How dive sites are protected: the tools authorities use.

Who makes the rules

The bodies that manage dive sites take very different forms. Some are national park commissions, some are statutory authorities, one is a foundation, and in the United States the work is split between federal and state agencies. The table lists the managing body and the main instrument for each park covered in this section.

Zoning: different rules in different places

Large parks divide their waters into zones with different rules. The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Zoning Plan 2003 names eight zones, from General Use to Preservation. In its Marine National Park Zone, the plan allows low-impact activities that take nothing without needing permission, while its Preservation Zone allows almost nothing without the Authority's written permission. The Great Barrier Reef page sets this out.

The Florida Keys sanctuary works the same way in a regulation rather than a plan. Its rules in 15 CFR 922.163 apply across the whole sanctuary, and 922.164 adds rules for particular areas. Where areas overlap, both sets apply.

Permission, permits and licences

Some sites require every diver to get permission first. Under the Thingvellir Commission's Rules No. 214/2013, anyone planning to dive in the park must report to a park employee and be given permission, which depends on reading the maritime authority's instructions, signing a declaration that the dive is at their own risk and paying the park's visitor fee. Wreck sites can be stricter still: at the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary off North Carolina, NOAA's regulations prohibit diving without a permit at all.

Elsewhere permits are aimed at businesses rather than individual divers. In the Great Barrier Reef's Marine National Park Zone, the 2003 plan requires the Authority's permission to run a tourist programme.

Nature fees and tags

Several parks charge visitors a fee. STINAPA states that Bonaire's nature fee is mandatory for everyone using the marine park and is valid for one calendar year. Silfra's visitor fee is a condition of permission under the 2013 park rules. These pages name such fees and never give the amounts, which change; the authority's page is the place to check them.

Conduct rules for divers

Most authorities publish rules about what divers may do in the water. STINAPA bans gloves and knee pads in Bonaire's park and forbids touching marine life. The DPNG's 2026 resolution for the Galapagos sets a minimum distance of 2 m from wildlife for snorkellers and divers and restricts sunscreens containing oxybenzone or octinoxate. In the Florida Keys, 15 CFR 922.163(a)(2)(i) prohibits touching or damaging coral, and 922.163(a)(6) requires divers to fly a divers-down flag.

Certification, depth and equipment rules

A few authorities write diving limits into their rules. Iceland's maritime authority instructions of 2013 set a maximum depth of 18 m in Silfra and ban entering its caves and crevices, and the 2017 amendment requires a dry suit for scuba and proof of dry-suit training or experience. In Egypt, the Chamber of Diving and Watersports published a depth policy in 2009 (which may have been superseded) that sets 40 m as the maximum on compressed air where training allows. These are those bodies' rules for those places, not general limits; agency depth limits are on depth limits by certification.

Closures

Authorities also close sites to let reefs recover. Por Esto reported on 16 February 2026 that the Cozumel park authority closed three reef zones for February and March 2026, as part of a rotating closure strategy. STINAPA's diving rules exclude two reserves from diving and note sites closed temporarily because of stony coral tissue loss disease.

Moorings and anchoring

Several authorities restrict anchoring and provide moorings instead. In the Florida Keys, 15 CFR 922.163(a)(5)(ii) bans anchoring on living coral in water under 40 feet deep where the bottom can be seen. STINAPA limits use of Bonaire's public moorings to 2 consecutive hours. In Egypt, the conservation group HEPCA reports a network of about 1,400 mooring buoys, and said its team inspected 470 of them at 100 sites in June 2026.

Enforcement

The rules carry sanctions. Under Silfra's 2013 park rules, staff can remove rule-breakers, the warden can impose a temporary diving ban, and serious breaches can be fined or punished by imprisonment under Iceland's National Park Act. Vistazo reported in September 2026 that Galapagos breaches go through administrative proceedings under the Galapagos special regime law (LOREG) and the Organic Environmental Code (COA), and that social-media posts can be used as evidence.

Conduct guidance beyond the law

Alongside these legal rules, bodies such as NOAA, Project AWARE and Green Fins publish reef conduct guidance for divers and operators. It is gathered on protecting reefs and marine life. Wreck sites are governed by a separate body of heritage law, covered in wreck diving and the law.

What we could not find

Our research found no published diving season from any of these authorities, so the site pages give none. Several authorities' own pages could not be reached during our research, and each site page says where a fact rests on a secondary source or could not be confirmed.