Protecting reefs and marine life: what NOAA, Project AWARE and Green Fins publish.

NOAA: the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary

The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) publishes an undated page of tips for responsible divers for the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. It is guidance for that sanctuary; our research found no NOAA reef guidance that covers all US reefs, and local rules elsewhere may differ. Its main points, in summary, are below.

Contact with the reef

• NOAA asks divers and snorkellers to avoid all contact with the reef. It explains that hands, fins and gear can damage coral, and that some corals sting or cut.
• It asks visitors never to stand or rest on coral, and to stand up only on the boat.
• It warns that fins can stir up sand, which can smother coral.
• It advises keeping a comfortable distance from the reef, avoiding shallow areas, and choosing entry and exit points that do not cross reef.

Buoyancy and equipment

• NOAA ties reef protection to buoyancy control and correct weighting, which are skills taught in training. Weight systems are described on weights.
• It advises against gloves in coral areas, and asks that hoses, regulators and other gear be kept streamlined and secured.
• For beginner snorkellers, NOAA suggests snorkel vests, and prefers them to pool noodles, which can drift away and become marine debris.

Animals and the things they live in

• NOAA says touching, feeding or chasing marine life can stress animals, disrupt their feeding and mating, and provoke aggression. NOAA points readers to its wildlife viewing guidelines and pledge.
• It asks visitors not to collect dead coral, rocks or shells, because they are habitat for marine life.
• It describes shipwrecks and other historical resources as non-renewable, so removing items from them disrupts the sites.

NOAA also points visitors to Blue Star, the sanctuary's recognition programme for operators who commit to responsible diving and snorkelling. Naming the programme here is not a recommendation of any operator.

Project AWARE's 10 Tips (2014)

Project AWARE published an updated set of 10 Tips for Divers to Protect the Ocean Planet in January 2014. PADI's professional blog announced it on 10 January 2014, in a post by Domino Albert of the Project AWARE Foundation, which said the update responded to shifting environmental threats and to changes in how people travel and learn to dive. Scubaverse (28 February 2014) called the tips a code of conduct for scuba divers. In paraphrase, the ten are:

1. Master buoyancy control.
2. Set an example for other divers.
3. Take nothing away except photographs, and leave nothing behind.
4. Protect the life underwater.
5. Act against marine debris.
6. Choose seafood responsibly.
7. Take action for the ocean.
8. Travel as an eco-tourist.
9. Reduce your carbon footprint.
10. Give something back.

Our research reached the tips only through 2014 reprints; Project AWARE's own page could not be opened, so its fuller wording is not given here. Wikipedia (secondary) says Project AWARE became the PADI AWARE Foundation in June 2021. We could not confirm the details of that change on PADI's own pages.

Green Fins: a code for dive operators

Green Fins is aimed at dive and snorkel operators rather than individual divers. Its own website could not be reached during our research, so this section rests on Wikipedia (secondary), which reports that:

• Green Fins was set up in 2004 as a United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) initiative, first put into practice through the Coordinating Body on the Seas of East Asia (COBSEA);
• The Reef-World Foundation, a UK charity, now leads it as International Coordinator under UNEP's direction;
• its Code of Conduct has 15 points aimed at the most common and most harmful effects of scuba diving and snorkelling on marine habitats;
• operators sign a membership pledge to follow the Code, and trained assessors visit each year to check compliance, give advice and train staff.

Wikipedia names member countries including Thailand and the Philippines (from 2004), Indonesia (2007), Malaysia (2008), the Maldives and Vietnam (2013), the Dominican Republic (2018) and Egypt (2019), and gives 15 active member countries. Trade articles give 9 or 11 countries, apparently because they were written earlier. Wikipedia also notes that the evidence Green Fins cites concerns how well operators comply, not measured changes in reef health. Membership of Green Fins is described here as a fact about a programme, not as a recommendation of any member business.

What the safety bodies add

The diving safety bodies make related points. DAN's marine life health resource, by Paul S. Auerbach, MD, says handling animals as little as possible and respecting their personal space is better for both the animal and the diver. The NSS Cave Diving Section lists promoting the conservation of fragile cavern and cave environments among the aims of its Cavern Diver course. For the hazards some marine animals pose to divers, see environmental hazards.