institutions according to top diver Mr. Teddy Tucker.

Mr. Tucker says the Trust is a major contributor to the problems of the marine environment at Foot of the Lane, just outside Hamilton.

And he particularly singles out the 200 or so ducks in the area as a major part of the blame.

He believes the Trust should do something about the ducks which he says are fouling the marine environment.

Mr. Tucker was responding to the National Trust objections to the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute which is due to go before planners in the near future.

He is one of the men behind the Institute which aims to create a state-of-the-art tourist attraction, "unique in all the world,'' to look at Bermuda's relationship with the sea.

Plans for the Institute are now with the development applications board and its founders published a four page advertisement in The Royal Gazette on Monday.

And yesterday National Trust Director Ms Amanda Outerbridge revealed their detailed objections to the plans. They included complaints about the impact on the marine environment.

Ms Outerbridge said: "Presently there is a sea bed which in itself is not only host to a variety of marine life , but which is a natural feature which the developer seeks to cover in an effort to create a deep water sea wall/dock.

"The use of large water vessels to move tourists about will be a nuisance to the residents of the area. It is also likely to necessitate frequent dredging of the channel and such disturbance of the sea bed will cause further degradation to the marine environment.'' But Mr. Tucker attacked the National Trust and pointed out other facts that have helped in the decline of marine life at Foot of the Lane, where the National Trust's Waterville headquarters is located and close to where the proposed Institute will be built.

Speaking historically Mr. Tucker recalled dredging of the waters at the end of the Second World War. He said: "If anything the dredging improved the quality of the water by increasing the rise and fall of the local tide flow.'' Mr. Tucker spoke of the decline of fish numbers beginning around 15 years ago.

He said mullet, sand scallop and mangrove oyster have almost disappeared from the waters.

Stressing that he did not blame boat owners Mr. Tucker said outboard motor emissions, detergents and anti-fouling paint had all contributed to the decline of marine life.

Turning to the Trust Mr. Tucker said: "Since the National Trust sees fit to publish their newsletter stating that it will monitor the BUEI with a critical presentation relating to the marine environment, I strongly suggest they examine and police their own waterfront first.

"Without any doubt the National Trust is a major contributor to the problems of the marine environment at the Foot of the Lane.'' Mr. Tucker believes a cause of water deterioration at the Foot of the Lane is the ever-increasing duck population.

He said: "I have seen ducks feeding on the juvenile inhabitants of the foreshore. It is a well known fact that ducks in large numbers have a destructive impact on waters of confined bays and lakes, as well as the adjoining shore.

"It seems evident that the National Trust has done little to discourage the duck population on the Waterville property, their headquarters.'' Mr. Tucker added that on September 22 there were more than 200 ducks on the foreshore surrounding Foot of the Lane.

He continued: "It takes very little imagination to understand the impact that the droppings from such a large duck population will have on the ecosystem of the waters and foreshore of a bay as land-locked as the Foot of the Lane.

"The philosophy of the National Trust seems to be: `do as we say, not as we do.' With the fouling of their own nest in mind Bermuda might well be better off to hope that the The National Trust will leave the monitoring of the development to others more qualified.''