Gloves On or Off

[Ajuva]

How do you feel about the gloves off in certain areas to prevent touching the reef.
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV>This is now an issue when diving a lot of the Egyptian sites.</DIV>
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<DIV>I see where they are coming from but wonder as to the benefits.</DIV>
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<DIV>Ajuva</DIV>

[mmakay]

Well educated divers know what not to touch ... for their own protection and that of the reef.

Poorly educated divers do damage with fins, unsecured octos, tanks, elbows and every other thing they take down. I find it hard to believe that they could kill any more of the reef with gloves than they already do with sheer carelessness.

[cummings66]

I think it's a poor rule to force divers to do the right thing, but they brought it on due to poor self control.
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<DIV>Sad that the rest of us have to suffer though.</DIV>

[tc_rain]

I prefer to dive with gloves. I also know what can and cannot be touched. Cozumel prohibits gloves unless wreck diving.

[FishFood]

It's pretty hard to "shoo" the jelly fish away with no gloves on. Just a thought

[ScubaToys Larry]

Oxymoron's: Military Intelligence. Rap Music. Reef Gloves.

[przeor]

What would you need reef gloves for? Aside from touching things your don't need? Maybe holding an anchor line in current while on a safety stop? I can't think of much else? If it's warm enough I don't wear gloves, it gets in the way of manipulating my camera controls!

[Joew]

Whenever I see people putting on gloves I know its bad news. It seems they're under the impression that the do not touch rule is in effect to protect them, not the reef, and that gloves make touching ok. Don't even get me started on divers who wear dark gloves at night.

[niko5]

If I had a pair of gloves that were comphy I would wear them but I have yet to find a pair I can wear and still feel safe and able to operate my equipment with.
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<DIV>I have a reef aquarium at home and I would never intensionaly touch the corals or critters while diving becuase of my love for the reefs.</DIV>
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<DIV>I do feel that gloves can be usefull though... as someone said holding onto anchor lines and such they could also be used to grab ahold of rocks in an emergancy situation.</DIV>

[jacewindu]

i see people ALL the time touching coral trying to steady themselves, even without gloves. However, in some areas, gloves make people feel invincible, and i can imagine that the coral pays a significant price for these poor divers.
That isn't to say that it is the fault of the gloves. Divers just need to be more aware of their position and buoyancy in the water