Associate Director planet, but they have been speeding towards the threat PADI AWAREfrom Foundation of extinction overfishing for years. Caught in unsustainable numbers for their meat, livers and fins, the scientific analysis of their populations has called for an immediate ban on fishing them for years. The 52 countries (which include the European Union as a fishing nation) that fish in the Atlantic are managed by a body known as the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT).
In 2021, concerned PADI divers from South Africa joined forces to express their concern to the South African government and urge the minister to support a ban on mako fishing in the Atlantic. In November 2021, at the annual ICCAT meeting, their voice was heard, and South Africa joined the other countries in supporting and securing a ban on catching makos for 2 years. PADI AWARE would like to thank the efforts of the PADI divers and operators in South Africa who helped make this conservation win a reality.
Peter Herbst - Reef Divers Conrad and Fiona Lamont - Aquamania Reel van der Merwe – Garden Route Scuba Devon Ford - Scuba Evolution Wessel and Liesel Lourens - Phoenix Divers Phillip Lowne-Hughes - Water orphans Shannon Stewart and Milley - Blue Ocean Rae du Plessis - GOZO Azul
PADI AWARE would like to thank the efforts of the PADI divers and operators in South Africa who supported the campaign.
#DIVERS4MAKOS