Pointer Sticks - Something You Should Do Without?

I know a few divers who, when they haven't been diving for a while, assuage their craving to get wet by browsing in dive stores where they are vulnerable to buying all sorts of seductive items that "might prove useful." They end up on a dive boat dangling with goodies like an over-decorated Christmas tree.

One item they seem vulnerable to is an aluminum pointer stick, sold in an array of bright colors. The sticks are even engraved with a measuring scale to give them an air of scientific intention.

Pointer sticks might have practical functions. In areas where dive gloves are discouraged or not permitted to stop people from touching the coral, a pointer stick can become a "reef stick." If judiciously employed, it can stabilize divers/photographers so they inadvertently touch the reef while looking through a viewfinder. It can be a substitute reef hook. A diver can stick it in the sand to remain stationary in a current.

But the critical expression is "if judiciously employed," which means picking a spot in the substrate where the stick will do no damage.

While a pointer stick is supposed to be used for pointing (won't a finger do the same?), some divers use it to poke animals - inflate a porcupine fish, taunt an eel, or pierce an urchin.

Even some guides, who really should know better, use it as a critter tool. Debora McAteer (Nepean, Ontario) was aboard the high-end Dewi Nusantara in Indonesia last December and reports, "Our dive guide repeatedly used his pointer to poke or move marine life for better viewing. I prefer the respectful hands-off approach."

By clipping it to their BCs, some divers let their pointer stick dangle, unaware they are plowing a furrow as they go.

So, it's no surprise that many dive operators discourage them. In fact, marine park authorities in Bonaire flat-out prohibit them.

Dee Scarr, a dive guide and naturalist living on the island (www.touchthesea.com), tells us, "Whatever people intend to use them for, the danger of them poking the animals by accident is real."

We say, "When diving coral reefs, leave your pointer stick and gloves at home."

- John Bantin