Environmentally conscious diving starts with education. Learn proper diving techniques so you can experience the thrills of exploring a new world without damaging coral reefs and other sea life.
Sign up at your favourite dive school or club for a PADI Peak Performance Buoyancy Course or similar. It does not matter which Diver Training Agency you qualified with, or how long you have been diving, a Peak Performance Buoyancy Course benefits most divers and reduces unintended damage to our wonderful underwater world.
Streamline and secure your diving equipment so it does not drag along the dive site. Watch your feet—tread carefully on shore, and in the water try not to disturb sea life with fin turbulence. Maintain neutral buoyancy to minimize your impact on your surroundings.
Look, but do not touch—or pry or poke or pluck or feed. Leave coral and sponge in the deep. Keep a respectful distance from marine animals, who may be trying to eat or mate.
Avoid grabbing underwater objects to pull you forward or to stop drifting. Learn how to use a Reef Hook in a current. You will see so much more when you are relaxed and confident.
Plan your dive trips with dive centres that promote eco-friendly diving, through practices such as keeping groups small to minimize the impact on underwater habitat, and by responsible anchor and buoy use.
Above all, get involved!
Volunteer for a fish count, collect dolphin behavioural information or join in an underwater cleanup.
Join The Emirates Diving Association (www.emiratesdiving.com) and get involved in their projects.
Research the below action groups and find amazing opportunities to make a difference.
www.saveourseas.com – Save Our Seas is a non-profit making organisation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. Its purpose is to implement and support diverse programmes centered around the protection of the Earth’s marine environment.
www.sharkquestarabia.com – Shark Quest Arabia, a film project to raise awareness of Arabia’s shark and the global of overfishing in this area.
Dr. John Burt is a marine biologist with New York University in Abu Dhabi. His research is focused on fish, coral, and other communities associated with natural reefs and man-made breakwaters throughout the Emirates, and he currently has projects in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Fujairah. John is always on the lookout for dive
buddies to assist in the field. As a scientific diver, John’s trips are “work” dives – reeling tapes, deploying equipment, shuttling tanks for underwater drilling, etc. and often on non-traditional dive sites (breakwaters, etc). Thus, these aren
‘t your usual relaxing dives, and can involve spending hours at work on scuba (even in the sweltering summer).
However, you will get to dive on some very unique locations that are often inaccessible to the public, and John will give you a great crash-course in the marine ecology of the area. Dives are all < 10 m depth and tanks are provided. Contact John.Burt@nyu.edu for more information.
Do your own research and get involved with a passion!
