the planet as basic opportunities for survival, I might not like it but it's their country, their waters, the issues need to be solved according to what makes sense for them, not necessarily the rest of us
Eric Sedletzky
Contributor
I think that’s a bit extreme.
I really don’t think Fijian divers are evil nasty people, I think they are doing what they have to to survive. A small island nation has no where to expand to geographically so they must work with what they have and they seize an opportunity as it arrises.
I do agree that the Chinese are deeply marinated in ancient culture and also feel they are entitled. There is also an unawareness by the chinese people of where some of those sea products come from or the damage that is caused by the harvest.
Just like people eating at red lobster in this country, they had no idea where the lobsters came from and how many people got maimed or killed to supply the American with their gourmet food. At least there was finally a news story exposing the horrors of South American lobster diving.
In China, I doubt very much there is or ever will be any information as to the horrors of Fijian divers getting bent and or killed. The Chinese are pretty insulated from information, and even if they did know I doubt it would have much effect on their habits.
The one thing I worry about now if I ever make it to Fiji, is getting decent and safe air fills. Reading about all these archaic
and primitive gear problems leads me to think that air fills will be full of water and taste like compressor oil because filters are worn out and replacements are scarce. If they can’t afford simple computers then that scares me.
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