Scuba and free diving activities

Regulation on scuba and free diving activities

(pursuant to art. 16 of M.D. 100 of 28.04.2017)

1. Scuba and free diving are not permitted in Zones A.
2. Scuba diving is not permitted in Zone B.
3. In Zones B and C daytime free diving is permitted, subject to prior authorisation by the managing body, in the following ways:
   1. in sites suitably identified by the managing body and marked with specific mooring buoys;
   2. according to the times and periods determined by the managing body;
   3. at each site, free diving must take place within a radius of 50 metres, calculated from the vertical of the mooring point, or from the diver’s buoy, or from the float signalling the presence of free divers underwater;
   4. free diving at night is not permitted;
   5. for a maximum total of 8 (eight) free divers in the water per site;
   6. free diving carried out alone or in any case without the assistance of personnel qualified in first aid is not permitted, even when using a support recreational craft, as provided for in art. 90 of Ministerial Decree no. 146 of 29 July 2008, as amended.
4. In Zone C scuba diving is permitted, subject to authorisation by the managing body, exclusively in the following ways:
   1. in sites suitably identified by the managing body and marked with specific mooring buoys;
   2. according to the times and periods determined by the managing body;
   3. at each site, scuba diving must take place within a radius of 50 metres, calculated from the vertical of the mooring point, or from the diver’s buoy;
   4. scuba diving carried out alone, or in any case without the assistance of personnel qualified in first aid, is not authorised, even when using a support recreational craft, as provided for in art. 90 of Ministerial Decree no. 146 of 29 July 2008, as amended;
   5. in the case of daytime scuba diving, in the presence of a diver holding at least a second-grade (level) certification, identified at the time of authorisation by the managing body, with a number of divers not exceeding 6 (six);
   6. in the case of night-time scuba diving, in the presence of a diver holding at least a second-grade (level) certification, identified at the time of the authorisation by the managing body, with a number of divers not exceeding 4 (four);
5. The mooring of recreational craft, in support of scuba and free diving authorised by the managing body, is permitted at the individual marked buoys specifically set up by the managing body, in the following ways:
   1. for the time strictly sufficient to carry out the scuba dive/free dive;
   2. for a maximum of 2 (two) recreational craft at the same buoy.
6. Recreational craft supporting scuba and free diving must comply with the provisions of articles 18, 19, 20, respectively on recreational navigation, mooring and
7. In order to regulate tourist flows, in relation to the environmental protection needs underlying the founding decree, and to determine the carrying capacity of each dive site, the managing body monitors scuba and free diving activities, and adapts, by subsequent measures, after consulting the Reserve Commission, and with prior approval by the Ministry, the regulation of scuba and free diving activities, in particular:
   1. establishing the maximum number of scuba/free dives per day per site and in total;
   2. identifying the most suitable and/or themed dive sites;
   3. providing suitable equipped mooring points for carrying out scuba and free diving activities;
   4. encouraging the deseasonalisation of scuba and free diving activities.
8. Scuba and free diving must comply with the following code of conduct:
   1. contact with the seabed, even partial removal and damaging of any biological, geological or archaeological material and/or organism is not permitted;
   2. it is not permitted to feed marine organisms, to introduce or abandon any material and, in general, to behave in ways that disturb organisms;
   3. the use of underwater auxiliary propulsion means is not permitted, with the exception of those possibly used by disabled persons, subject to authorisation by the managing body;
   4. it is mandatory to keep the scuba/free diving equipment as close to the body as possible;
   5. it is mandatory to report to the managing body or to the local maritime Authority the presence of waste or dangerous materials and abandoned fishing gear on the seabed;
   6. it is mandatory to obtain prior information on the environmental characteristics and regulations of the marine protected area, in particular of the specific dive site.
9. For the purpose of issuing the authorisation, with a maximum annual validity, for carrying out scuba and free diving in the marine protected area, and the possible use of the individual buoys set up for this purpose, applicants must:
   1. indicate the identification details and the type of diving certification held by all individual participants, and the characteristics of the recreational craft used in support of scuba and free diving;
   2. pay the managing body a fee as a secretarial charge, according to the methods indicated in the following art. 35;
   3. for scuba dives, identify a diver holding at least a second-grade/level certification, who formally declares to be familiar with the underwater environment of the marine protected area;
   4. for free diving, identify a free diver holding a first-grade/level certification, who formally declares to be familiar with the underwater environment of the marine protected area;
   5. provide the managing body with a formal declaration of acknowledgement of the establishing decree of the marine protected area, of the regulation, of the present regulation and of any annual provisional regulations;
   6. in the case of using a support recreational craft for scuba and free diving, in addition to the documentation required by the requirements in art. 18 on recreational navigation, applicants must submit all the documentation relating to the recreational craft to be authorised, for the purpose of precisely identifying its technical characteristics and compliance with the administrative obligations of the law;
   7. submit a formal declaration of acknowledgement of Ministerial Decree no. 146 of 29 July 2008, as amended, containing the code of recreational boating, in particular with regard to the safety rules for recreational craft used as support craft for scuba diving for recreational or sporting purposes, set out in Chapter III art. 90, 91.
10. Those authorised for scuba and free diving are required to provide the managing body with information on the dives carried out, for the purposes of monitoring the activities.
11. Scuba diving against payment of a fee to a participating diver or divers is not permitted.