[Coral-List] Save the date - Intl. Scuba Diving Sustainability Workshop - 19-21 October

[Alex Brylske]

The seeds have been planned many times. In fact, I even conducted DEMA-sponsored seminars in the past on issues such as sustainability and how divers affect coral reefs. But that was ten years ago! Afterwards, nothing but crickets from the dive industry. There are now efforts underway to target the industry—such as Laurie Wilson and Chloe Harvey organizing a sustainability “think tank” at this year’s DEMA—but I’m now certain the demand for change must come primarily from consumers, not the industry. I’d also emphasize that this is the North American dive industry. It appear that Asia and Europe already “get in."

Alex

Alex Brylske, Ph.D.
President
701 Spanish Main Dr. #327
Cudjoe Key, FL 33042
954-701-1966 (cell)
305-809-3148 (office)
brylske at me.com



> On Sep 13, 2018, at 5:09 PM, Sarah Frias-Torres <sfrias_torres at hotmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Steve,
> 
> Agreed. Change is very slow in the U.S. Scuba diving industry.
> 
> Following on the wake of Martina's workshop announcement, Is it possible to mobilize DEMA (The Diving Equipment & Marketing Association) to include a sustainability workshop as part of their annual show in Las Vegas? Maybe the timeline is too tight for the November 2018 show, but it would be worth at least planting the first seeds to start a sustainability initiative.
> 
> 
> <><...<><...<><...
> 
> Sarah Frias-Torres, Ph.D.
> Twitter: @GrouperDoc
> Science Blog: https://grouperluna.com/
> Art Blog: https://oceanbestiary.com/
> 
> 
> 
> ________________________________
> From: Coral-List <coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> on behalf of Steve Mussman <sealab at earthlink.net>
> Sent: Wednesday, September 12, 2018 1:35 PM
> To: m.milanese at studioassociatogaia.com
> Cc: coral list
> Subject: Re: [Coral-List] Save the date - Intl. Scuba Diving Sustainability Workshop - 19-21 October
> 
> Hi Martina,
> Wish I could make it to Genoa for your workshop. Better yet, I wish that the U.S. Scuba Diving Industry would launch such a commitment to real sustainability. As many scuba diving entities around the world are showing a willingness to address all the major issues it is my opinion that that is still not the case in the USA. Here, to their credit, the scuba diving industry is supportive of efforts to remove trash, control lionfish, stop shark finning, reduce the use of harmful sunscreen products and promote coral reef restoration, but still no assertive efforts to educate divers on the effects of land-based pollutants, over-fishing and most importantly, no call for action on anthropogenic climate change. Personally, I don’t see how we can commit to sustainability without such an effort. On the bright side, perhaps things are (slowly) changing. The latest issue of Alert Diver magazine (affiliated with DAN; Divers Alert Network) ran an article entitled “Faces of Climate Change”. A good sign to be sure, but the article failed to connect the dots by not mentioning impacts on coral reefs, instead focusing on climate change’s harmful effects on the polar regions. Still, it’s a step in the right direction and gives reason to hope that one day soon the U.S. Scuba Diving Industry will realize that it is in their best interest to aggressively promote sustainability by totally and unabashedly joining you and others in promoting “Green Diving” in the truest sense.
> 
> Regards,
> Steve Mussman
> 
> Sent from my iPad
> 
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