A Diver’s Guide to Marine Conservation

It is an unfortunate thing that marine conservation is often very low on a SCUBA diver’s list of priorities because it is very important to respect nature and help it to thrive.

If you are someone who enjoys going SCUBA diving, also be sure that you take part in marine conservation and make it a priority when you are in the water. One of the more problematic trends in the sport recently has been the encouragement for divers to feed, touch, and otherwise handle all matter of marine life. In fact, scenes of such activities are often used in ads for tourism and on television programs which deal with the subject.

The following will seek to provide you with some essential things that you can do in order to promote marine conservation. Even though it can be an enjoyable experience for SCUBA divers to interact with ocean life, doing so can not only be dangerous in many circumstances, it can also upset the natural balance of the eco-system. This is why marine conservation is becoming more widely promoted amongst individuals involved with the activity. Scientific evidence clearly leads to the fact that petting and otherwise interacting with underwater animals does not promote within them a feeling of affection, and instead they are more likely to view it as a threat. Not only can this create behavior disruptions in the creatures, but it also can threaten their health.

So, why is feeding animals dangerous to marine conservation? First of all, feeding them unnaturally can cause them to adapt to these changes which can be highly counter-productive for them in the long-term. When animals begin to rely on other sources of food they actually stop hunting for it themselves. In addition, the foods you may give them could not be a part of their natural diet and may be unhealthy for them. Fish are especially opportunistic feeders so feeding them could actually cause them to become prey for other sea creatures or they may begin to feed on certain foods that are not healthy for them.

In addition, simply touching animals can also be an endangerment to marine conservation. Many of these underwater animals must remain is specific areas under the sea, so picking them up and placing them in the wrong area could be detrimental for them. Another related issue is that certain animal such as fishes and corals actually secrete a layer of mucus that protects them from infection and other problems so picking them up could disrupt this barrier and seriously increase their risk of infection. Not to mention that this can also create harmful stress in these organisms. It is unfortunate that even though the importance of marine conservation is so highly regarded today that it is still so often ignored. This could simply be a part of the industry to try and improve tourism and participation in these activities, but it will only do much more harm than good in the long run.

In conclusion, while as a diver you may have the urge to partake in interacting with the marine life try keep the interaction one primarily of presence and not physical contact. Just remember that you are guests underwater and to act accordingly, without taking away from the fun of scuba diving.