Reef aquarium collector attacks conservationist underwater

[PatW]

I said it was a bad judgement call on the collector's side. I do not agree with what they did and they can be prosecuted for it. However if the Sea Shepherd diver had been properly trained there was no imminent danger. If not properly trained, she shouldn't have been in the water. I never said she had nothing to worry about... I said if she had been properly trained, she would have known how to react and correct the issue with no danger to herself.

Stunreefer, you are right saying this fuels the fire against us. In today's world, nothing is private and anything considered shock news will go viral in no time.

It was an attack with possible fatal consequences. If she was properly trained is an assumption. I dive extensively. I have seen quite a few divers who would almost certainly panic in that situation.

There is another reason why attacking is stupid. You do it enough and you will eventually run into someone who can really hurt you.

By the way, the information I saw was that the collecting was observed in a refuge but that could be inaccurate.

 

[Aloha Corals]

It was an attack with possible fatal consequences. If she was properly trained is an assumption. I dive extensively. I have seen quite a few divers who would almost certainly panic in that situation.

There is another reason why attacking is stupid. You do it enough and you will eventually run into someone who can really hurt you.

By the way, the information I saw was that the collecting was observed in a refuge but that could be inaccurate.

I can agree any attack under any circumstances, other than self defense, is wrong. She is a PADI and SDI SCUBA Instructor and holds a Platinum Pro 5000 Card. She was not in danger. Scared, maybe...

 

[PatW]

I can agree any attack under any circumstances, other than self defense, is wrong. She is a PADI and SDI SCUBA Instructor and holds a Platinum Pro 5000 Card. She was not in danger. Scared, maybe...

Aloha, I have seen instructors who were not that good. She did a controlled emergency ascent which is puzzling. It would have been easier and safer to just switch to the secondary regulator or retrieve the primary. Doing the ascent poses risks to expansion injury or to decompression illness.

 

[saltyhog]

Kind of weird she has that much experience and panicked! I've only been certified a few months but I've had my regulator kicked out of my mouth at 45 feet (by my dive buddy) and it was no big deal. Regulator recovery was the first in-pool skill we learned in our course. CESA in that situation makes no sense. Maybe she did it because she was afraid of the other dude?

Not a smart move by the collector. I understand his frustration towards these idiots but that was not a good choice.

 

[Pete polyp]

I think its completely fabricated by sea shepard to promote his cause. If this was true it would be felony battery at the least if not attempted murder. I'm sure an arrest would have been made....

 

[bct15]

I think its completely fabricated by sea shepard to promote his cause. If this was true it would be felony battery at the least if not attempted murder. I'm sure an arrest would have been made....

Actually, the lady getting the regulator pulled out might get harassment charges.

http://m.hawaiinewsnow.com/#!/newsDetail/25521211

 

[reeffirstaid]

This is all tied in with the post I added earlier, regarding Bob Witner (Snorkel Bob) and his war on the aquarium trade. Bob Witner is Sea Shepherd's vice president. I was friends with him on Facebook, and he posted a picture of an ornate wrasse, captioned that they are impossible to keep in captivity. When I posted that a skilled aquarist can keep them, and that over the years, I had kept many, I got a tornado of replies from his followers, some threatening.

Bob Witner is using a few good examples of poor responsibility, to deem the whole reef aquarium hobby as unsustainable. His education on the part, of understanding the aquarium community, and the work of public aquaria, is totally skewed and one-sided. The reason I follow this closely is: Sea Shepherd has a lot of money behind them. They have had a severe impact on Japanese Whaling (I hate Japanese whaling) but if they can tackle that, then our little aquarium hobby industry is small potatoes. Snorkel Bob has already been successful in pushing legislation that severely limits aquarium collection. The film Blackfish (which I personally feel is very mis-informative) is helping the anti-aquarium movement gain traction.

While the collectors in this video shouldn't have ripped this woman's regulator out, I assume they are sick and tired of being pestered by Snorkel Bob's cronies. I agree, she was in no real danger, as a dive instructor I know that regulator recovery is one of the basic skills you learn, in Open Water scuba. Sadly, all this accomplished was giving the anti-aquarium movement some free press time.

 

[sirreal]

So I fallowed several links with the story and did some of my own research. It doesnt matter if it was a set up or not. Why are these people fighting to stop the collection of these fish? They said that 90% of what is caught will be dead in a year!! and that 40% will never even make it to the wholesaler. So 40% is our problem. Why not fight to have better collecting done and better handeling of the fish before they get to the wholsaler. Then fight to teach the public how to care for them in captivity. Your not going to stop the trade no matter what you do so why not help make it better. If that number was 10% loss getting to the wholesaler and 50% death in one year there would be 50% less need for collection. Hense problem solved. Or better yet put all of that work and effort into captive breeding research. There are several different ways to solve there conserns then what they are doing. JMO

 

[townjas]

I have been down this road before and I won't type up the long responses I normally do but will provide my long winded response in bullet points:

1. Ripping the regulator out was a bad judgement call by the collector and makes them all look bad. However all trained scuba divers know how to get the regulator back in so if properly trained, she had nothing to worry about.

2. The video shows collection, not bad collection tactics. It doesn't show them out with cyanide. It doesn't show them ripping the reef apart to get a certain fish. This is hand collection which is the least damaging of all ways to collect fish off the reef.

3. She Shepherd is nothing short of a terrorist organization who themselves resort to violence, interference, and vocal attacks. We CANNOT and I repeat CANNOT judge a situation from this single viewpoint as the video was provided by the terrorist organization. We have no idea what happened in the past or what happened immediately before this incident. For all we know, the collecting divers were recently attacked by the terrorists and they personally felt threatened... Be sure to keep an open mind when viewing these things...

4. Regulation for banning will hurt everyone. Regulation however is not a bad thing if it has the fishery's best interests in mind. There needs to be a compromise somewhere in the middle to protect our fisheries while still allowing those who make a living off the waters can still do so. Remember, those making a living off the waters are not against protecting them to ensure their survival. That just extends their livelihood and ensures they can still make a living into the future without the fear of overfishing or other damage to the reef.

Anyone who supports the actions of the Sea Shepherd organization needs to open their eyes and really look at the situation. Look for the truth yourself and do not fall into the net of lies drawn up by this group and others like them. When possible, speak out against them but enforce that you are for protecting the fisheries through regulation not outright bans.

Rant over...

What he said! ^

 

[specvjeff]

Given Sea Shepard's long history of severe "tactics" to intimidate people, I don't blame the diver for reacting the way he did. There is a history between the group and local divers in Hawaii, and the divers are well aware of what they do. Now that the Japanese have stopped whaling, they need another target, and it looks like they've chosen the Hawaii'n fishery as one of them. It's absurd considering that is managed, and sustainable, and that there are more important things going on in the world they could be putting their attention to. While I've never supported whaling, I cannot support their tactics. They are dangerous, and considered piracy. There are also as always, two sides to every story.

Reef fishermen are responding to the scuba diving scuffle - Hawaii News Now - KGMB and KHNL

 

[PatW]

The collector was flat out wrong and is arguably liable for felonious assault.

It does not matter if the other side is a bunch of nuts. Acting in an irresponsible fashion is just going to harm your position.

It would help the fish collectors to set organizational standards and stick to them. It would also help to get an ecologist to monitor the reef to demonstrate that the collecting is sustainable. It is better to act in a reasonable fashion. Let the nuts discredit themselves. Invite the press in. Show that the fish are collected properly and handled appropriately. Use rational behavior to your advantage.

You do not help your case by engaging in deranged behavior.

Talking about using boom sticks on unarmed people with likely fatal results just makes you look like a lawless element that should be locked up for the public's safety.

 

[Aloha Corals]

So I fallowed several links with the story and did some of my own research. It doesnt matter if it was a set up or not. Why are these people fighting to stop the collection of these fish? They said that 90% of what is caught will be dead in a year!! and that 40% will never even make it to the wholesaler. So 40% is our problem. Why not fight to have better collecting done and better handeling of the fish before they get to the wholsaler. Then fight to teach the public how to care for them in captivity. Your not going to stop the trade no matter what you do so why not help make it better. If that number was 10% loss getting to the wholesaler and 50% death in one year there would be 50% less need for collection. Hense problem solved. Or better yet put all of that work and effort into captive breeding research. There are several different ways to solve there conserns then what they are doing. JMO

First you have to assume those stats are true. which they are not, unless you order from Indo.

 

[TJ's Reef]

These incidents always make my blood boil, and would really like for Sea Shepard and similar hypocritical organizations to find something better to do. I too believe that there is way more to this story and obviously not something provided by Sea Shepard as would GREATLY undermine their 'Production'. These Diver(s) Collector(s) or Actors ? were certainly out of line with their actions but probably should have cameras of their own for filming the 'other side' of story. I think they (Sea Shepard and Snorkel Bob) think that we have all forgotten about the 'last' big Fish Collection tragedy that occurred a few years back in Hawaii with all the dead fish in a garbage can at a park? Turns out it was the Conservation/Terrorist Group itself responsible for killing all these fish for the 'Shock Factor' of their propaganda piece. There are currently 2-3 very large and immensely destructive Harbor Improvements approved and stated for the Hawaiian Islands that seem to go unnoticed by these groups, I believe these will be way more detrimental to the Hawaiian Fish population as they will be completely decimating 100's of acres of Reef....... but hey! progress right.... and Bob certainly needs more moorage and deeper channels for his ever growing fleet of snorkel tour boats. I wonder how much damage to the Reef is caused by his boat anchors on a yearly basis.....hmmmm...........

I am going to Kauai here shortly and plan to do a little personal collecting of my own (with permit already in hand) and definitely hoping not to run into any of these 'Self Righteous' yet 'Clueless' do-gooders. I will keep to legal and quiet locations and primarily will be only collecting zoa/paly, select inverts and macro algae. I do commend the 'Conservationists' out there that truly sees the 'Big Picture' and takes the interests of the Whole Planet to heart. There does need to be some accountability on all sides of these issues, but often it is the 'Small Guy/Fractured Group' that gets singled out from the opposition. I'll leave my rant a little short as did Curtis in the original post.


Cheers, Todd

 

[PatW]

These incidents always make my blood boil, and would really like for Sea Shepard and similar hypocritical organizations to find something better to do. I too believe that there is way more to this story and obviously not something provided by Sea Shepard as would GREATLY undermine their 'Production'. These Diver(s) Collector(s) or Actors ? were certainly out of line with their actions but probably should have cameras of their own for filming the 'other side' of story. I think they (Sea Shepard and Snorkel Bob) think that we have all forgotten about the 'last' big Fish Collection tragedy that occurred a few years back in Hawaii with all the dead fish in a garbage can at a park? Turns out it was the Conservation/Terrorist Group itself responsible for killing all these fish for the 'Shock Factor' of their propaganda piece. There are currently 2-3 very large and immensely destructive Harbor Improvements approved and stated for the Hawaiian Islands that seem to go unnoticed by these groups, I believe these will be way more detrimental to the Hawaiian Fish population as they will be completely decimating 100's of acres of Reef....... but hey! progress right.... and Bob certainly needs more moorage and deeper channels for his ever growing fleet of snorkel tour boats. I wonder how much damage to the Reef is caused by his boat anchors on a yearly basis.....hmmmm...........

I am going to Kauai here shortly and plan to do a little personal collecting of my own (with permit already in hand) and definitely hoping not to run into any of these 'Self Righteous' yet 'Clueless' do-gooders. I will keep to legal and quiet locations and primarily will be only collecting zoa/paly, select inverts and macro algae. I do commend the 'Conservationists' out there that truly sees the 'Big Picture' and takes the interests of the Whole Planet to heart. There does need to be some accountability on all sides of these issues, but often it is the 'Small Guy/Fractured Group' that gets singled out from the opposition. I'll leave my rant a little short as did Curtis in the original post.


Cheers, Todd

I commend you on your plan to collect in quiet locations. There are plenty of good collecting sites here in Florida that pleasure divers do not go to. Avoiding confrontations with tiresome people is just easier.

 

[stunreefer Verified Sponsor]

Also, there are comments of people saying that Sea Shepherd was harassing the divers up top and then they were trying to release the animals out of the jars.

Source or link...?

I think they (Sea Shepard and Snorkel Bob) think that we have all forgotten about the 'last' big Fish Collection tragedy that occurred a few years back in Hawaii with all the dead fish in a garbage can at a park?

Eh, don't think so... it's on the front page of Operation Reef Defense website.

Turns out it was the Conservation/Terrorist Group itself responsible for killing all these fish for the 'Shock Factor' of their propaganda piece.

Source or link...?