One of my last dives I was with a group on a local dive boat.First we found a sleeping turtle, and this diver tried to pull him out from his slumber. This upset me. Then as I swam up on a nurse shark sleeping, the same diver grabbed the shark by his tail to get him to move. If that shark were a different kind of shark or spooked, it could have bitten me. This scenario is very upsetting to me.

Comments

scubafly - 5/25/2011 11:46 AM I am totally with you on this one. These inconsiderate boobs that feel they are "playing" with the wildlife really torque me off! What part of "do not touch ANYthing" do they not get? Why can’t they understand, the sea life is not playing with you, they are not your friends they are trying to get away from you... and this stress KILLS fish. And the divers that take mementos, even from designated RESERVES, are beyond my comprehension. A non-diving friend asked me if I thought scuba diving harmed reefs, and I answered no, because we don’t touch anything or leave anything behind. After watching many over zealous photogs jockey for position, trampling anything in their way to get that once in a lifetime photo of a sea horse and other baboons harassing all manner of sea life, I changed my opinion.

scubafly - 5/24/2011 3:06 PM I am totally with you on this one. These inconsiderate boobs that feel they are "playing" with the wildlife really torque me off! What part of "do not touch ANYthing" do they not get? Why can’t they understand, the sea life is not playing with you, they are not your friends they are trying to get away from you... and this stress KILLS fish. And the divers that take mementos, even from designated RESERVES, are beyond my comprehension. A non-diving friend asked me if I thought scuba diving harmed reefs, and I answered no, because we don’t touch anything or leave anything behind. After watching many over zealous photogs jockey for position, trampling anything in their way to get that once in a lifetime photo of a sea horse and other baboons harassing all manner of sea life, I changed my opinion.

LatitudeAdjustment - 5/19/2011 8:15 AM  DM’s or guides who pull something out for a better look, reposition something for a better picture or try to ride the wildlife lose their tips from me and I usually tell them why.  Most who do this know it’s wrong, when a diver saw me taking a picture of him touching the coral he stopped, the guide on the dive told him and his wife not to book with them again.