Diving is one of the best ways to explore the world’s oceans. You get to see beautiful marine life, swim with underwater creatures, and experience a whole new different and beautiful world. However, it’s important to be an eco-friendly diver so that you can enjoy your dive trip without affecting future generations’ opportunities to do so as well. Here are seven easy steps for being an eco-friendly diver.
Choose dive destinations carefully
To start, choose dive destinations carefully.
The best way to minimize your carbon footprint is by choosing a destination that is working to preserve the environment and reduce its own carbon footprint.
Pick a dive location that encourages local communities to be involved in the conservation process so that they reap the benefits of tourism and don’t feel exploited for it.
Also, choose a dive destination that promotes sustainable tourism by encouraging visitors to practice good behavior while visiting a particular area or dive site and respecting local customs throughout their stay.
An eco-friendly diver leaves no trace behind
Bring a collection bag with you on your dive and use it to collect trash as you go.
When you’re done diving, take all of your trash with you when leaving the beach or ocean so that it can be appropriately disposed of at the dive shop or your accommodation.
If you’re diving with a group, designate someone to be in charge of collecting trash on each dive. This person should be responsible for ensuring that all trash is taken back to shore with the rest of the group’s gear at the end of each dive.
Respect all marine life
The ocean is full of amazing creatures, some of which you can find in your own backyard. But when you’re out at sea, remember that every creature is its own little ecosystem and should be treated as such.
Don’t touch or feed the fish (or any other marine animal) and don’t take souvenirs from their habitat.
If you see something that looks like it’s about to be put in danger by humans, speak up! Let people know that this is not OK and the animal should be left alone so it can live a happy life without interference from us humans who think we know best — but don’t always practice what we preach!
Practice proper buoyancy control so you don’t hit the corals or other sea creatures while diving.
You also want to stay away from schools of fish as they could cause serious harm. Or more realistically, YOU may cause them harm, if bumped into by an inexperienced diver; this goes double for sharks!
An eco-friendly diver uses natural products
Using eco-friendly products is one of the easiest ways to make a difference when diving. Often, these products are better for your health and less harmful to the environment as well.
For example, you can use sunscreen with non-nano zinc oxide (also known as Z-Cote). This is an excellent alternative to chemical sunscreens that harm marine life and humans.
You can also use biodegradable soaps and cleaners on your gear when cleaning it before or after dives.
This will help to reduce the number of chemicals in the water and also prevent damage to coral reefs and other sea life.
An eco-friendly diver reduces plastic waste
Being an eco-friendly diver applies on AND off the water! Avoid and reduce single-use plastics at all costs!
When you’re out shopping, avoid buying products that come in plastic packaging. Try to buy loose produce or buy products that are packaged in materials that can be recycled or composted (like paper).
Plastic bags are the biggest polluter in the ocean. It’s important to reduce our use of them by bringing our own eco-friendly shopping bags everywhere we go.
Bring your own reusable water bottle with you to avoid buying single-use plastic bottles at the dive shop.
Avoid plastic utensils and instead pack a set of metal cutlery or stainless steel utensils that can be used over and over again instead of being thrown out after each meal (or dive).
Think before buying souvenirs
Souvenirs are great, but buying them can have an impact on the environment.
First of all, be sure to buy local goods that are made from recycled materials or other eco-friendly materials.
You should also consider whether or not the product you’re buying promotes unethical practices like hunting endangered species for sport or using coral as decoration. This is particularly important if you plan on taking home shells.
Avoid items made with turtle shells and coral because they often come from places where those animals are protected. And these animals certainly don’t need any more pressure than they already face!
You should also think about how much of your souvenir might end up in the trash.
Is it made out of a material that can biodegrade? Will it take you longer than a year to use up all of the product? If not, then maybe think twice before buying it.
An eco-friendly diver conserves water and energy
Many resorts and dive boats have a policy that states that you should turn off lights when leaving a room.
As divers, we are far more aware of the impact of our actions on the environment than most people, so it’s important to bring this awareness into every aspect of your life.
Turning off the lights when you leave a room is just one small action that can make a big difference in terms of conserving water and energy while also reducing your carbon footprint. And it may even help you save some money on your next bill!
The same goes for taking shorter showers or using recycled toilet paper (if available). Make sure not to leave the water running while brushing your teeth either!
Conclusion
Regardless of your level of expertise, anyone can be an eco-friendly diver in their own little way.
We hope this article has been helpful to you. It’s an important subject that we hope will continue to grow in popularity as more people become aware of their own impact on our planet.
If you have any questions or feedback, feel free to share them with us in the comments below! We always love hearing from our readers 🙂
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