A diver should be a lover of the ocean and should protect the underwater environment as we directly see the impact that people have on it. However, there are always people who sometimes don’t think about their actions or how they affect the ocean environment. We’ve listed some things that may be obvious but can use a little reminder, that we shouldn’t do in order to keep our oceans healthy and full of creatures!
Do not harass the marine wildlife
As said, some things should be obvious. Don’t touch, grab or hold any animals. The joy of diving is to see the underwater world in its fascinating, natural existence. Furthermore, don’t feed the fish or animals. Diving has its own charm, as you never know what you are seeing. Feeding fish is a way to increase chances of seeing them, but this is dangerous for the animals, as well as for divers. The animals start to associate divers with food, and maybe get aggressive if divers don’t feed them. In addition to this, they get less careful and also, they might stop searching for food for themselves.
If you like fish so much that you want to see them in a tank, please consider carefully where you obtain them from, a lot of fishes are caught illegally or with damaging practices for the environnement.
Only take away memories and leave only bubbles
Coral reefs are a whole ecosystem that can be damaged with only a touch. So, don’t touch, break or land on corals. Neutral buoyancy might be tricky, especially for new divers, but you should learn to do your best to control your position in the water, in order to only land on clear sandy bottom if needed and never on corals.
Moreover, don’t take corals that are broken off or shells, neither if they aren’t empty nor if they are. Taking one or two shells might seem harmless, as if it wouldn’t make a big difference. Animals in shells are already endangered of extinction. Also empty shells have their use as homes for other animals like crabs and anemones. Besides, picking something up, that obviously isn’t trash (which should be picked up), means that you remove something from the ecosystem. This might mean that you are taking away something that could be useful for another living organism of the ocean.
We might be stating the obvious here, but don’t buy corals or other marine souvenirs. You might not have them broken off yourself, but someone else has. If you are a lover of the ocean – stick to tacking pictures to collect the memories this way without destroying anything.
What things did we miss that you shouldn’t do if you’re a lover of the ocean? Let us know all about it in the comments!
