PALM BEACH GARDENS, Florida (25 May 2001) -- The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) voted unanimously (8-0) not to ban shark feeding in Florida waters but said it wants strict guidelines to regulate marine life feeding activities. The FWC voted in February 2000 to draft a proposed ban on marine life feeding but backed away from the decision after the diving industry lobbied for self-regulation. In September 2000 the commission directed the dive industry to draft a proposal for guidelines regulating shark feeding dives. A dive industry group called GIMEC (Global Interactive Marine Experiences Council) developed guidelines that were presented at the FWC meeting on Thursday, May 24. The guidelines call for feeders to be safe, encourage conservation and use only fresh raw fish to feed sharks. But several commissioners said the guidelines did not go far enough to ensure public safety and protect marine life. They voted to make changes to the guidelines requiring feeding zones to be moved away from beaches and other recreational activities, and forbid hand-feeding and touching marine animals. Shark feeding opponents argue that feeding sharks and other marine predators conditions the animals to associate humans with food, which puts swimmers, snorkelers and other divers at risk. | | "Tomorrow morning when we wake up, dive operators are still going to be feeding, congregating and conditioning sharks to associate humans with feeding nearly 200 yards off the beach," said David Earp, a co-founder of Marine Safety Group. "How many people have to be injured before they do something?" Due to concerns about public safety, three cities in Broward County, Deerfield Beach, Hillsboro Beach and Lighthouse Point, have banned shark feeding off their shores. More than a dozen environmental groups also oppose shark feeding due to concerns stemming from scientific research that found adverse effects caused by feeding of marine life. © CDNN - CYBER DIVER NEWS NETWORK |
