[Coral-List] FW: Media query: Researching "Best Island Reefs" for ISLANDS magazine

Robert Ginsburg rginsburg at rsmas.miami.edu
Thu Dec 3 11:27:51 EST 2009


Mark,

I admire and appreciate your enthusiasm for promoting recreational 
diving.  What may help you think about your plan is to imagine that you 
and your family run a dive operation on Island XCEL. You are competing 
for clients and feel proprietary about the quality of your dive sites.  
Along comes this list of "favorite dive sites" and yours is not listed.  
Moreover, you had no chance to enter this sweepstakes.
How would you feel knowing that your competitors had an unfair 
advantage?  If I were that "left-out" dive operator I would be up in 
arms and would want to know who authorized this preferred listing of 
dive sites without considering mine.  And I think if you were the dive 
operator of Island XCEL you might feel the same way?

Robert Ginsburg




Tupper, Mark (WorldFish) wrote:
> Dear Alex (and Robert),
>
> I understand your concerns, but all I am asking for is some comments on people's favorite dive sites. Although I have received quite a lot of responses, so far nobody has even commented on the dive operations (probably because most of them are researchers who either charter a boat from a marine lab or a local fisherman and rarely use the local dive tour operators). Since nobody is saying anything about the quality of operators - only the reefs themselves - I don't see any political can of worms being opened, nor any backlash on Coral-List, which probably will not be mentioned in the article anyway.
>
> Cheers,
> Mark
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Alex Brylske [mailto:brylske at aol.com] 
> Sent: Wednesday, December 02, 2009 9:51 PM
> To: Tupper, Mark (WorldFish)
> Cc: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov; chris.tauber at bonniercorp.com
> Subject: Re: [Coral-List] FW: Media query: Researching "Best Island Reefs" for ISLANDS magazine
>
> Having spent half my life in the dive tourism sector, I suggest that you be very cautious about how you response to this. My concern is not so much what destinations you select, or even what criteria (which needs to be clear), it's the reaction of those destinations that AREN'T selected. (You better be prepare to explain why not.) Bottom line: This could open up a political can of worms that could impact this list in ways that are both unforeseen and less than positive. Just an opinion, but one based on loads of experience in this realm.
>
> Alex Brylske
>
>
> On Dec 1, 2009, at 8:32 PM, Tupper, Mark (WorldFish) wrote:
>
>   
>> Dear All,
>>
>> ReefBase has received a request (see below) from ISLANDS magazine to nominate the top 10 island reefs (from a dive/snorkel tourism perspective). In addition to our own info, I would like to solicit the opinions of the very knowledgeable subscribers on this list. Remember that the reefs must be island reefs as opposed to continental and must be accessible to dive tourists (i.e. places like Palmyra or Navassa would probably not be good choices).
>>
>> Please send your comments directly to me and I will synthesize them and post them back to the list before forwarding them to the magazine.
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Mark
>>
>>
>>
>> Dr. Mark Tupper
>> Scientist - Coral Reefs and Reef Fisheries
>> The WorldFish Center
>> Los Baños, Laguna, PHILIPPINES
>> Tel +632 580-5659 (2889) GMT +8
>> Mobile: +63 917-524-0864
>> http://www.worldfishcenter.org
>> Reducing poverty and hunger by improving fisheries and aquaculture.
>>
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Chris Tauber [mailto:Chris.Tauber at bonniercorp.com] 
>> Sent: Tuesday, December 01, 2009 1:09 AM
>> To: WorldFish - Reefbase
>> Subject: Media query: Researching "Best Island Reefs" for ISLANDS magazine
>>
>> Hi, I'm an editor at ISLANDS magazine hoping to tap the expertise of
>> ReefBase for an upcoming article called "Best Island Reefs." We're looking
>> to spotlight the world's top 10 island reefs that offer sustainable diving
>> and snorkeling opportunities for responsible travelers.
>>
>> I'd love to get your insight on these questions:
>>
>> 1. Which reef or reefs do you think best showcase sustainable travel,
>> balancing visitors' exploration with reef conservation?
>>
>> 2. Which dive or snorkel sites on that reef highlight it best?
>>
>> 3. Is there a local dive resort or guide you'd recommend I contact for
>> further insight?
>>
>> Thanks so much for any help you can offer this week. I certainly appreciate
>> it. And feel free to contact me with any questions.
>>
>> Best,
>> Chris Tauber
>> Managing editor
>> ISLANDS
>> 460 N. Orlando Ave., Ste. 200
>> Winter Park, FL 32789
>> 407-571-4510
>> chris.tauber at bonniercorp.com
>> http://islands.com
>>
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>>     
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