IZU PENINSULA, Japan (15 Mar 2005) -- As the popularity of scuba diving increases here, so have accidents. Local scuba diving companies on the Izu Peninsula are now increasingly joining efforts to set up safety measures and protect the lives of divers. It has been a piecemeal process, because localities have had to combine previous arrangements, often those set up with locals in the fishing industry. But with four divers dead and some others injured in a total of 14 accidents in 2003 off the Izu Peninsula, scuba firm operators are urgently trying to stave off more accidents. And, too, a reputation for accidents doesn't exactly boost business to the area. "One accident that happens somewhere in waters off the Izu Peninsula would create an image among people that the whole area around the peninsula is dangerous for scuba diving,'' said Kiyoomi Murata, head of the nonprofit organization called the Ito Divers Conference. The ITC was set up in 1994 by about 10 scuba diving service operators. Of the 14 accidents in 2003 in Shizuoka Prefecture, some involved drownings; others were due to decompression sickness according to prefectural police said. The Izu Peninsula, located in the eastern part of Shizuoka Prefecture, has many popular diving spots, including the ones in Osezaki district in Numazu city and the Izu Kaiyo-Koen marine park in Ito. About 200,000 people use the local diving facilities annually, according to statistics compiled by the prefectural government in fiscal 2003. Scuba diving businesses offer instruction as well as provide accommodation facilities and sell diving goods. They have also started to expand a network of safety cooperation by establishing organizations in the prefecture. The IDC was the first such organization. Its members go to medical workshops to learn about decompression sickness and to lectures given annually by the city's firefighting department about life-saving techniques. Furthermore, the members conduct search-and-rescue drills. Murata says that the drills helped them save more divers. Scuba diving accidents were down to four in Ito in 2004. "Thanks to the drills, we were able to rescue some missing divers. In one case, we were able to bring a diver back to consciousness before an ambulance arrived,'' Murata, 59, says. | | However, the members of the IDC eventually realized there was a limit to their ability to cope with accidents. So, the IDC called on other 156 scuba diving service operators in seven areas outside Ito city to unite in the effort. In October 2004, they jointly established a larger organization, called the Shizuoka Prefecture Divers Conference. But, as the new group worked on safety measures, they encountered a problem. In diverse areas, diving service operators had signed contracts with local fishermen's cooperatives in order not to obstruct the fishing business. In the contracts, for example, scuba diving firms are required to follow rules on diving areas and hours when diving is allowed. However, the contracts aren't uniform. To solve the problem, the Shizuoka Prefecture Divers Conference came up with the idea to establish a divers conference in each of seven areas so that each divers conference can make its own rules. All the divers conferences are to share information about accidents to prevent divers from endangering their lives. In the future, the conferences might regulate the number of people allowed to go diving depending on the transparency level of the water and the flow of the tide. The conferences also intend to hold educational lectures to prevent accidents, in cooperation with the prefectural police and local firefighters. Last month, 60 scuba diving firm operators, located in or west of Numazu city, also joined the diver-safety movement. They formed the Suruga-Enshu Sports Divers Conference. Numazu is located on the northwestern part of the peninsula. Hideki Kobayashi, 44, secretary-general of the new conference, said the organization will promote close ties among local operators. "Along with firefighters, we plan to conduct drills to deal with accidents,'' he said. SOURCE - IHT |
