Memorandum submitted by PADI (Professional
Association of Diving Instructors)
1. Future consultations on the marine environment
should incorporate all key stakeholders. PADI (the Professional
Association of Diving Instructors) represents over 10,000 professional
level diving guides and instructors in the UK.
2. Currently, PADI estimates that there
are over 120,000 active PADI divers in the UK. Additionally, PADI
issues over 50,000 certifications each year in the UK. The majority
of recreational dives are completed above 40m and many are around
the UK's coastline. Divers are key ambassadors for the marine
environment and have a vested interest in its welfare. Notwithstanding,
divers assume a right, wherever possible, to visit this environment,
on a Look, Don't Touch basis. With the UK signing up for the Valetta
Convention, the spirit of public access has been embraced by the
UK Government already.
3. One crucial stakeholder underrepresented
in the marine environment debate is the diver. As in situ witnesses
to the underwater environment they are a vital and under used
resource in terms of monitoring and reporting. This would particularly
apply to Marine High Risk Areas, where divers can note the amount
and rate of deterioration first hand, both of marine habitats
and areas of underwater cultural heritage. Equally, divers must
have a continued voice, as a key interested party, in any decisions
on Special Areas of Conservation and Special Conservation Areas.
Very little mention or consideration of recreational divers was
made in the Seas for Change report.
4. Recreational divers can be a key component
of any Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment, assisting with
surveys and observations on a voluntary basis. Indeed, progressive
steps in specific survey training have already been made by the
Nautical Archaeology Society, and SeaSearch (a collaborative survey
training scheme).
5. Wrecks and maritime heritage are clearly
under represented in Seas for Change, which purports to offer
an inclusive and holistic approach to the marine environment debate.
These areas can provide vital and important marine habitats, as
well as being an integral part of the marine environment in their
own right.
12 September 2003
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