Anchors Cause “extensive, persistent” Damage to Seafloor

[KayZee]

Originally Posted by ozsailer

Maybe the easiest solution is the one in straight in front of us - Mooring buoys. Permanent anchor points with a large mooring buoy attached. They do make them for larger commercial vessels. They can be seen in most harbours. Maybe to simple.



Ozsailer

Quite a few tropical areas that depend on the health of their reefs for both sustanence and tourism are moving towards this only permanent buoys only system.

[CaptTom]

Originally Posted by KayZee

Quite a few tropical areas that depend on the health of their reefs for both sustanence and tourism are moving towards this only permanent buoys only system.

It's a reasonable solution, if done fairly. Unfortunately, there's no political disincentive to raising mooring fees. Voters like the idea of keeping their taxes low by collecting more revenue from "those rich boaters." There's also political pressure from marina owners who don't want the competition from municipal mooring fields. They often insist the city charge "the going rate," which of course means whatever rate the marina wants to charge.

[JPA Cate]

Something we're seeing here in Oz is that anchoring within 50 m of shore is being disallowed, with some moorings placed within that zone. It is to allow the baby fish the protection of the various flora on the bottom. Anchoring is then allowed further away from shore (in deeper water where the grasses, etc. do not grow for lack of light).

Many of these places are also parks, and I don't think a term like "eco-nitwits", used above has a constructive place in these discussions. Maintaining habitat for low end of food chain species helps all of us.



Ann

[Simi 60]

Originally Posted by ozsailer

Maybe the easiest solution is the one in straight in front of us - Mooring buoys. Permanent anchor points with a large mooring buoy attached. They do make them for larger commercial vessels. They can be seen in most harbours. Maybe to simple.

Can you imagine going into a harbour and port and there is a buoy waiting for you. Then someone will complain its visual pollution.

Ozsailer

All for it if policed

Tried to do the right thing several times in marine parks with moorings but found small light boats using big moorings while smaller rated moorings were unused.
Asking them to move to one suited for them yielded no results.

Probably got a big mooring once in 20 tries due to this sort of dipshittery

[KayZee]

Originally Posted by SaylorMade

6.000 km2 is 0,0016 percent of the ocean area.

Stuff like this draws attention away from the real problems, of which there are plenty.

Do not bring reason nor perspective to an internet forum. It takes away all the fun of the blowhards on both sides of the issue.


K*

[Montanan]

Videoa of anchor damage

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U23kg7vEe5E

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCs0AdC7QKY

[CaptTom]

Pictures of automobile damage to the environment:





Now compare the "damage" the anchors did to this. Where would you rather be?

Again, it all comes down to the fact that humans change our environment, arguably for the worse. I could easily have shown a mono-culture farm, a power plant smokestack, an airport, a city, suburban sprawl, an open-pit mine, the list goes on.

I'm not saying we shouldn't pay any attention to damage from anchoring. Just putting it in perspective.

[Bowdrie]

Jeepers, after watching that first vid I'm sure glad I don't have to depend upon a 2,000lb Forfjord anchor with ~1>2" stud-link chain to keep my boat in place.

[Greatest Lakes]

Yeah, that's a pretty terrible anchor. Seems like they might was wel drop an engine block considering that poor holding.

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by CaptTom

Pictures of automobile damage to the environment:





Now compare the "damage" the anchors did to this. Where would you rather be?

Again, it all comes down to the fact that humans change our environment, arguably for the worse. I could easily have shown a mono-culture farm, a power plant smokestack, an airport, a city, suburban sprawl, an open-pit mine, the list goes on.

I'm not saying we shouldn't pay any attention to damage from anchoring. Just putting it in perspective.

don't mess up the rant