TALLAHASSEE, Florida (30 Jan 2002) -- A legal challenge to November's ruling by Florida's Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FFWCC) to ban marine life feeding dives statewide has been set back for months by a ruling today in Leon County Circuit Court. The presiding judge advised industry attorney Bob Harris to take his case back to the legal "drawing boards" stating that the industry's "everything but the kitchen sink" approach was not acceptable as presented to the Court. The FFWCC did not come out a clear winner either. The Commission had asked the court to summarily dismiss the dive industry case, but the court ruled instead that it could consider perhaps the most far-reaching of the industry's claims - that the FFWCC overstepped its authority in the November ruling. However, the Court preferred to see what kind of a case the dive industry actually had - after proper preparation - in order to evaluate its merits. An administrative hearing held late last year summarily dismissed the dive industry's attempt to overturn the Commission's ruling on procedural technicalities. The FFWCC came into existence in 1999 as the result of a constitutional amendment that consolidated into a single new agency the former Marine Fisheries Commission, elements of the Divisions of Marine Resources and Law Enforcement of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, and the former Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission. The constitutional mandate of the FFWCC is to exercise, "...regulatory and executive powers of the state with respect to wild animal life and fresh water aquatic life and shall also exercise regulatory and executive powers of the state with respect to marine life". The case will likely gain considerable attention if and when it is heard, as the scope and extent of the regulatory authority of the FFWCC itself could well hang in the balance. State attorneys are confident that the State will prevail. | | Environmentalists, divers and dive center owners have joined together to legally ban fish feeding and other commercial 'interactive' activities that are extremely harmful to marine wildlife, however, PADI, its eco-spin front Project Aware, and DEMA have been fighting to overturn the legal ban on the lucrative business of exploiting sharks for the entertainment of scuba diving tourists. The Circuit Court challenge represents the last fading hope for the dive industry in Florida, which refuses to concede defeat on the issue despite the unanimous ruling of the Commission and broad support from wildlife managers, environmentalists and the general public. The Humane Society of the United States (the nation's largest animal protection organization) and the Florida-based marine conservation organizations Marine Safety Group and Reef Relief have all condemned the industry attempt to overturn the FFWCC ban. Recent polls have indicated that most recreational divers also support the measure, by a margin of about 4:1. The next court date for the case is now likely 3-4 months away. © CDNN - CYBER DIVER NEWS NETWORKSCUBA FORUMDISCUSS THIS TOPIC - Dive in and have your say at Scuba Forum |
