Dive industry trade shows are always an interesting mix. Many of the attendees are people new to the world of diving, or just starting out, as well as those who have been diving for 20 years and more. Then of course, there are all the vendors selling their products, dive resorts looking to book people at their far off destinations, and training agencies like PADI, SSI, RAID etc. However along the peripheral sides of the main floor you can also find the different types of conservation groups and NGO’s who have come to promote their various programs. But the best part by far, are the presentations and talks given, and this years’ MIDE trade show in Kuala Lumpur was not a disappointment on any level. We were happy to see Brendon Sing from Shark Guardian here giving his presentation about the importance of preserving shark populations and efforts being made to protect them against poaching and reducing the demand for shark products such as shark fin soup.
One of the presentations we were really interested to hear was a talk about artificial reefs and what works well by Dr. Philip MK Lim on the 3rd and final day of the expo. Although his short 30 minute window to talk was hardly enough time, it was cut even shorter by some technical difficulties. However, Dr. Lim did stick around afterwards to do a short QnA session with some of us and he is clearly a man with great knowledge and experience when it comes to building successful artificial reefs. It seems as though he has had some success with the method of passing electric current though titanium mesh structures so that calcium collects on the mesh thereby giving coral transplants a better chance to take hold and grow much faster. Of course he explained it in greater detail and with more scientific terminology than we could hope to replicate, but that’s the basic idea. This technology isn’t something that most of us will be able to replicate on any large scale and it requires a fair bit of training and maintenance for the system to be effective but it was really exciting to hear him speak about his trial and errors with theses processes. Dr. Lim also gave many examples of simple but effective ways to promote coral growth with less expensive and lower maintenance options for artificial reefs albeit with a slower rate of return with regards to coral growth. But that’s the beauty of planting trees or coral gardens. We do this work now for the generations to come, like old men planting trees to create shade they will never enjoy. There is a (cell phone) video of his presentation up on the MYRES Facebook page if you want to check it out.
Another panel discussion was given on ways to keep plastic out of our oceans and various conservation efforts. Unfortunately we were unable to hear the whole discussion as it was started around the same time as the artificial reef presentation but we were able to catch part of it while it was in progress.
Moderated by marine biologist David McCann, this panel included government representatives for the Malaysian dept of fisheries, Sabah tourism board, PADI, an advocate for living ‘zero waste’, and the general manager of Reef Check Malaysia. Some good examples were given of the problems created by tourism in remote areas and simple solutions that can be implemented to reduce the impact of increased human activity. It would seem to us that the problems and ideas discussed, with few exceptions, were not new by any means. That being said, it was encouraging to hear these topics brought up in a semi mainstream setting, and see the encouraging responses by those in attendance. Once again the sad truth was pointed out, that the use of plastics in almost every aspect of our lives has become something that most of us are largely unconscious of. Every year the great pacific garbage patch grows larger, coastal waterways are polluted and over fished, and reefs all over the world suffer from human activities. So what can be done about it? This panel discussion brought up these topics again which many of us have been aware of for a long time. It reinforced that if more of us adapted the ‘Refuse, Reuse, Reduce, Re-purpose, and Recycle’ model that we can begin to combat the problem. We have all heard that we need to recycle more for years, but the simple fact is that recycling programs aren’t really in place in many locations and even where they can be found it is often sporadic. This is why greater emphasis is being given to promote the Refuse, Reuse, Reduce, and Re-purpose efforts. Refusing to take plastic bags from shops, reusing water bottles, reducing the amount of packaging required or consumed, and taking things that have outlived their original purpose but can have a second life as something new. These are not new concepts by any means. Actually most of our grandparents used to live with these practises all the time. Bottles of soda or beer were returned to the shops where they were purchased, and returned to the distributor for sanitation and refilling. Shops only offered paper bags or people brought their own. When some piece of equipment broke it was fixed by whatever means possible, or set aside to be used as spare parts or turned into something completely different. It seems somewhere along the way we have fallen victims to our own ‘progress’.
At some point, one of the panelists pointed out the irony that they were speaking at a dive industry trade show with many environmentally conscious people in attendance, and most of the vendors were selling items wrapped in individual plastic bags when they could be sold without them. They had actually addressed this with one of the vendors to which they replied “If it’s not in a plastic bag, nobody will believe that it’s new”. This indeed captures the mentality that we as a society have fallen into and aren’t likely to change any time soon. After all, this mentality didn’t start overnight, or even in one generation, and it won’t be easy or fast to retrain our way of thinking.
We, the creators of Dive Hero, have spent a lot of time thinking and talking about these issues and creative solutions for years now. We have written and discussed them many times and will continue to do so in an attempt to educate and promote a more sustainable way of living to the extent that we can influence the people around us. We can only hope that this message begins to resonate with more and more people and the changes we wish to see will start to catch on. It’s a painfully frustratingly slow process. For now, we can only do our part to lead by example, to the best of our ability, and stay positive. Looking forward, we see a path to a better tomorrow in our belief that all of us can make a difference if we continue to educate ourselves and those around us, making efforts wherever we see opportunities for corrective actions.