Posted by seahunt on November 03, 2002 at 14:10:45:
In Reply to: Re: Hunters posted by Steve on November 03, 2002 at 07:55:03:
Huh? Blame who? I speak as a hunter. I haven't carried a spear in at least 5 years, but I have certainly done my share of hunting and still hunt ab, scallop and bug. Still, I have pretty much totally given up spear fishing, because most places are over fished. While the people who are responsible for that include sport line fishers and commercial fishers (especially the live fish market harvesters), the spearfishers, like me, are also very responsible for the depletion of local reef populations. Even if I go back to Colby Reef and bring a spear, I doubt that I would take more than 2 fish. That is not how most avid hunters hunt. They follow their instincts, which are far more destructive.
Ya gotta understand it from what I have said before. Hunting is a powerful instinct. When a hunter unleashes that on local reef populations, it is devestating. I know. I used to do it and I know many others that did too. It's why I try not to get preachy about it. I know its source and how exciting hunting is. I haven't recently, but I'd like to get into it some again, only be more discriminate than I have often been in the past. The reserves allow for that potential. In a couple of years, the zones outside the reserves will get replentished for the fishers.
As for my opinion, I ain't paid for it by anyone. It's based on a long love of the sea and an instinctive (and well trained) understanding of ecological processes. You do your arguement no service by attacking the messenger rather than the message.
You're right. It's a simple disagreement. You have never supported your case that non-hunters impact a dive area negatively and have only offered emotional or unsupportable (anchor damage) claims and meaningless platitudes to support your banning of divers from the reserves. I tend to suspect a position so poorly supported. I on the other hand can give you a detailed description of the impact of divers on the reef, specie by specie, based on both the research of the many disciplined studies of the marine environment and based on my many years of careful personal observation.
I can give you case after case, but I will just offer one. Look at the Yukon. That wreck gets more visitors than you can imagine, yet the life on it is lush and vibrant. The fish are shy, but more come each year as the life of the reef contiues to expand and flourish. At night, there are fish everywhere there.
Can you site me where you base your claims of non-hunting divers doing such damage to the reefs as you claim? Even Casino Point (or La Jolla Cove or Point Lobos or Gerstle Cove or ......), which gets a huge number of divers and many times what would be seen in the reserves, are all lush and vastly productive compared to non-protected areas. I will say that I think that though pretty darn healthy still, Casino Point is over dove, but that is a special case of access and training. The reserves would have nothing like that diving pressure.
Support your arguement that divers do damage!
Enjoy, seahunt
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Helicopter, gyro, ... were things made up by Mr. Kane for his own purposes. I mentioned braichation, which apparently is more often called "grab and glide" by divers.