DEERFIELD BEACH, Florida (11 Oct 2001) -- With only weeks remaining until the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FFWCC) votes on a rule that would prohibit commercial dive tour operators from feeding sharks and other dangerous predators close to public beaches, two Republican state legislators are attempting to breathe new life into an all-but-dead campaign by commercial sport diving interests to block the proposed rule, which was designed by the FFWCC to protect marine wildlife and the public. After intense lobbying from the dive industry, Rep. Ken Sorensen (R- Key Largo) and Lindsay Harrington (R-Punta Gorda) - both members of the House Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Committee - have asked the FFWCC to postpone final action on their proposed ban on marine life feeding by divers until a proposed industry-funded "study" can be conducted. Mr. Robert Dimond, President of the Marine Safety Group (MSG) - a south Florida environmental group that has led the two-year fight to ban shark feeding in Florida waters - called the move irresponsible, and nothing more than a delaying action sponsored by the dive industry. "This is classic backroom politics. The dive industry is attempting to bypass the will of both the Commission and the public by appealing directly to key members of the House Committee that controls the FFWCC budget appropriations". The motion to proceed with rule making that would ban the feeding of marine wildlife by divers was first passed (unanimously) by the FFWCC in January 2000, when Commissioners expressed concerns for marine resources as well as public safety. During the ensuing two years, the Commission conducted an extensive series of public workshops and meetings during which a wealth of testimony documenting the problems involved in feeding wildlife was provided by scientific experts, government resource managers and leading environmental organizations. | | Despite this two-year history of considered deliberation and extensive information gathering by the FFWCC, dive industry lobbyists have repeatedly portrayed the proposed FFWCC rule as nothing more than a hastily conceived, knee-jerk reaction to last summer's shark attacks, a piece of disinformation that apparently resonated with at least some legislators. At a meeting yesterday of the House Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Committee, Rep. Sorensen stated, "I ask the commission not to make a decision based on public politics and perception". Dr. William Alevizon, former Professor of Marine Biology at the Florida Institute of Technology, said that the suggestion that new research might enlighten the issue in the short term was ludicrous. "This is a complex scientific issue, involving numerous species and habitats, each with unique sets of ecological interactions. There is simply no magic research bullet that could, in a year or two, substantially change the current state of knowledge regarding the environmental effects of fish feeding in Florida" Alevizon stated. "Even if an entire series of such research projects began today, it would be many years before they could be completed, and the results properly reviewed and evaluated by the scientific community. In the meantime Alevizon suggested, "The prudent thing to do is to act now to protect these resources, using the best available information. That evidence overwhelmingly supports the position that these feeding dives disrupt natural ecosystems and negatively alter fish behavior". © CDNN - CYBER DIVER NEWS NETWORK |
