When I did my first open water dive at the Red Sea, off the coast of Yanbu, Saudi Arabia, I was amazed with the variety of corals and marine life that I’ve seen. As I continue travelling to many places and diving with RDA DiveNet in different seas and oceans, the more I discovered that there are even better, extremely colorful sites beaming with life than that of the first one I saw. However, I also came to realize that there are a lot of problems that our oceans, particularly our reefs, are effaced with. As a diver, I learned to differentiate a bleached coral reef, a dying one from a reef that is healthy and full of life. It isn't really hard to distinguish between them but when I dive at those places with dying corals where very little amount of fish thrive, I question myself how hard it is to help protect them. Makes me sad and I know most divers feel the same as I do.
Being sad about stressed or dying coral reefs is one thing but doing something to protect them is another. You don’t have to be a diver to contribute. There are many simple ways to care for our coral reefs and they’re all very easy to follow:
1. Learn more about coral reefs. How important are they in our global ecosystem? Be informed and share the word.
2. When you visit a coral reef, whether snorkeling or scuba diving, keep it healthy by respecting local guidelines and regulations. Don’t touch the reef. Dive without gloves.
3. Don’t pollute. Never put garbage or human waste in the water. Don’t leave trash on the beach.
4. Recycle. Think hard before you throw something away. Re-use as much as you can.
5. Conserve water. Using less water equals less water going back to the ocean therefore saving it.
6. Keep it clean. You may be in the habit of picking up your own trash. You may even participate in an organized cleanup. But have you considered carrying away the trash that others have left behind?
7. Only buy marine aquarium fish if you know they have been collected in an ecologically accepted manner.
8. Don’t anchor on the reef. If you go boating near a coral reef, use mooring buoy systems when they are available.
9. Again, DON’T TOUCH the reef! Take only pictures and leave only bubbles! Keep your fins’ gear, and hands away from the coral, as this contact can hurt you and will damage the delicate coral animals.
10. Be responsible. If you’re partying at the beach, mind your actions and don’t litter. When you’re diving, keep doing safe diving practices as you were trained. Stay off the bottom so you don’t stir up the sediments and harm the corals.
You don’t have to be a diver to help conserve our oceans or help protect our coral reefs. It is our own individual responsibility to do as much as we can to preserve the ecosystem that we are a part of. Afterall, we owe it to our children and to the other generations to come. Let’s save our oceans. Think globally, act locally. No amount of effort is too small to matter.
Eric Ocampo
PADI Asst Instructor
Being sad about stressed or dying coral reefs is one thing but doing something to protect them is another. You don’t have to be a diver to contribute. There are many simple ways to care for our coral reefs and they’re all very easy to follow:
1. Learn more about coral reefs. How important are they in our global ecosystem? Be informed and share the word.
2. When you visit a coral reef, whether snorkeling or scuba diving, keep it healthy by respecting local guidelines and regulations. Don’t touch the reef. Dive without gloves.
3. Don’t pollute. Never put garbage or human waste in the water. Don’t leave trash on the beach.
4. Recycle. Think hard before you throw something away. Re-use as much as you can.
5. Conserve water. Using less water equals less water going back to the ocean therefore saving it.
6. Keep it clean. You may be in the habit of picking up your own trash. You may even participate in an organized cleanup. But have you considered carrying away the trash that others have left behind?
7. Only buy marine aquarium fish if you know they have been collected in an ecologically accepted manner.
8. Don’t anchor on the reef. If you go boating near a coral reef, use mooring buoy systems when they are available.
9. Again, DON’T TOUCH the reef! Take only pictures and leave only bubbles! Keep your fins’ gear, and hands away from the coral, as this contact can hurt you and will damage the delicate coral animals.
10. Be responsible. If you’re partying at the beach, mind your actions and don’t litter. When you’re diving, keep doing safe diving practices as you were trained. Stay off the bottom so you don’t stir up the sediments and harm the corals.
You don’t have to be a diver to help conserve our oceans or help protect our coral reefs. It is our own individual responsibility to do as much as we can to preserve the ecosystem that we are a part of. Afterall, we owe it to our children and to the other generations to come. Let’s save our oceans. Think globally, act locally. No amount of effort is too small to matter.
Eric Ocampo
PADI Asst Instructor
