Posted by Ken Kurtis on December 21, 2003 at 23:45:19:
In Reply to: Re: Funding Stewardship posted by Andrew Spring on December 21, 2003 at 22:52:52:
Andrew suggested: "You'll save a lot of payroll if you have employees of the shops, and boats collecting this fee, instead of bogging down your wardens with stamp checks for kayaks, paddle boards, etc.."
As a dive shop owner I'd oppose that as it puts an undue burden on us for monitoring, collecting, paperwork (so the DF&G will know if we collected enough), etc. On top of that, since my employees don't work for free, it's going to cost me money (which I'm going to pass on to you) to do this.
The biggest problem with a lot of these thoughts is that, since you'd also need to set up enforcement/verification, you may find that the added costs to DF&G to verify/enforce outpace the income the solution generates.
But I think the mere fact that we're having this dialogue here, especially givien Sonke's position at DF&G, is nothing short of fabulous. Personally, I've always thought it's a great feeling to have some direct input into the system, even if your ideas don't get implemented. At least you had a chance to be heard.
Ken Kurtis
NAUI Instr. #5936
Co-owner, Reef Seekers Dive Co.
Beverly Hills, CA