This won't help our hobby . . .

shaka

Member
I just saw this on the internet. I hope it won't "snowball" into a huge movement to ban fish collection in Hawaii or even speed up the banning that has already been proposed. I realize that some people have been trying to ban fish collection in Hawaii for years, but I think that there are plenty of other factors, not just aquarium fish collecting, that are detrimental to reefs. Here is the link:

http://gma.yahoo.com/blogs/abc-blog...waii-230826113--abc-news-topstories.html?vp=1
 
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They were doing a yellow tang captive breeding operation for a while in Hawaii, but funding ran dry. They were very close to their goal as well. They had the plankton sized tangs growing but its just a difficult task to raise fish that are invisible to the naked eye.
 
That lunatic diver should be prosecuted.

Agreed. I'm not a fan of Sea Shepherd by any stretch of the imagination, but this was absolutely out of line. That diver should be charged with assault at the minimum.

I also read somewhere that the Sea Shepherd divers had been harassing these divers for some time, opening their collection bags etc. Not surprisingly, this video only tells one side of the story. Still doesn't excuse the behavior, though.
 
Yeah wow if that guy did that to me he might be getting shot with a spear gun, I would definitely be following him back for a good old fashioned a** whooping! That is attempted murder caught on video for sure
 
I also saw it on one othe news wires. As others have mentioned, the diver should be prosecuted. A very scary situation to be attacked underwater.
 
I'm a scuba diver and a reefer. I couldn't imagine being under the surface and having the done to me. It's scary enough doing it for the first time when you get your basic scuba certification. I couldn't imagine having it happen unexpected. Regardless of the annoyance that the Sea Shepard people usually create, it is completely unacceptable and that diver should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
 
Agreed. I'm not a fan of Sea Shepherd by any stretch of the imagination, but this was absolutely out of line. That diver should be charged with assault at the minimum.

I also read somewhere that the Sea Shepherd divers had been harassing these divers for some time, opening their collection bags etc. Not surprisingly, this video only tells one side of the story. Still doesn't excuse the behavior, though.

Fully agree! Outrageous behavior and I hope whomever is responsible is found. Losing your regulator is not particularly dangerous if you are an experienced diver but could be really problematic for one who is not. I had my main regulator blow off the tank one time and had to fumble for my spare; and also had a wicked current rip it out one time (along with my mask which I found a lot more disconcerting).
 
Sounds like a setup and it furthers there cause. Sounds to me like she was their to mess with the collector and he had enough of it, swam over and pulled her mouth piece out to stop her, afterwards she just put it back in and left. I think she got the message?
 
Fully agree! Outrageous behavior and I hope whomever is responsible is found. Losing your regulator is not particularly dangerous if you are an experienced diver but could be really problematic for one who is not. I had my main regulator blow off the tank one time and had to fumble for my spare; and also had a wicked current rip it out one time (along with my mask which I found a lot more disconcerting).

Yep. I've had mine knocked out a couple times by other idiotic divers not paying attention (usually by an errant fin kick). It can be disorienting, but it's not life-threatening. There's a reason reg recovery is taught as a fundamental SCUBA skill. Still, I would never intentionally yank someone else's reg, and I'd be livid if it were done to me.
 
Sounds like a setup and it furthers there cause. Sounds to me like she was their to mess with the collector and he had enough of it, swam over and pulled her mouth piece out to stop her, afterwards she just put it back in and left. I think she got the message?

I agree, I am always suspect at anything these sea shepherd people print, post or say.
 
Hopefully they just prosecute the diver, and don't turn this into a "let's ban everything" bandwagon thing.
 
The authorities are aware of the diver involved and watching what happens to him legally will probably give any that are paying attention a good idea of how involved the Sea Shepard people were in instigating and accelerating the situation.

According to witness accounts there were 6-8 Sea Shepard people harassing, and perhaps vandalizing the collector's boat and other equipment, yet conveniently enough Sea Shepard only leaked footage of one of their own being attacked. Which this footage also coincides with an initiative Sea Shepard just announced.

Anyone that follows the activity and often aggressive actions of Sea Shepard is not surprised that if they were the aggressor in this situation.
 
The authorities are aware of the diver involved and watching what happens to him legally will probably give any that are paying attention a good idea of how involved the Sea Shepard people were in instigating and accelerating the situation.

According to witness accounts there were 6-8 Sea Shepard people harassing, and perhaps vandalizing the collector's boat and other equipment, yet conveniently enough Sea Shepard only leaked footage of one of their own being attacked. Which this footage also coincides with an initiative Sea Shepard just announced.

Anyone that follows the activity and often aggressive actions of Sea Shepard is not surprised that if they were the aggressor in this situation.

Well said. The diver's actions did not help his side of the story, though. Agree about Sea Shepherd, though...they are know for instigating "incidents" that make them look like victims.
 
Sounds like the sea Shepard needs to move into the Indonesia/ Philippines are and harass the divers there that are using cyanide and other questionable collection methods. The problem I have with the whole ordeal is that the Sea Shepard people think they are doing something helpful when in fact they are not. The whaling thing I get but this is extreme, next they will be breaking peoples fishing polls, and I certainly hope that no one affiliated with the Sea Shepard ever eats a fish product since they are so worried about creatures in the ocean
 
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