[Coral-List] Paper out - 50 days free download

Osmar Luiz osmarluizjr at gmail.com
Thu Sep 15 19:41:51 EDT 2016


Hi Martina, Hi Magnus,

Some years ago I did a study in Brazil assessing the potential impacts of both scuba divers and snorkelers in a popular island destination (Fernando de Noronha Archipelago). What I saw is that despite snorkelers being far more abundant than scuba divers, they spend 98% of the time just floating on the sea surface, so they contact with corals and other bottom substrate was meaningless. On the other hand, scuba divers were much more likely to bump on coral colonies and handling other kind of organisms.

The major threat imposed by snorkelers is just on the moment of getting in and out of the sea, when they potentially can walk over the shallow coral fringe. The way we found to manage this is just allowing snorkelers to get to the reef through a sand beach by the reef, then they can walk over sand until they reach an appropriate depth to start swim over the reef. If done this way, snorkelling has virtually no physical impact over the reef (note that I say ‘physical’, you may want to consider other things like overcrowding scaring big fishes away, but this is a different thing of what we‘re discussing here). I know that the geography of the place must help (having an easy access to the reef by the beach), fortunately that was the case at my study site.

Best regards
Osmar



---------------------------
Osmar J. Luiz, Ph.D 
Department of Biological Sciences
Macquarie University
Sydney, 2109 NSW
Australia

e-mail: osmarjluiz at gmail.com
phone: +612 98506271
mobile: +61 0420817392
http://acropora.bio.mq.edu.au/people/osmar-luiz/
Publications list: http://publicationslist.org/osmar.luiz
https://scholar.google.com.au/citations?user=_ArEYYMAAAAJ&hl=en&cstart=0&pagesize=20





> On 16 Sep 2016, at 2:20 AM, martina <m.milanese at studioassociatogaia.com> wrote:
> 
> Hi Magnus,
> 
> thanks for sharing the two papers - I didn't know the second one, very 
> interesting!
> 
> I share your concern about snorkelling. Actually, in my experience 
> working in the diving (but also, more in general, in the marine tourism 
> business), snorkellers are less experienced and less knowledged about 
> the sea. Also, it is much easier to organise a mass excursion with a bus 
> of first-time snorkellers than with first-time divers.
> 
> In general, for what we may argue that the level can and should be 
> improved, divers have received a minimum of training and have expressed 
> a certain degree of interest in the sea (a course has a cost and many 
> novice divers need to overcome some degrees of a natural sense of fear). 
> This does not apply to snorkellers. Additionally, often snorkellers are 
> either let alone in the water or guided by staff with a-specific 
> training - on the contrary divers are mostly guided, and a dive guide 
> has received specific training.
> 
> 
> Finally, talking about numbers, it seems clear that snorkellers are many 
> more than divers, and that their (potential) impact is very concentrated 
> along a limited stretch of very shallow habitats. One may argue that is 
> better to sacrify this limited habitats rather than spread impacts at 
> differen depths over larger areas. Guess it is a matter of how many 
> people, how concerned, and how vulnerable the site.
> 
> A pro for snorkelling is: it's something nearly everyone can try. If 
> appropriately done (and there are ways to do it right) it's a fantastic 
> way to engage people with the sea. So I'd say, as always, it's not the 
> thing per se but how it is implemented...
> 
> Cheers
> Martina
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Dr Martina Milanese, PhD
> 
> skype: m.milanese
> https://it.linkedin.com/in/martina-milanese-46963436
> twitter: @martix_m
> 
> Italian Mob. (WA) +39-338-1196672
> Moroccan Mob. +212-636808514
> 
> Studio Associato Gaia Snc dei Dottori Antonio Sarà e Martina Milanese
> Via Brigata Liguria 1/9 scala A
> 16121 Genova - Italy
> PI 01600400996
> 
> Il 15/09/16 12:32, Magnus L Johnson ha scritto:
>> Hi Martina,
>> 
>> This looks very interesting (especially given some recent passionate discussions on Coral-L!)  You/others might also be interested in these open access and peer-reviewed articles:
>> 
>> The Relationship between Diver Experience Levels and Perceptions of Attractiveness of Artificial Reefs - Examination of a Potential Management Tool
>> 
>> http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0068899
>> 
>> And
>> 
>> Artificial reefs and marine protected areas: a study in willingness to pay to access Folkestone Marine Reserve, Barbados, West Indies
>> 
>> https://peerj.com/articles/2175/
>> 
>> I think artificial reefs have a role to play in reducing the impact of scuba divers (especially trainees) on vulnerable sites by drawing them away.  However there is the argument also that they serve to increase the popularity of diving tourism overall and may in the long term lead to more pressure on natural reefs.
>> 
>> It is interesting that diving receives lots of attention (~112 000 hits on google scholar) while we pay less attention to snorkelling (~6390 hits) and in my experience the damage to shallow reefs by snorkelers, who you could argue may be less committed (generally speaking) to their hobby and the marine environment, is significant in many places.
>> 
>> Best wishes, Magnus
>> 
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: martina [mailto:m.milanese at studioassociatogaia.com]
>> Sent: 14 September 2016 21:57
>> To: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
>> Subject: [Coral-List] Paper out - 50 days free download
>> 
>> Dear all,
>> 
>> as an output of the ongoing EU-funded project "Green Bubbles RISE for sustainable diving", I'm pleased to announce the publication of the paper:
>> 
>> Scuba diving tourism systems and sustainability: Perceptions by the scuba diving industry in two Marine Protected Areas. Tourism Management (2017), pp. 385-403 DOI: 10.1016/j.tourman.2016.09.004
>> 
>> The paper will enjoy 50-days (until Nov 1st, 2016) free download at this link, courtesy of Elsevier: http://authors.elsevier.com/a/1TiLYxTbMbITH
>> 
>> Abstract: Scuba diving tourism encourages conservation, generates revenue, and supports local communities. Understanding its interactions with environmental, social, and economic factors is important in the context of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), where dynamics between role players are complex. This study provides insights into the problems affecting the sustainability of the scuba diving tourism industry in two MPAs in Italy and Mozambique. The interactions between the industry and environment, economy, non-monetary aspects, society, governance, and scientific community were investigated via question- naire surveys and interviews with 20 scuba diving operators. Operators felt the importance of scuba diving to themselves, MPAs, and resident communities, although they lamented limited support to the industry by other stakeholders.
>> Recommendations to enhance sustainability include actions ranging from engagement in planning and management to education and social responsibility. However, the heterogeneity of issues perceived by the industry, reflected in differences between the case studies, calls for ad hoc measures.
>> 
>> Please let me thank Serena Lucrezi (corresponding author) for her incredibly focused attitude all along the way, from laying down field work until the final revisions of the proofs. My gratitude also to all other authors, it has been a pleasure (and it still is) working with you!
>> 
>> Martina
>> 
>> --
>> Dr Martina Milanese, PhD
>> 
>> skype: m.milanese
>> https://it.linkedin.com/in/martina-milanese-46963436
>> twitter: @martix_m
>> 
>> Italian Mob. (WA) +39-338-1196672
>> Moroccan Mob. +212-636808514
>> 
>> Studio Associato Gaia Snc dei Dottori Antonio Sarà e Martina Milanese Via Brigata Liguria 1/9 scala A
>> 16121 Genova - Italy
>> PI 01600400996
>> _______________________________________________
>> Coral-List mailing list
>> Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
>> http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> **************************************************
>> To view the terms under which this email is
>> distributed, please go to
>> http://www2.hull.ac.uk/legal/disclaimer.aspx
>> **************************************************
>> 
> _______________________________________________
> Coral-List mailing list
> Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list



More information about the Coral-List mailing list