Posted by Jason on July 29, 2002 at 23:55:59:
In Reply to: Mooring Project posted by Elaine on July 29, 2002 at 21:32:25:
Moorings can concentrate destruction by directing all divers into a relatively small part of a big reef. In general diver disturbances are very small and is outweighed by the pacific ocean. But if you have every hunter, every rude photog, every overweighted newbie crashing into the same spot, we'll cause quite a bit of damage. Then the mooring will have to be moved to a new spot for the process to restart.
In the opinion of one of the more noted Monterey captains, this is what moorings accomplished in Florida where the reefs are quite fragile.
Moorings at the relatively few spots that lots of boats congregate at may make sense, but overall it doesn't have a clear gain for the ecology with considerable costs and headaches. Like proposed MPAs, the unknown consequences are a big concern.