Environment

Environment
Many people think that we do not have any environmental problems in the Falklands. Unfortunately this is not the case, Stanley still dumps all its raw sewage in the sea, we have a rubbish dump that does not conform to the majority of today's environmental requirements for dumping of waste, there is very little recycling, we have only just introduced biodiversity legislation, there is no Port State Control on shipping that enters our waters and hence some of the ships that do enter are in appalling conditions and lack a great deal of safety equipment, and even have been known to dump their ballast water inside our waters.

Whilst we always think of nature as being in charge it is man and governments that are guilty parties. It is up to us to put this right.

Pollution
With the consolidation of the fishing industry and the continuing expansion of tourism, with more and more visiting expeditions and cruise ships, the chances of a pollution accident has increased. Only recently, we have seen the Holberg grounded in Port Purvis on West Falkland, and was lucky not to be a total loss. Additionally, a Taiwanese jigger struck Volunteer Point in mid-April 2007, drifted to the southeast and sank in over 50 metres of water. She had 60 tonnes of fuel still onboard, which still poses a small but significant threat to the marine ecosystem.

A future oil industry could also have potential pollution repercussions. If we act now, we can minimise the potential for future pollution incidents.

Marine Sanctuaries
Whilst we only have a very small local number of people fishing for trout and mullet and a small mussel farm, a major development into inshore fishing or marine farming in the future could have an impact on our coastal and offshore islands. Now is the time to establish a chain of marine reserves or sanctuaries around the Falklands. These areas could easily compliment the existing Nature Reserves on the mainland and smaller islands.

We were involved in the first Marine Shallow Water Survey of our coastal waters in 1995. Now is the time to consolidate that work and to further understand the diverse marine habitats that exist around the shallow coastal waters of the islands.

With our local knowledge, with S.A.M.S. new boat and all the other diving and survey equipment at our disposal and taking on board the appropriate expertise from persons in the Marine Life Sciences we could carry out the next stage of any future survey work.