Possible southern reef closure

[flyboy08]

I’ve stayed next door at the Occidental numerous times without ever seeing the slightest bit of sewage in the water we often hang out in. They have a humongous treatment plant on site. I assume their sister site, Iberostar has same.

 

[PKoski1052]

Yes, that IS what is implied. The waves conditions diving North and the currents are much more intense. As you go North the island curves away leaving you in more of an open ocean environment.

The currents underwater can be more intense also.

Only dive OP's that have open sea vessels should take divers. Also, divers seperate much faster due to the intense currents that could occur.

Aldora (no ment to be a banner waving) takes great pains to make divers safer when diving North sites. Also it is NOT for novice divers since you could experience severe changing conditions.

However, taking the correct boat, making sure everyone has and a SMB, locator beacons... does minimize the risk, but does not eliminate it. Proper training is important. Knowing how to save yourself in an emergency...

Above these items it is also good to carry an old fasion signal mirror. Batteries die, electronic flood....

The sites up North are very nice, if wind is down or blowing in a favorable direction.

Agreed, and please take note when dives " up North " are looked at as a fix. I have quite a few dives " up North " and the waters are very treacherous to say the least. Definitely not a place for novice divers and a move to do more diving " up North" will lead to lost divers and further bad press. For those of you who have dove Barracuda etc. please chime in.

 

[Christi]

Here is the statement we posted on my Facebook page:
Blue XT~Sea Divers

In the spirit of total transparency, we want to make our divers aware of the current situation in Cozumel which will affect our clients in the upcoming months. The Marine Park has announced that it is temporarily closing a section of the reef from Palancar Gardens all the way around the south tip of the Island. This includes the entire Palancar system, Colombia, and Punta Sur. You can see the planned closures in red in the graphic.

The closure is planned to go into effect October 7 and expected to last until January 2020, when they will re-evaluate the health of the reef. The water sport organization, ANOAAT, is working with the marine park in an attempt to stagger the closures, but it remains to be seen if they will consider that tactic or not. So for now, we must plan for this restriction and wanted to inform our divers of this development. We will keep everyone posted with any new information that comes from the Marine Park.

We apologize for the inconvenience and sincerely hope that this will not cause any of our divers to cancel their dive trip to Cozumel. The other reefs will remain open. And who knows? Maybe our DMs will discover some new reefs north of the park that would be suitable for our clients.

Please feel free to contact us at info@bluextseadiving.com if you have any concerns.

It has come to my attention that the e-mail I provided above was wrong - LOL - I have corrected it. E-mails should go to info@bluextseadiving.com

 

[knucklebusted]

I think all Cozumel divers should help reorder this list for the suspected culprits of stupidity.

1) in my book would be sewage runoff - I would hate to see a in depth drone recording of where it is all going.

2) Illegal Dive Operators. Especially those who take tourists ( morons ) out to El Cielo to pick up and handle starfish

3) Lack of funding for park rangers ? I have never seen a ranger in 20 years of diving on Cozumel. They do need a robust group of rangers who tough enough to start handing out some heavy fines and confiscating boats and gear to get everyone's attention.

4) Cruise Ships ? Cruise ships should be monitored carefully in order to discover which ones are emptying sewage tanks in international waters. A joint group from all of their ports of call would then start publishing names and details of this illegal dumping.

That should take care of 95% - Next for you US Citizens, please vote in 2020 and vote out that idiot the Denier in Chief who believes global warming is a hoax.

I agreed with you until you went political. That has no place in this thread.

 

[Brules]

Agreed.

As to the hotels and waste handling, even with a large waste treatment plant at the OG - where does that "brown" water go? What about all the houses and hotels south of town with no treatment ability?

I have heard repeatedly they inject it (brown water and raw sewage) into the ground, which would then filter out into the ocean as the whole island is filled with underground tunnels and rivers that dump into the reef. Not sure if true but it is a subject not many locals want to discuss in my 25+ years of visiting and asking quite often.

In addition -it is suspicious that the bacteria problem is both in Miami and in Coz - the most commonly shared thing between Fl and Coz is = cruise ships? Makes you wonder......and they DEF dump brown water into the ocean by the tooooons.

 

[deepsea21]

Based on how this disease has spread I think we can probably blame large ships that utilize ballast water for its rapid spread but the ships are not the cause of the disease. If it weren't spread quickly by ships' dumping infected ballast water in uninfected areas it would still spread on its own just as the lion fish infestation did. No one transported and dumped 1000 lion fish at each island in the Caribbean - they moved on their own carried by the currents just as this waterborne disease is carried but if someone did dump 1000 lions at every island they would have spread that much faster.

The reality is this disease has reached Cozumel and it is now creeping down into Belize. In time it will most likely spread throughout the entire Caribbean and throughout the globe (lion fish are now showing up in Europe). Scientists are attempting treatments on individual infected corals when the disease is identified to try and halt the spread on that specific piece of coral but that doesn't mean that coral can't become infected in another place at a later date as the disease is waterborne. With all the coral in the reefs, the concept of treating every individual piece that becomes infected throughout the Caribbean is futile... Like trying to extinguish a forest fire with a garden hose (or trying spear every lion fish in the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico and up the east coast of the USA).

Bottom line, the world is changing and the primary reason is human overpopulation. Cut the population in 1/2 back to where it was in 1970's and lots of these problems would probably vanish but that isn't going to happen and the population is only going to keep increasing. In a way this is kind of coral superbug and it is going to kill a lot of coral. In time, humanity is going to face another superbug that is going to kill a lot of the global population. The world's top scientists have concluded in the end it's going to be the microscopic things that cull our population, not a meteor impact, gamma ray burst, or some other extraterrestrial event. Everyone knows bacteria and viruses thrive in polluted environments and the earth is only going to get more polluted as the population continues to increase. So drink from paper straws, use fabric grocery bags that you fill with products in plastic packaging, drive a hybrid or electric car that is charged with fossil fuel generated electricity and continue your self delusion that you making a difference that is going to change the ultimate outcome. As another posted, 99.9% of everything that has ever lived on earth is now extinct for all sorts of reasons but the world is still here and continues to change/evolve.

 

[scubadada]

Based on how this disease has spread I think we can probably blame large ships that utilize ballast water for its rapid spread but the ships are not the cause of the disease. If it weren't spread quickly by ships' dumping infected ballast water in uninfected areas it would spread slowly on its own just as the lion fish infestation did. No one transported and dumped 1000 lion fish at each island in the Caribbean - they moved on their own carried by the currents just as this waterborne disease is carried but if someone did dump 1000 lions at every island they would have spread that much faster.

The reality is this disease has reached Cozumel and it is now creeping down into Belize. In time it will most likely spread throughout the entire Caribbean. Scientists are attempting treatments on individual infected corals when the disease is identified to try and halt the spread on that specific piece of coral but that doesn't mean that coral can't become infected in another place at a later date as the disease is waterborne. With all the coral in the reefs, the concept of treating every individual piece that becomes infected throughout the Caribbean is futile... Like trying to extinguish a forest fire with a garden hose (or trying spear every lion fish in the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico and up the east coast of the USA).

Bottom line, the world is changing and the primary reason is human overpopulation. Cut the population in 1/2 back to where it was in 1970's and lots of these problems would probably vanish but that isn't going to happen and the population is only going to keep increasing. In a way this is kind of coral superbug and it is going to kill a lot of coral. In time, humanity is going to face another superbug that is going to kill a lot of the global population. The world's top scientists have concluded in the end it's going to be the microscopic things that cull our population, not a meteor impact, gamma ray burst, or some other extraterrestrial event. Everyone knows bacteria and viruses thrive in polluted environments and the earth is only going to get more polluted as the population continues to increase. So drink from paper straws, use fabric grocery bags that you fill with products in plastic packaging, drive a hybrid or electric car that is charged with fossil fuel generated electricity and pretend you are making a difference that is going to change the ultimate outcome. As another posted, 99.9% of everything that has ever lived on earth is now extinct for all sorts of reasons but the world is still here and continues to change/evolve.

That is very fatalistic philosophy, are you suggesting that no one should take an action that might reverse the course we are on?

 

[ggunn]

The closure is planned to go into effect October 7 and expected to last until January 2020, when they will re-evaluate the health of the reef.

Have you any idea what this re-evaluation will result in, given the alternatives? It would be ironic if the reef suddenly got a lot healthier during the closure and it resulted in the reefs being closed to divers permanently.

 

[ggunn]

True. We as a species, and many other species might not be on it though. There have been more than a few mass extinction and near extinction (in the case of humans) events in the past.

Right on. Saving the planet isn't the point; the planet will do just fine with or without us. Whether conditions will remain conducive to human survival is another thing altogether.

 

[deepsea21]

That is very fatalistic philosophy, are you suggesting that no one should take an action that might reverse the course we are on?

It is indeed troubling. I am saying that one can take action but they should do so knowing they are not going to change the ultimate outcome.