By Caryn Dolley and Sapa
A plan to ban scuba diving and snorkelling along most of the Cape coast is "ridiculous" and "will slowly but surely kill these recreational sports", outraged enthusiasts said on Tuesday.
The ban has been proposed by Environmental Affairs Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk in a further effort to protect the country's fast-diminishing perlemoen (abalone) stocks.
The envisaged prohibition, subject to a process of public comment, will take effect from February 1, Department of Environmental Affairs spokesperson Mava Scott said.
'The poaching problem is probably just going to get bigger' The suspension of commercial perlemoen fishing will come into effect on the same date.
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The only area in which scuba diving and snorkelling will be allowed will be from Olifantsbos to Scarborough.
Jack van der Schyff, owner of Jack's Dive Chest, when told about the ban, said: "Now he's pushing his bans into our areas. Where do we go in the end? He is slowly but surely killing these recreational sports and the tourist diving industry.
"We'll probably end up sitting with our diving gear and nothing to do."
Co-owner of Dive Courses and Charters, Peter Labuschagne, said the proposed ban would be extremely damaging to the industry.
'Poachers will find a way to go about their business' "We've done nothing but promote environmental awareness," he said. "We're one of the few industries that make our clients aware of the underwater environment. I can't see why the government is damaging our industry. It's a ridiculous ban."
He didn't see the point of banning diving in certain areas.
"The poaching problem is probably just going to get bigger. The demand for perlemoen will increase and poachers will find a way to go about their business," he said.
Skender Pedro of Table Bay Diving said a ban "would have a very bad effect on the diving industry" and Paul Hanekom of the Research Dive Unit at the University of Cape Town said he understood Van Schalkwyk banning scuba diving in poaching hotspots but the area around Dyer Island was popular for shark diving.
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