Ecologists Drown During Research Trip in Sea of Cortez

In March 2000, a University of California researcher, his graduate student and three others died in a boating accident in the Sea of Cortez.  You can read more about what happened in the article by David Malakoff titled:  Researchers Drown During Research Trip.

The deaths caused many research institutions to re-evaluate their scientific small boat use and policies. While there were many well organized and established boating safety programs already in place, the evaluations found other instances where boating programs existed in a state of benign neglect from administrators that made funding/staff decisions. In some cases no program was in place at all. Many times, institutions found that:

• Many boating programs were informal.
• Documentation may not have been complete.
• Training was on an as needed basis, with few curriculum or instructor qualification guidelines.
• Often there was no clear responsibility for safety issues and equipment maintenance.
• Funding issues were common. In some cases there was no dedicated budget for boating at all.
• Many other institutions were struggling with the same issues.