Diving Industry of Victoria Association Inc

The Victorian Scuba Diving Industry Leaders

You are here: Home / 2014 / December / Archives for 10th

Archives for 10/12/2014

Great Victorian Fish Count

by

Great Victorian Fish Count

Dear Reader,

DIVA would like to invite you and your friends to join this year's Great Victorian Fish Count,

Run by the Victorian National Parks Association's Reef Watch program in partnership with Museum Victoria, this event brings together volunteer divers from across the state to help survey and monitor important reef sites.

Last year, more than 400 volunteer divers and snorkelers from schools, community conservation groups and dive clubs took part in the Great Victorian Fish Count.

We hope you can join us this year. Our marine environment certainly needs you there!

The data from the survey feeds into a dedicated database which provides Victorian National Parks Association and other marine managers and institutions with the information to monitor and protect our amazing Victorian underwater world.

It’s easy to join us, just log in: kadem@vnpa.org.au or call : 03 9341 6519

So suit up and take the plunge this December.

Yours sincerely

Kade Mills, ReefWatch Coordinator

and The Dive Industry of Victoria Association Inc. (DIVA)

 

Please Read on, the latest info from ReefWatch Co-ordinator,

Hi to All,

Many thanks to all the 2016 Fish Count divers who submitted their count data!

We’ve compiled thousands of records of fish and you can see them here in the 2016 Great Victorian Fish Count Report. Check out the records and see your group's contribution to the count.

Highlights include;

  • Many sightings of the blue groper
  • White-barred box fish saying hello to the crew at Eagle Rock
  • The great diversity of fish recorded across the state
  • The more than 400 legends like you that made it a huge success!

Check out the report on our website at vnpa.org.au/publications/2016-great-victorian-fish-count/.

2017 Great Victorian Fish Count
The dates for this year's count have been set for Saturday, 18 November – Sunday, 17 December, so get chatting with your dive group and sort out a location and weekend that works for you. The Prom sounds nice to me!

This year, the Great Victorian Fish Count will be adding sharks and rays to the fish count slate, we don’t know which ones yet and would love to hear your thoughts. Get in touch with me if there's a shark or ray you want to record.

Praise the Rays

Fisheries Victoria has recently responded to community concerns about the killing of rays in Port Phillip Bay by proposing a number of changes to fishing regulations. The agency is proposing to prohibit the take of rays larger than 1.5 m, reduce the bag limit to one a day (from five) and prohibit the take of rays from manmade structures.

These proposed changes have come about due to the efforts of numerous divers, including the Project Banjo Action Group (see their petition here), tired of seeing rays killed for no purpose.

Please write an email before 14th August to joanne.klemke@ecodev.vic.gov.au expressing your view on these changes.

The Fisheries notice can be found here.

 

Happy bubble blowing,

Kade Mills, ReefWatch Co-ordinator, 03 9341 6519,  kadem@vnpa.org.au

 

Heritage Victoria

by

Heritage Victoria

About the Heritage Council of Victoria

The Heritage Council of Victoria provides the highest level of legal protection for cultural heritage places and objects in Victoria.

The Heritage Council of Victoria is an independent statutory authority and Victoria’s main decision-making body on (non-Indigenous) cultural heritage issues.

Ten members are appointed by the Governor-in-Council on the recommendation of the Minister for Planning.

The Heritage Council of Victoria receives professional advice and administrative support from Heritage Victoria, and both organisations work together on a range of committees.

Our work

Heritage Council of Victoria:

  • is the primary source of advice to the Minister for Planning on heritage issues
  • decides which places and objects are added to the Victorian Heritage Register, and operates in accordance with the Victorian Heritage Act.
  • hears appeals on permit applications determined by Heritage Victoria
  • promotes public understanding of Victoria’s cultural heritage and conducts community education and information programs.

 For Further Information Please Visit:

http://www.dtpli.vic.gov.au/heritage

Port Phillip Bay Channel Deepening Project

by

The Port Phillip Bay Channel Deepening Project

Marine Safety

DIVA has a active role on the Small Vessel Advisory Committee.

Port Phillip Bay Channel Deepening Project

Dive Industry Liaison GroupIn early 2007, PoMC established a Dive Industry Liaison Group (DILG) to ensure continued consultation and communications with the dive industry within Port Phillip Bay. Representatives from Dive Industry Victoria Association (DIVA), representing commercial diving interests, and the Scuba Divers Federation of Victoria (SDFV), representing recreational diving interests, meet on a regular basis with PoMC to discuss the Channel Deepening Project and diving in Port Phillip Bay. http://www.channelproject.com/community/dive_industry_liaison_group.asp

 

Port Phillip Bay Channel Deepening ProjectThe Minister for Planning, Robert Hulls, announced that the Port of Melbourne Corporation would be required to carry out a Supplementary Environment Effects Statement (SEES) for their proposed Channel Deepening Project.  Please see: www.portofmelbourne.com  for the planning panel's report & recommendations, the minister's media release and other important information.

 

 

  Despite the fact that DIVA has always maintained its strident opposition to the Channel Deepening Project we have maintained contact with the Port of Melbourne Corporation through our participation on the Port of Melbourne Corporation Channel Deepening – Dive Industry Liaison Group. This group was formed during the initial planning stages of the Channel Deepening project and through active representation at all meetings DIVA has been able to directly monitor the channel deepening schedule, environmental monitoring and operational restrictions that have affected scuba diver access to various dive sites during the dredging operations. Also our participation has given industry a direct conduit to voice operational concerns and incidents directly with the Port of Melbourne Corporation. 

The good news is that the project is in its final stages in respect of operations in the southern portion of the bay and we expect that all works will be completed by the end of August in time for the upcoming dive season and the scuttling of the HMAS Canberra.

 

In order to continue to monitor the continued effects of the project on our dive sites and the general marine environment we ask that our members remain vigilant and advise our Secretary of any ongoing observations, incidents and issues. For up to date information on the project go to: www.channelproject.com

Categories

Archives

December 2014
M T W T F S S
« Jan   Jul »
1234567
891011121314
15161718192021
22232425262728
293031