BALITA NG DIVING
Ghost-gear divers para maiwasan ang red tape
Larawan: Ghost Fishing UK.
Kasalukuyang pinipigilan ng burukrasya ang mga boluntaryong scuba diver na gustong tumulong sa paglilinis ng mga basura sa dagat, particularly ghost-fishing gear, looks set to be cut ng Pamahalaan.
Sa kasalukuyan, nangangailangan ng lisensya ang mga diver na nakikibahagi sa organisadong marine-litter retrieval at mga gumagamit ng bangka na nagpapadali sa mga naturang operasyon.
But a six-week consultation just launched by Environment Minister Thérèse Coffey is intended to lead to their being exempted from licensing – leaving them free to tackle the estimated 640,000 tonnes of ghost-gear abandoned annually.
3 2018 Nobyembre
“Diving communities play an important role in protecting our marine environment and tackling the litter and ghost gear that blights our oceans,” said Coffey. “We want to make it easier for divers and other sea-users to play their part, which is why we are looking at how we can cut red tape while still maintaining the highest protections for our precious marine life.”
The proposals form part of a wider consultation on simplifying the marine licensing system and reducing unnecessary burdens on divers, says the minister’s department Defra (Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs).
The current rules, introduced in 2011, were intended to limit the environmental impact of activities such as construction and dredging, but caught up environmentally minded divers, especially when it came to using boats or equipment such as lifting-bags for clean-ups.
“As divers we see first-hand the damage to the marine environment done by abandoned and lost fishing gear, along with other marine litter,” commented British Sub-Aqua Club Chair Alex Warzynski. “Anything that Defra can do to make it easy for divers to clean up without fear of doing the wrong thing will help.”
Ang mga panukala ay magbibigay-daan din sa mga awtoridad ng daungan na alisin ang lahat ng marine litter, sa halip na limitahan sa pag-alis lamang ng mga bagay na nagpapakita ng agarang panganib ng sagabal o panganib sa pag-navigate.
In 2017 the UK Government joined the Global Ghost Gear Initiative, a consortium founded by World Animal Protection to collectively address the fishing-litter problema. It also launched the Commonwealth Clean Oceans Alliance earlier this year.
Ang pangkalahatang plano nito sa pagharap sa marine litter ay kinabibilangan ng pagbabawal sa microbeads at iminungkahing pagbabawal sa pagbebenta ng mga plastic straw, stirrers at cotton-buds, pati na rin ang bote ng inumin at maaaring deposito-return scheme.
The litter-clearing consultation runs until 14 December – have your say in an online pagsisiyasat dito.
