Patrick Cooke
Divers call for better enforcement, protection measures at dive sites
Greater protection measures and better enforcement are needed to safeguard marine life at local diving sites, particularly Ċirkewwa, according to two prominent divers.
On a recent trip to Malta, Peter Lemon, an experienced British diver and author of several guides to diving in Maltese waters, said the setting up of conservation areas around wrecks, including one off Ċirkewwa, has benefitted Malta’s already lucrative dive tourism industry, which attracts up to 60,000 dive tourists annually.
Describing Ċirkewwa as “Malta’s main diving gem,” Mr Lemon said since November he had seen many large groupers and huge shoals of barracudas and amberjacks in the area, so current restrictions seemed to be having an effect, but more needed to be done to create awareness and enforce regulations.
“The authorities could start by making an extra effort with Ċirkewwa, either through the presence of onsite wardens or police.
“The police do respond to reports of infringements, but often not quickly enough to apprehend perpetrators. An onsite presence would deter infringements in the first place,” he said.
In the long term, this would benefit both fishermen and divers, since fish would breed and move out of the protected areas, according to Mr Lemon.
Seven conservation areas were set around popular diving wrecks by the Veterinary and Fisheries Affairs Division (VFAD) in 2008, creating zones where vessels cannot stop and spear fishing and fishing using nets is forbidden.
But current restrictions are not enough according to one prominent local diver, who is so concerned about the “almost daily” infringement of regulations at Ċirkewwa – which he describes as “an underwater palace covered with beautiful frescoes”. He has started a Facebook campaign to ‘Declare Ċirkewwa a Marine Sanctuary’, which yesterday had over 900 followers.
Through the campaign, Antonio Anastasi would like to see the prohibition of all types of fishing from boats, a permanent onsite Administrative Law Enforcement (ALE) presence, clear signs at and approaching Ċirkewwa declaring it a protected area, a ban on the removal of both live and dead marine creatures from the area, and punishments for breaking the law reviewed to act as a deterrent.
“The problem at the moment is that law enforcement is reactive rather than preventative. As far as I’m aware, other countries have management onsite at protected areas,” he said.
Mr Anastasi believes an onsite ALE presence at Ċirkewwa would benefit ALE, helping officers to respond quicker to wildlife crimes reported around Ċirkewwa, Comino and the Marine Protected Area (MPA) between Rdum Majjiesa and Ras ir-Raħeb.
He would like to see fines increased to reflect the costs of apprehending perpetrators and processing crimes through the courts, with some of the revenue used to pay for monitoring Ċirkewwa’s protected area. Mr Anastasi believes the current restrictions in Ċirkewwa leave huge gaps for other types of infringements, like the taking of sea urchins, octopus and lobster by hand.
Recently, the campaign published an online petition imploring the Malta Environment and Planning Authority (Mepa) to declare Ċirkewwa an MPA ( http://apps.facebook.com/petitions/view?pid=912416793&ref=mf . The petition is sponsored by Nature Trust Malta, which has promoted the cause of MPAs over the years.
Last month, Mepa announced the designation of four new MPAs, but Ċirkewwa was not one of them.
Nature Trust Malta has expressed disappointment that Ċirkewwa, Delimara and the whole of Comino were not included for protection.
As well as drawing attention to the areas’ rich biodiversity and Neptune Grass (Posidonia oceanic) meadows, NTM pointed out that Ċirkewwa offers economic value through dive tourism.
Over recent months, the environmental NGO said it has been receiving reports that Ċirkewwa is a venue for illegal fishing methods including fishing with nets and harpoons.
When contacted, the police denied enforcement is purely reactive, saying regular patrols are carried out at protected sites, particularly during summer. In case the police are not in a position to attend to reports, some are referred to the AFM Maritime Squadron.
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Sean Azzopardi
Aug 15th 2010, 11:29
i totally agree with this..... as a diver myself i have dived in cirkewwa many times and have to say that it is one of the best dives in Malta where species rarely spotted in other sites are to be found in its generally clear waters.. Malta has to step up and consider protecting our marine areas as they are very fragile and need every little bit of protection they can get. I would also like to say that people who prefer enjoying the sea above the surface should also respect the ocean , it is after all as important as the air we breathe to our whole eco system. For people that want to know why our oceans are in such danger and why there is reason for alarm due to pollution and over fishing , i suggest watching ''The End of The Line'' . It doesnt get closer to the truth then that . This is not just for our divers or tourists to benefit from but for our planet and future generations if there is to be any
Francis Buhagiar
Aug 15th 2010, 11:07
After reading this article I would like to point out some facts.
Too many divers on sight will also scare fish. In other countries divers are limited to the minimum on diving sights.
The size of our island is what it is and we cant afford to make the whole island a protected area and keep the Maltese people under house arrest with nowhere or little to entertain themselves.
We have to stop thinking of what is good for the tourists as from the tourists a hand full of diving school will make good profits. The tourist will come and go but we will have to remain here. So we have to do what is best for us and the tourist will enjoy it too.
There is much to be done in this field but if you tell those who have diving schools to do what have to be done at their own expense they will run away.
We have to stop blaming the lack of fish on Maltese fishermen and divers because the problem exists in the whole Mediterranean sea.
Antonio Anastasi
Aug 16th 2010, 12:13
In fact the experience of marine protected areas all over the world show the contrary and that fish are NOT chased away by divers. These MPAs gives them the opportunity to breed, as the numbers increase the fishing industry benefits as these migrate outside the MPA to the benefit of not just MALTESE and TOURUST divers but also the fishing community.
Chris Finch
Aug 16th 2010, 12:45
Francis, 60,000 diving tourists visit Malta and Gozo every year. These people do not just benefit a handful of dive centres. They all need places to stay, places to eat, rental cars, post dive refreshments in the bars and cafes, hire cars need filling with fuel, make phone calls using local networks, supplies from local supermarkets, visit other attractions on non-diving days. WIth the right incentives, these tourists will come back year after year.
What they don't need is to see reefs devoid of life, pollution on the sea bed, dive sites vandalised etc.
No-one wants to make the whole island a marine protected area (Lanzarote did just that), but just a few small areas.
The wrecks are protected for good reason. Modern fishing nets are very hard to see. A diver swimming into one could easily be killed.
It is a fact (St Abbs in the UK) that Marine Protected areas lead to an increase in size and amount of sea life outside these areas.
Like it or not, Malta is dependent on tourism. More needs to be done to encourage them to come here. Your attitude will encourage them to go elsewhere. Welcome them.