The Belmar Borough Council —in the early 1990s, by municipal proclamation — designated the back bay of the Shark River Inlet as an underwater marine sanctuary.
Under the leadership of Divers Two dive shop in Avon, local divers have participated in the longest continuous underwater cleanup effort in U.S. history. They have removed tons of garbage.
Over the past several years, as a result of the development of the Belmar Marina and the competition with fishermen and boating, divers no longer have safe and convenient access. Despite repeated requests for inclusion into borough plans, the situation worsens.
At a recent town hall meeting with the mayor, I let him know about this dire situation. The entire Belmar Council needs to know that divers are the leaders in protecting this environment for the future.
If you are a diver, know a diver and care about the environment for future generations, please take a moment to write Mayor Matt Doherty and the council members.
Divers are the stewards of the Shark River and deserve access stairs and a platform in a diverdesignated area adjacent to Maclearie Park.
In these dire financial times asking for handouts for a small special interest group is highly doubtful even if you waive the environmental banner. Perhaps the situation would be better received if the divers just asked for the permits and other political obstacles waived to self-fund and build on their own through donations and fund raising events. Crying "give me" all the time has put the country and smaller municipalities near bankruptcy. Long past time people once again take stock in themselves, roll up their sleeves and get to work and not expect others to do it for them. President Kennedy's famous statement "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your Country" has more meaning now than when that decree was made. On a smaller scale, municipality, this is certainly meaningful.
Its not diver responsibility to "Generate funds" to clean up the Belmar Marina. They are charging enormous fees for slips,paving the 9the ave pier for private enterprise and keeping divers out of the back bay. This was THEIR choice. To this day the clean up efforts of many marine groups including dives shops have gone over and above their civic duty.
I am all for "helping", but not being the sole support of a municipality who took all the access from boaters and divers to support more money making concerns in lieu of public access and making the marina an "unfriendly" place to enjoy our shores.
Disclaimer of Liability: The materials on the NJ Scuba Divers Message Board web site are provided to you free of charge, "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL NJ SCUBA DIVERS MESSAGE BOARD OR BOARDHOST.COM BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER, INCLUDING SPECIAL, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES OR DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS, REVENUE, USE, OR DATA WHETHER BROUGHT IN CONTRACT OR TORT, ARISING OUT OF OR CONNECTED WITH ANY NJ SCUBA DIVERS MESSAGE BOARD POST OR BOARDHOST.COM WEB SITE OR THE USE, RELIANCE UPON OR PERFORMANCE OF ANY MATERIAL CONTAINED IN OR ACCESSED FROM ANY NJ SCUBA DIVERS MESSAGE BOARD POST OR BOARDHOST.COM WEB SITE.
Link Disclaimer: We provide links to web sites operated by other parties. The links are provided for your convenience only. The presence of a link does not imply any endorsement of the material on the web sites or any association with the web site's operators. We do not operate, control or endorse any information, products or services provided by third parties through the Internet. We are not responsible for the content and performance of these sites. Use of linked sites is strictly at your own risk including any risks associated with destructive viruses.
If you like this website, and would like to give something in return, you can make a donation Your donation will be used to pay for domain & maintenance costs ONLY! Click the PayPal Donate button below....THANK YOU!