Posted by James on May 26, 2005 at 17:23:56:
In Reply to: Re: Hypocrisy and a hypothetical posted by Jon on May 26, 2005 at 12:19:59:
Sumit, I think you and I are more alike than you think as I agree with much of your post. This is another case of the few giving the many a black eye. Perhaps instead of attacking "spearfishing" for what a few knuckle heads do ( lately it seems like its been scuba divers) we should attack ignorance and use education as our weapon. We all need to try and understand that we all have alot to lose with knee jerk reactions. Imagine if NPS felt that any human intervention was bad for the habitat around the CINMS and banned all diving! Have you ever had a bad plumber? I have...and I was pissed at plumbers for a long time! I still feel we (we meaning all divers) must take a stand against abuse when we see it. Of course some may feel the one fish I have taken this year to be abuse, just as I feel it is abuse when a boat Capt. throws his boat in reverse and royally thrashes the very kelp than many of the divers on the boat had just enjoyed.(this happened in the CINMS area...imaging if an NPS supervising marine biologist witnessed it!) This really goes to the root of personal special interest, "I like this" or "I want that". Unfortunately we sometimes must accept compromise that allows points of view or perspectives that "we" may not share to be recognized and validated. There is no easy answer to this and it will be debated in this and other forums for a long time... And by the way, if you want to see some big fish off the beach, flip me an email, I'd be happy to throw on a tank and show you some "secret" spots.