Few aquarists realize the dangers faced on a daily basis by the collectors who catch fish for the marine aquairum trade. In contrast, the collectors are acutely aware of the risks because many of them have had friends paralyzed or killed because of unsafe diving practices. With these realities in mind, MAC staff in Indonesia developed a health and safety diving component to the MAC training that collector's receive. Moreover, they introduced the collectors in one area of north Bali to the possibility of receiving treatment for decompression sickness in a hyperbaric chamber. MAC staff accompanied the small group of collectors to the hospital to 'demystify' the decompression process. The collectors returned to the village and spread the word about the chamber, thus helping to dispel many of the fears previously held by their community about this potentially life-saving treatment that is available to them.
