Scuba Anyone ... Diving Stories

Protecting the aquatic environment

As divers or Snorkelers we should be ambassadors of the underwater environment, here are ten ways we can help:

1. Dive carefully, At first look they may look like rocks or plants but they are aquatic organisms supporting life or fragile creatures that can be damaged or harmed by the bump of a tank or fin or even just touching, so by breaking off even a small piece may be destroying decades of growth.
2. Much of the damage is caused by gauges or alternate air sources dragging over the reef or bottom. By streamlining and controlling your buoyancy you can help to prevent injury to the aquatic life
3. Continue your Education, If you have not dived for a while you may need to sharpen your skills particularly your buoyancy control. So before head of to the reef seek a tune up or a pool session where you can practice your techniques without damaging the aquatic life.
4. Consider your impact on the aquatic life, Some creatures seem friendly and curious about our presence, we may feel compelled to touch or feed the aquatic life, our actions may cause stress to the animals or provoke aggressive behaviour in normally non-aggressive species
5. Respect underwater life consider taking part in a Project aware program to help understand the ecosystem Dive site that are heavily dived can be depleted of their resources quickly So take only pictures to show your friend .