Divers demand stricter rules after ancient remains damaged in Tulum cenote

Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo — A dive instructor is calling on authorities to tighten regulations after a group of Brazilian divers caused damage to millennia-old remains in the Hoyo Negro cenote in Tulum, central Quintana Roo.

Ramon Magana, an instructor with Phantom Divers Playa del Carmen, said in an interview that divers from other countries and other Mexican states often arrive during peak seasons to dive in the sea and cenotes of the Mexican Caribbean without the proper certifications or permits from Mexican authorities.

According to Magana, in addition to permits from the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (Conanp) for diving activities and viewing species such as bull sharks or whale sharks, the federal Tourism Department also issues authorizations. He noted that the Tourism Department certification is not exclusive to diving but applies to all tourism service providers.

Magana said that during each high season, divers from other countries arrive with their own equipment and rent boats to offer cheaper services. When confronted by established local divers, the foreign divers often argue that they pay all the taxes that regularized operators pay.

Magana said these bad practices are tarnishing the image of diving in Quintana Roo and urged authorities to take action promptly.

The damage at the Hoyo Negro cenote was reported last week by specialists who denounced the impact on archaeological and paleontological remains after the unauthorized entry of the foreign diving group.

According to cave divers Alejandro Alvarez and Alberto Nava, members of the Tulum Speleological Project who were involved in the discovery of the skeleton of Naia in 2007, the incident occurred during scientific work carried out in coordination with the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH).

The specialists said the unauthorized access disturbed sediment at the bottom of the cavity, which is considered key to studying the first inhabitants of the continent and Pleistocene fauna.