Diving Ban Eastern cape and Other

Kanga

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Have a look here Guys, Damn these guys are going A bit Far now.

Steve warren Posted in the Ecmaa thread as well, I thought more guys would see it here.




SA Scuba Mailing list! - http://lists.stormnet.co.za/cgi-bin/...pl?enter=scuba --- News release

For immediate release

Scuba divers rally to oppose diving ban

Western Cape, 11 December 2007: Scuba divers nationwide have rallied in response to proposed legislation to ban recreational diving in parts of the Eastern and Western Cape in a bid to curb abalone poaching.

A protest campaign is sweeping across cyberspace, urging divers and other supporters of recreational ocean use to voice their indignation at the proposed ban.

Monty Guest, chairman of diving NPO Underwater Africa says, "While we accept that abalone poaching is in critical need of addressing, the proposed ban to diving is highly unlikely to help. Recreational divers have nothing to do with poaching; and the legislation already in place is hopelessly poorly enforced. There's little point to further laws when the poachers don't see a risk."

Guest points to progressive bans that have failed to produce the desired results. "Recreational abalone diving was banned, with little or no effect. Divers were made to buy permits and night diving was banned: the list goes on but the fact remains that nothing has really changed."

The only possible outcome of the new legislation, says Guest, is the penalisation of divers and snorkelers. This group has been noted by the WWF as one of the ocean's most avid conservation supporters.

"The ban will remove the watchful eyes of divers from the ocean," says Guest, "and the knock on effect is immeasurable. Law abiding citizens, legitimate businesses and coastal communities will suffer; along with the wider tourism industry. It starts here, but where does it end?"

Underwater Africa is urging the public to voice their concerns by the cut-off date of 15 January. A petition can be found at http://www.thepetitionsite.com/petition/420829084 . Letters of concern can be addressed to Risha Persad at the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Private Bag X2, Roggebaai, 8012 by registered mail; faxed to (021) 402 3009 or emailed to rpersad@deat.gov.za.

- Ends -

For further details or comment, contact:
Underwater Africa
Chairman: Monty Guest
Cell: 082 456 1982
E-mail: info@uwa.org.za
 
Steve, I hope you dont mind I am using your posts here
LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD BY E-MAILING YOUR STRONGEST OPPOSITION TO THE PROPOSED DIVING BAN IN BY THE MINISTER OF ENVIOURMENTAL AFFAIRS AND TOURISM, MARTINUS VAN SCHALKWYK, WHO CANNOT CATCH THE ABELONE POACHERS AND AS AN ALTERANATIVE TO HIS INEPTNESS DECIDED TO BAN ALL DIVING IN CERTAIN AREAS OF THE CAPE. Government Gazette No 30542 .

SEND YOUR SUBMISSION E-MAILS TO Rpersad@deat.gov.za

CC E- MAILS TO THE FOLLOWING: techteam@divetek.co.za

and

comment@uwa.org.za or info@uwa.org.za

SUBMISSIONS CLOSING DATE 15 JANUARY 2008



BY E-MAILING, & CC YOU STAND A CHANCE TO WIN AWESOME PRIZES OF DIVING GEAR SPONSORED BY CONCERNED MEMBERS OF THE SA DIVING COMMUNITY.

REGULATOR SET, OCTO, GUAGES, CYLINDER, BCD, DIVE COMPUTER, MASK, SNORKEL, FINS, WETSUIT,HOODY , GLOVES, BOOTIES, REEL, SMB, COMPASS, KNIFE, TORCH, DIVE BAG, AND OTHER SURPRIZE GOODS.

DRAW DATE 25 JANUARY 2008

YOUR VALID E-MAIL TO GOVERNMENT AND CC WILL BE PRINTED, PLACED IN A BOX FOR A DRAW ON AN OPEN EVENING AT DIVETEK ON THE 25 JAN 08 AT 1900. YOU NEED NOT BE PRESENT TO WIN.
 
Diving ban: WWF has its say
06/12/2007 14:02 - (SA)
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DA attacks diving ban
Perlemoen diving ban
Perlemoen crisis
R2m worth of abalone seized
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Cape Town - Conservation organisation WWF has reacted with mixed feelings to the ban on recreational diving, proposed by Environment Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk as part of the fight to save abalone from extinction.
The WWF said it recognised that the status of abalone stocks in South Africa and the social effects of rampant poaching warrants urgent action and that a total ban on diving in prescribed areas could be a very effective way to simplify compliance and enforcement in these areas.
However, the organisation warned that such drastic measures could alienate one of marine conservation's most avid supporters, scuba divers and snorkellers.
The WWF also stressed the need for the development and implementation of a comprehensive, integrated compliance plan that tackles the poaching problem, from divers entering the water through to export across our borders.
It should involve a wide range of government institutions. In the absence of such an overall plan, measures like those proposed in recent months - closure of the legal fishery and now a ban on diving - will continue to be seen as simply punishing legal operations whilst illegal activity continues unabated, the organisation said.
"Just yesterday I was at the Betty's Bay Marine Protected Area and noticed a suspicious rubber duck on the outer reefs. I called the 24-hour anti-poaching line for the area, but there was no response. Under these conditions of negligible enforcement response, one must conclude that a ban on diving would be fruitless - poaching would continue unabated and at the cost of alienating one's support base, said Dr Deon Nel, Manager of the WWF Sanlam Living Waters Partnership.
A middle way
"Over and above the development of an inter-departmental compliance plan, the government simply needs to commit more resources and capacity to the fight against poaching and its effects on coastal communities. It's time we all recognised that this is well beyond merely an environmental issue, but one with dire socio-economic impacts on already impoverished coastal communities."
WWF conceded that if the government committed adequate resources to ensure effective compliance, a ban on diving in more remote areas, such as Dyer Island and Bird Island, could have significant benefits of simplifying enforcement and prosecution procedures.
However, in highly utilised areas, such as the Cape Peninsula, WWF believed a more inclusive process needed to be followed.
"Perhaps a middle way would be to permit diving only during daylight hours on weekends, when most recreation diving takes place. Such an arrangement would still assist in compliance, whilst also allowing scuba divers to appreciate the beauty of this area.
"However, these arrangements will need to be discussed directly with the diving fraternity. WWF encourages DEAT and the diving enthusiasts to engage constructively around this matter, and remains committed to assisting in this process in any way we can," Nel concluded.

Want to report poachers? Call 0800-116-110.


http://www.news24.com/News24/Technology/News/0,,2-13-1443_2234125,00.html
 
Thanks Kanga, will be sending my email soon.


Yeah, mine will have a few choice words in for old Kortbroek


So now they will have less conservation minded individuals (the legit divers) in the area, so it will be easier for the poachers
 
Look if I was n Perlie, the Ban wouldnt scare me however one of these with a few ex 32 battalion gentleman would. and the scary thing is it would be cheaper than the loss of income with tourism and diving.



 
At the risk of being shot down....What is the problem? As I understand it the ban affects a very small area of the coast. Banning all divers from these areas will make it a hell of a lot easier for the poachers to be caught as if you see anyone in those areas it means that they are undertaking some unlawful activity. Far easier for the authorities to nail somebody diving in a closed area than it is to try to distinguish the white hats from teh black hats...

Kevin heads rapidly for the bunker............
 
At the risk of being shot down....What is the problem? As I understand it the ban affects a very small area of the coast. Banning all divers from these areas will make it a hell of a lot easier for the poachers to be caught as if you see anyone in those areas it means that they are undertaking some unlawful activity. Far easier for the authorities to nail somebody diving in a closed area than it is to try to distinguish the white hats from teh black hats...

Kevin heads rapidly for the bunker............

I fear the truth is you need not run for the bunker, but from the perspective of the law abiding diver who has actually gone out of his way to protect an area like this for the next generation, it just sits bad that they are denied "uninvasive" use of the area.

So just like every story, this does have 2 sides;)

I think the main fear is that this is going to set a precedent, and in future if there is a problem, the simple solution will be, Ban activity "a" from area "x"

OK I am sneaking to my bunker now

Hermann
 
I am not too concerned about this setting a precedent because the current situation has led to the virtual extinction of perlemoen. To me that says that the existing efforts to protect the resource (both formal enforcement by the authorities as well as "informal" enforcement by law abiding divers) are ineffective and something new has to be done. If a similar situation arose elsewhere on our coast (eg crayfish on the KZN coast for example) I would argue that the same should apply. Whilst the easy answer is to say that the authorities need more resources or that they should be more effective, the reality is that this is not going to happen in the near future. From what I have read about the perlemoen poachers, I am damn sure that I, as an ordinary citizen, will not be making any arrests without some serious backup either.
 
I am not too concerned about this setting a precedent because the current situation has led to the virtual extinction of perlemoen. To me that says that the existing efforts to protect the resource (both formal enforcement by the authorities as well as "informal" enforcement by law abiding divers) are ineffective and something new has to be done. If a similar situation arose elsewhere on our coast (eg crayfish on the KZN coast for example) I would argue that the same should apply. Whilst the easy answer is to say that the authorities need more resources or that they should be more effective, the reality is that this is not going to happen in the near future. From what I have read about the perlemoen poachers, I am damn sure that I, as an ordinary citizen, will not be making any arrests without some serious backup either.


Look very true, I wont be going out there in my rubber duck with a night stick to make an arrest either. And yes CT way it has started happening with crayfish.

And yes it is a last resort at the moment, however there must be something in between. If the EC ends up loosing all income from diving and the related tourism in the EC then having effective measures could end up being cheaper in the long run.
 
Agreed, but will closing down those sections of the coastline result in the loss of all diving opportunities in the EC?
 
Agreed, but will closing down those sections of the coastline result in the loss of all diving opportunities in the EC?

Nope, although that is a very lucrative/ Popular area, but if it does set a precedent and more areas are banned it could in the long run.
 
I think you need to look at it from their point of view as well, they clearly don't have the manpower to police this sort of thing, so I think the best way they could do this is by a total ban, then it will be easier to police like Kevin stated in post number 8. If anybody sees a diver out there then they simply phone the authorities and hopefully they can react in time to investigate it.
 
That would then be the next step. If this intervention is successful (and the problem that I do have with this legislation is that, as far as I can see, there are no criteria set out for assessing whether or not this closure of sections of the coastline has been successful or not Or what conditions would lead to the ban being lifted), then the negotiation should begin about regulated access to those areas and (Kevin heads for bunker again) perhaps others as well. Perhaps something along the lines of the Marine Protected Areas could be considered but with less stringent controls that do not preclude all harvesting?
 
I think you need to look at it from their point of view as well, they clearly don't have the manpower to police this sort of thing, so I think the best way they could do this is by a total ban, then it will be easier to police like Kevin stated in post number 8. If anybody sees a diver out there then they simply phone the authorities and hopefully they can react in time to investigate it.

O yes and I surely think this is their thinking, but their superducks ( saw one in Swartkops wit 2 X the new 300HP yammies on the back) are outrunning anything the authorities have anyway. So we losing revenue and the battle against the poachers as well.

If it works then I am all for it, but I dont believe it will make any diffrence to these guys doing the poaching
 
I hate people like this (the poachers), they are the lowest forms of life on earth.
 
I hate people like this (the poachers), they are the lowest forms of life on earth.

Oh I do so agree, they found a house in Millpark (very pricey area) rented with all chest freezers in it here

They caught the Ice Rink storing Perlemoen on the skating surface at night

Like you say low, and without them we would be talking about whether the DSB or Plenum is better, not this K@k
 
Hi All
I think an important point is the proposed banning of diving on the Wild Side from Cape Recife towards Seaview area. This would include the Cape Recife, Noordhoek, Willows area, Malay Pool, Mangolds Pool, Schoenmakerskop, Bushy Park, Kini Bay and Seaview. Another point, although for the wrong reasons is this ban would be useless as far as protecting perlemoen as
A) The perlie poachers will carry on regardless
B) There is not much perlemoen left in these areas
C) The authorities already struggle to cope with the poachers and would have to waste time stopping locals and tourists from snorkelling that are not involved with poaching
 
Hello All - I already sent them a nice LONG justification letter via email on why NOT to do it.
Yeah - right - like we have not covered this topic before. It's like the ban on SCUBA divers "taking corals from the reefs".....

I agree fully with Kanga - the government is trying something out here. Experimenting. It's like the way they control our interest/repo rates - they INCREASE the repo rates where every other country in the world drops the repo rates in their country. They try and force the economy down using the only way they thnk they know. BY ENFORCING THE GOOD GUYS! This is just another proof of this type of tactics.

I lived in Europe for 6 years, and saw what's happening the the country from the sidelines..... I clearly see the way that this ship called RSA is being run.....

It's NOT about trying to catch the poachers Steve - it's about doing what they know best - ENFORCING THE GOOD GUYS! CONTROLLING THE GOOD GUYS!

There's no way in hell that they would be able to catch the poachers.... and they know it...... So they don't care about them anymore - they just figure - if there are no-one else who knows what's going on (the SCUBA divers who sees the diminishing stocks of abalone - and who can report it) - then EVERYTHING can be swept "under the rug" - not to be heard of again.....
 
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