Steel Pointer Stick/Tank Banger?

[Papa_Bear]

IMHO, I think it is up to the local DM to decide! Are you the moral or SCUBA police? (stevenl) Your statement about what you want seems a little over the top to me? From what authority do you speak? As I told someone who has similar concerns about a Fijian DM "It's his reef and no one else knows better as to what that means to him, than him!" Most have the most high respect for the reef that puts money and food on the family table! So do you have evidence that some lasting harm is being done? I do understand that PC is important to many people, but in the vastness of the ocean, pulling one garden eel from its hole or one shrimp is pretty small potatoes compared to whats happing around the corner where they are dumping trash or sewage into the water? Just a few thoughts!

 

[stevenl]

So do you have evidence that some lasting harm is being done? I do understand that PC is important to many people, but in the vastness of the ocean, pulling one garden eel from its hole or one shrimp is pretty small potatoes compared to whats happing around the corner where they are dumping trash or sewage into the water? Just a few thoughts!

Agree, but the fact remains that it is not good to pull that one garden eel or that one shrimp from its hole. If we all do something to conserve whatever we can, we are on the right track, if we all think: I will pull that one from its whole, because somewhere else they are dumping waste, we really are waisting everything we can and as fast as we can.
It is not about the one garden eel (although if everybody was thinking the same it would be a lot of garden eels), it is the attitude that is IMO completely wrong.

 

[Zippsy]

Wow, I was thinking "what's the big with making a tapping sound?" although I agreed that tossing rubble into mantis holes was a bit much. Pulling garden eels and shrimp from holes? It may not kill off the species but I am damn certain it is abuse to that one garden eel or shrimp. What ever happened to don't touch?

BTW, the DM from Bali that tossed rubble into an octopus hole and tried to dig up some garden eels and a goby didn't get a tip from me. She got an earful of abuse though.

Also, some of those DMs with utmost respect for the reef are "parachuting" wonderpuses in Lembeh so that you can get that "Michael Aw shot". That seems to put more money and food onto the family table than real respect.

 

[Papa_Bear]

I think first of all it doesn't hurt the creature at all, nut it may provide a picture that my inspire someone else to come to the area and bring the Yankee Dollar! I have never seen any DM do something to kill or injure a reef creature or the reef..... After all it is their livelihood that is at stake! The eel or shrimp doesn't know if it is a cyclone or a DM and it seems to give the shrimp something to do! I just see very little harm in the action and I can only imagine what she said about the "Lecture" she got or the lack of tip! We need to not prejudge others actions, just because it isn't the way we do it! It may not be something I would do, but again its not my house, so I don't touch what belongs to others!

That is one of the reasons I made Reed's Rod so to make as little impact as possible yet let you get close without doing damage! 3/8" of an inch is better than a finger or hand or even a shoulder!

 

[stevenl]

Papa Bear, what happened to: don't touch?

but again its not my house, so I don't touch what belongs to others!

it does not bel;ong to them as well, they just want to make money, and good photo op's make more money than no photo op's.
We have the same problem here with a lot of the Thai DM's, they care about the money now (understandably), and don't give much consideration to the future.

 

[Vie]

We have the same problem here with a lot of the Thai DM's, they care about the money now (understandably), and don't give much consideration to the future.

Ah, yes. Always the natives... No doubt all farang DMs are responsible, forward looking divers completely unconcerned with financial rewards.

 

[stevenl]

Ah, yes. Always the natives... No doubt all farang DMs are responsible, forward looking divers completely unconcerned with financial rewards.

No, they are not all responsible. But it looks like they had it more drilled into their heads not to touch anything than most Thai DM's, and are therefor more hesitant about that.

 

[Vie]

No, they are not all responsible. But it looks like they had it more drilled into their heads not to touch anything than most Thai DM's, and are therefor more hesitant about that.

"It looks like" ??

That's just great.

 

[stevenl]

"It looks like" ??

That's just great.

What do you mean by that?

 

[MoonWrasse]

No, they are not all responsible. But it looks like they had it more drilled into their heads not to touch anything than most Thai DM's, and are therefor more hesitant about that.

Some foreign dm's for sure are fairly strict about this, almost OCD - which isn't bad IMO.

However I've also seen foreign DM's which had atrocious behavior - taking photos of their divers while standing on fragile coral for example. I'd say the worst behavior I've seen was of non-Thais.

I've also dived with plenty of Thai DM's, and seen both good and bad behavior on their part.