Follow these tips on how to take it into action:
DIVE WITH A GREEN FINS CERTIFIED DIVE CENTRE
All dive shops are not equal. For some, cheap and cheerful diving is the bottom line. Others go that extra mile to ensure their operations have minimal impacts on the reefs. If we want this to be the norm, we’ve got to show demand for sustainable business. Choose operators that raise awareness for ocean conservation. The Green Fins website is an easy tool to find operators that have been certified as actively working to improve their practices both above and below the water. Keep an eye out for other initiatives too – they all have the same message – divers CAN make a difference!
FOLLOW THE GREEN FINS GUIDELINES
Practice good buoyancy
Something we are told time and time again, but few of us actively work on improving, is our buoyancy. Good positioning in the water means reducing the risk of accidental damage to the reef, and removes your instinct to hold on to something. Whilst one errant fin kick, or a couple of grabs of a piece of coral from one diver may seem innocuous, add up the number of divers in a group, the number of groups that visit that site in a day, a week, a month, a year and it starts to add up. One study in St. Lucia (Barker & Roberts 2004) found that a single diver contacts the reef an average of 24 times per hour, with most contacts being accidental and often unaware. If just 30 divers are on that site for an hour, over 700 contacts could be made!
Don’t feed the fish
A seemingly innocent, maybe even ‘helpful’ practice, especially around South East Asia is fish feeding - usually with pieces of bread. Whilst it may seem fairly harmless on the surface, this can have serious ecological implications. Provisioning (feeding) is an easy alternative for fish, but unfortunately they become reliant on the practice. Apart from the lack of nutritional value of bread, this act leads them to forgo their natural food source, throwing the finely balanced food web out of whack. A common group of species that take advantage of fish feeding are damselfish, many of which graze on the algae that competes with coral for space and light. Without the pressure from the grazers, a reef can shift from high coral cover to an algae dominated state. Which would you prefer to dive in?
Go au naturelle
Gloves are a particular source of contention for divers, and many dive shops in the tropics now have a no gloves policy. The issue lies with the false sense of security that extra layer gives a diver. If your hands feel protected, you are more likely to touch the reef without thinking. Try to employ other techniques like good buoyancy, or even holding on to your guide. If you’re worried about hydroids on a mooring line where you descend - take one glove to hold on to the line and keep it in your pocket until you ascend.
Watch your waste
Cigarette butts, sweet wrappers, drink sachets, plastic bottles, masking tape on tanks - these are all items easily blown off a dive boat. The more conscious dive shops will have ashtrays and bins with lids to prevent that happening. If there isn’t one, bring these items back to land and find a trash can. The number one item collected worldwide during the International Coastal Clean Up for many consecutive years has been cigarette butts. In 2014 alone over two million cigarette butts were collected. Always use an ashtray and ask your dive crew to do the same.
Be a sustainable shopper
Buying souvenirs? Avoid shells and other ocean products. The Molluscs that make those shells have vital roles to play in marine ecosystems, like grazing algae to prevent overgrowth on reefs, not to mention when broken down these shells replenish sand and maintain the chemical balance in the ocean that is being altered by ocean acidification. The international trade in seashells is huge, and each decision you make not to be part of that makes a difference.
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