KEY LARGO, Florida (24 Apr 2003) -- If you want to legally feed sharks in Florida these days, there's only one place left to go - the federal portion of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (waters more than 3 miles from shore). Ironically, this last remaining haven for scuba diving thrill seekers lies within U. S. federally mandated marine protected areas, established by Congress under the National Marine Sanctuaries Act of 1972 with a primary objective of protecting marine resources. The feeding of all marine life by divers in all State marine waters of Florida - including some 2/3 of the FKNMS that lies within three miles of shore - has been strictly prohibited since January 2002 when a ban imposed by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission took effect. That rule was unanimously passed and adopted because Florida marine wildlife conservation officials, divers, most commercial dive operators and the public understood that "Feeding marine life disrupts the natural behavior and feeding habits of fish and other animals. That is not in the best interests of marine life" (FFWCC Chairman David Meehan). Similar prohibitions on shark feeding dives (and in some cases all fish-feeding activities) have been passed recently by marine resource protection agencies in the State of Hawaii, the Cayman Islands, South Africa, Egypt's coast of the Red Sea to name a few. Last year, the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) launched a campaign to urge divers to stop feeding fishes to protect coral reefs while dive industry marketing elements lined up behind DEMA, which continues to squander member funds on costly lawsuits aimed at repealing Florida's shark feeding ban. Still, the FKNMS has yet to act to afford Florida's underwater citizens such protection. About 1/3 of the FKNMS waters - including most of the Sanctuary's coral reefs - lie beyond state jurisdiction. Environmentalists are not amused with the situation. The Marine Safety Group (MSG) - the environmental group that led the Florida fight to prohibit feeding dives - continues to encourage FKNMS Superintendent Billy Causey to move as expeditiously as possible to see that NOAA compliments the Florida measure. | | "Dive tour operators in the FKNMS continue to feed sharks, barracudas, and other fishes 18 months after such activities became illegal in State waters!" said Bob Dimond, President of the MSG. "NOAA's National Marine Sanctuary Program should have been the leader - not the follower - on this issue," Dimond continued. "They have known about this problem for years and have done nothing." Indeed Mike White, who managed the Key Largo National Marine Sanctuary (predecessor of the FKNMS) nearly 15 years ago adopted an official Sanctuary policy of "discouraging" the practice of fish feeding in 1988, stating that "We are adamantly opposed to hand-feeding fish for several reasons. One is that it changes the fishes natural behavior." Among other reasons, White cited unnecessary threats to the safety of Sanctuary visitors; just a week earlier a visiting diver lost most of his thumb to a previously "fed" barracuda that took the wrong cue when the diver gave the traditional signal to surface. Dimond believes that the underlying reason for Causey's (and NOAA's) apparent reluctance to take a stand on this controversial issue is an unwillingness to anger Florida Keys sport diving interests, who boast "more dive shops per mile" than any other area in the world and have a long history of vehement opposition to government regulation. Cyber Diver Society (CDS) President Evan T. Allard blasted NOAA as an organization "that fails to deliver on its promises". "It is a matter of record that NOAA has failed to fulfill its mission to protect marine wildlife and public safety in Florida," said Allard. "Why should taxpayers be forced to support an organization that spends millions on exotic ocean expeditions while colluding with the diving industry to harass marine wildlife?" SOURCE - MSG, CDS, NOAA |
