I have seen some awful diving practices this week that have stimulated me into writing this article regarding interaction with our underwater environment . So, here it goes.
We have many turtles cruising around our shores due to them returning to lay eggs year after year. This is a great plus for the area as everyone loves turtles, but they really should not be used as sea scooters! They are really gentle creatures and we all love to see them in their own environment, but seeing is all we should do. They get really stressed when they are touched or moved about against their will, and they really don´t enjoy it. Watching is enough of a buzz.
Jump into the ocean here and you will be sure to see a pufferfish of some description. They are everywhere, and the most common are the porcupine puffers. They have big eyes and sweet faces, but have small pectoral fins, so are not good swimmers. When stressed or threatened they have the ability to gulp large quantities of water, and when fully puffed their spines stick out. This makes it hard for their predators to swallow them and explains their name. This amazing marine defense is also their downfall as inconsiderate divers puff up these fish for their own amusement!! Why, in my eyes this is animal cruelty, and do these people know that the neurotoxins in their spines are at least 1200 times more potent than cyanide!
Another little creature I see being molested is the flower urchin. I first saw this practice a few year ago when I lived in Manzanillo. These little creatures spend all their time collecting debris to decorate themselves with. They have little flowers all over them and suckers on their bellies, with venomous pincers which can inject you with their poison.
They can, and have, killed divers. I have seen many dive guides popping this apparently “harmless” creature on the palm of their hands, and then turning their hands over, showing the flower urchin stuck tight. That must be really thrilling to watch!! Gloves? I find them the most environmentally harmful piece of equipment you can use as a diver. Gloves give divers the luxury of being able to grab onto that piece of coral to take the photo, or stay still and watch something. Usually, that something that is being held onto is living and will now soon be dead. Most of the things that could harm you in the ocean are really small and very well camouflaged. They are also the creatures that are great to observe, so why kill them for the sake of a photo or a glimpse? If you don´t touch them, you will be perfectly safe. We finally received our equipment this week, and gloves were not included. So, we apologize if your hands get cold in the winter, but I find shoving your hands up your armpits does the job just as well.
Spear guns. I say “Give the fish a gun and see who is the toughest”. End of.
Diving is a great pastime, and does not need to affect the environment, so let´s not........please.
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