Changes in Akumal Bay
As most readers are aware Akumal Bay Refuge for Protected Species was declared earlier this year, March 7 to be exact. READ MORE
It wasn't until July 7 that the first visible actions for the protection of the bay were taken. Change is brewing in Akumal and so far, this is what we know.
NEW SNORKEL PERMITS ISSUED TO TOUR OPERATORS
PROFEPA issued snorkel permits to 20 different snorkel tour operators that conduct snorkel with turtles tours in Akumal Bay. The permits are limited to 12 persons per day and stipulate that the “snorkel with turtles” tours are to be conducted within the buoyed area only. The permits are provisional and will expire in December 2016.
Because CEA is a non-governmental organization and not a commercial tour operator, we were not granted these snorkel permits. In the past CEA has applied for the permits on behalf of the Dive Shop and Dive Center, however, this time, the dive operators applied for and have been granted their own permits.
Who has the snorkel permits?
No official list of companies who have the permits has been provided at this time by the authorities.
As an independent tourist, do I need a permit to snorkel?
Permits apply to businesses who conduct commercial/tourist services, not to the independent individual.
GROWING PAINS AND CONFUSION
Change will always bring some bumps and growing pains, and Akumal Bay is certainly not immune. A few of those growing pains have given rise to the following important questions.
What about the rest of the Bay?
One particular point of confusion is the usage of the other parts of the bay. If the commercial snorkel tours under the new permits apply to the buoyed area only, it leaves the rest of the bay without a clear directive, which has caused some uncertainty.
Some organizations have interpreted the permits to mean that the 12 person limit per day applies to the entire bay. While some companies appear more than willing to use their 12 person turtle snorkel tour limit within the buoys and then conduct “non-turtle snorkel tours” in unlimited numbers outside the buoyed area, including the use of their boats to transport their passengers out of the bay and drop them off on their return inside the reef break to snorkel their way to shore.
These last two actions by some operators defeat the purpose in imposing limitations and attempting to minimize the overload of the bay and ecological issues. But until specific directives are made and enforced as well as establishing entire capacity limits for the bay, this will sadly continue.
Who’s enforcing it all?
PROFEPA and CONANP are the authorities tasked with the enforcement. However, PROFEPA asked various guides and snorkel operators to choose selected individuals to form a “comite de vigilancia” or a group of “inspectors” to help monitor and patrol—to basically be the eyes and ears of PROFEPA.
This group of “inspectors” can be identified by their green shirts. But what exactly they are to monitor or patrol has not been made clear, and perhaps hasn’t been made clear to the “inspectors” themselves. Independent snorkelers have been approached and told by these guys in green a variety of false information, such as the bay is now private, the cost is $50 to enter, everyone must take a tour and even things that contradict CONANP’s newly released “Code of Ethics for Akumal Bay”.
We hope that these kinks will be worked out by PROFEPA sooner than later. As things become known and/or clarified by the authorities, we will keep you updated.
Please feel free to contact us a info@ceakumal.org if you have other questions that are not covered here.
