The Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism has proposed new legislation to ban diving (scuba, spear fishing, skin diving and rock lobster diving) in specific areas in the Western and Eastern Cape. This legislation owes to the department's inability to prevent poaching of abalone along our coast: a situation that has worsened with the recent closure of marine protection projects.
While the poaching of abalone is a serious problem, the new legislation will do nothing to stop the poachers. There is little point to imposing new laws when the current laws are not enforced. The proposed legislation will only penalize law abiding citizens, legitimate businesses and coastal communities; and South Africa's wider tourism industry. It will also remove the watchful eyes of the diving community from the specified areas %u2013 one of the most valuable deterrents to poaching that we currently have.
We have until 15 January to act: make your voice heard! Please add your name to this petition.
We, the undersigned object to the proposal by the Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism to ban diving specific areas in the Western and Eastern Cape in an attempt to curb abalone poaching.
Recreational divers are law abiding citizens and have nothing to do with poaching.
The WWF predicts that the proposed ban will alienate marine conservation's most avid supporters - scuba divers and snorkellers.
It does not help to make new laws which attempt to curb abalone poaching of exsisting laws are not enforced!
