KEY LARGO, Florida (30 Oct 2001) -- A Florida state agency meets in Key Largo, Fla., Thursday and is expected to vote for a proposed ban on shark feeding trips for divers, and both sides have already started the fireworks. The National Humane Society has condemned a lawsuit filed last week by dive companies opposing the ban. The Diving Equipment and Marketing Association has scheduled rallies at Key Largo for Wednesday night and Thursday morning. Commissioners of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission will consider a proposal banning feeding of all marine animals by divers and prohibit charter boats from carrying passengers to watch fish feedings. The rule would take effect Jan. 1 if it is adopted. The board already has voted to recommend prohibiting such trips. The controversy has been raging for two years, but the current furor stems from a flurry of reports of shark attacks on swimmers and surfers last summer. So far this year, there have been 64 attacks worldwide, 50 in the United States and 36 in Florida. There have been three deaths, one each in Virginia, North Carolina and Brazil, figures from the International Shark Attack File in Gainesville, Fla., showed. Last year, there were 85 attacks worldwide and 38 in Florida for the entire year. There were 12 fatalities, with one of them in Florida. George Burgess, director of the file, said it seemed unlikely there would be as many attacks around the world and the numbers would probably be about the same in the state. Burgess said he favors the ban, not because there have been some injuries on the shark feeding trips, but rather because the trips tend to change the environment and the behavior of sharks. "What I'm more concerned about is the modification of the environment and the behavior of the shark," he said. "They clearly become trained by the feeding operations to the point they will respond to the sound of a boat engine." He also said sharks appear to be abandoning one area for an area where they know they will be fed, leaving their original location without sharks at the top of the food chain. | | Dive operators respond there is no evidence any harm as done. "Reacting to recent media hype concerning shark attacks, the proposed ruling blames divers for shark incidents despite the lack of any scientific data supporting their position," said Ruby Enriquez of the sport's equipment and marketing association. Leading the fight for the ban is the Florida Marine Safety Group headed by Robert Dimond. "Despite evidence that shark-feeding by dive operators poses a danger to both humans and sharks, DEMA and other dive industry business interests continue to fight for it because it is an extremely lucrative operation," Dimond said. The Humane Society in Washington said it condemned the suit filed in Tallahassee, Fla., earlier this month, calling it a last-ditch attempt to overturn the ban. SOURCE - UPI |
