Scuba diving can be bad for the environment, but the overall impact is low. Scuba diving is often safe enough for activity in marine protected areas, but this status depends on responsible practices by dive operators and divers alike.
This article explains positive and negative implications of scuba diving on the environment and how divers can do their part with preservation and restoration.
Is Scuba Diving Eco Friendly?
The eco-friendliness of scuba diving depends on the operator and the diver. Most divers favor conservation efforts, including educating and making themselves aware of its harmful effects so they can work against them in the future.
Overall, the level of degradation to an environment from scuba diving depends on:
- Intensity of the activity
- Frequency of the dives
- The time underwater, and the type of activities performed
The eco-friendliness of scuba diving also varies depending on the environment. Some areas, such as coral reefs, are more likely to experience harm from regular diving activities. Eco-friendly divers must take greater care when navigating these environments.
Overall, most divers and dive operators prioritize an eco-friendly culture by respecting their environment and taking part in conservation efforts. It’s less common to come across an operator or a diver with blatant disregard for the environments they dive in.
Why Is Scuba Diving Good for the Environment?
Scuba diving is good for the environment because:
- Divers often spearhead or get involved in conservation efforts
- It brings awareness to conditions underwater
- It creates an opportunity for environmental education
These benefits rely on the divers to accept the responsibility in advocating for the environment, but many are inclined to protect and preserve the waters they dive in. In certain cases, it’s difficult for divers to get under there and see the condition of things and not come out wanting to do good.
Conservation Efforts
Divers are more likely to be involved in conservation efforts such as:
- Dive Against Debris
- Blue carbon restoration
- Beach clean ups
These conservation efforts and organizations prioritize cleaning the area and investigating the cause of destruction in these areas. While you can pursue certification to best arm yourself for conservation, most movements allow you to join with nothing more than a bleeding heart.
Divers are in a unique position to clean up water and gather information needed for certain conservation efforts under the water. While normal swimmers can stay at the shore and clean what washes up or left behind, divers get in the water in areas where it affects much of marine life and these underwater environments.
Awareness
Scuba divers are more aware of issues, such as:
- Pollution
- Environment destruction
- General environmental changes
They witness the waters in a way that most of the public does not, and it’s more difficult (if not impossible) to ignore these changes.
Divers, especially those who take photographs underwater, play a big part in bringing awareness to worsening conditions in the water. They advocate for the environment by speaking out, sharing imagery, and reporting damage.
Education
Scuba diving creates more opportunities for environmental education. This branches off the awareness that divers have, and divers with basic certification have access to education courses and effort such as:
- PADI’s Project AWARE Specialist
- Diving Against Debris
- Shark Conservation Specialty
- Coral Reef Conservation Specialty
Divers have a better baseline for building their conservation education, and they can act in different ways than non-diving conservationists.
Why Is Scuba Diving Bad for the Environment?
The ways in which scuba diving are bad for the environment are more specific than the good it offers, and they’re usually related to:
- Harmful interaction with marine life
- Littering and pollution
- Destruction of habitats
Recognizing these harmful effects allows divers to take the steps needed to minimize their impact and take effective action.
Interaction With Marine Life
Interacting with marine life on most levels is bad for the environment. Scuba diving should focus on observation and the mantra “take only pictures; leave only bubbles”.
While much of marine life is irresistible, divers need to understand that the more they interact the worse it gets for creatures.
For example, feeding fish sets off a domino effect in the water. The more that divers do it, the more likely they are to stop hunting. This causes populations lower on the food chain to grow disproportionately, and the fed fish may lose their ability to hunt and chase their own prey.
Sometimes, this interaction ends up in attacks on divers. In other situations, it improperly socializes marine life and can cause them to become too friendly for their own good.
Littering and Pollution
Diving also has the opportunity to increase littering and pollution in the water.
Divers who rely on single-use plastics may find it difficult to throw trash away, especially in less developed areas. Even if you find somewhere to throw your trash away, inadequate waste management services may cause it to end up in the water anyway.
Travel to exotic locations also contributes to emissions levels across the globe, and even green-focused boats do to a certain degree. Poorly maintained vessels may even leak fuel into the water, causing harm to that environment.
Divers can focus on reusable items, dive locally, and choose their dive operators carefully to minimize these effects.
Destruction of Habitats
One of the most heinous crimes of scuba divers against the environment is the destruction of habits. This occurs in a number of ways, including interaction with marine life, littering, and pollution.
While divers have unique opportunities to do good underwater, they also have an increased opportunity to destroy habitats by accidental, ignorant, or intentional efforts. Some examples include:
- Improper buoyancy control leading to coral reef breakage
- Anchors destroying parts of ships intentionally sunk to create reefs
- Removing artifacts at wreck sites
These disturbances create shock waves in underwater environments, and apathy or a lack of education only exacerbate the problem.
How Does Scuba Diving Affect Coral Reefs?
While dive-related reduction of coral reefs and related life appears small, it’s important to understand that any small destruction can get rid of decades of growth. Failing to recognize the issues and respond accordingly will lead to long-term effects as ¼ of the world’s coral population has already vanished.
Coral reefs are specifically affected by improper buoyancy control, finning techniques, and touching of the reefs. This leads to breakage and subsequent infections of the reefs.
The idea that these reefs are made of hard material and grow quickly and abundantly is a misconception. While the reefs may feel hard, they’re often thin and easy to break with the slightest bump. They also have thin, fragile membranes that are easily punctured by touching, leaving the coral prone to infection.
Many coral only grow one centimeter over a two to three years. Any damage or infection makes it likely they will never get back to full health, and it decreases biodiversity and has led to 88 percent of remaining reefs sitting at a high danger status and risk for extinction.
What Is an Eco Diver?
An eco diver is one who makes conscious decisions to protect the environment, prioritize marine preservation, and work to offset any harm. They hold higher standards for eco-friendliness in their personal life and diving activities, and they serve as role models who educate and speak up to others.
Most eco divers pair with independent programs like Green Fins or Reef Check to collaborate and partake in conservation efforts. They also work on their diving skills, such as buoyancy control, to make sure they minimize their effects on the environment.
References
https://www.padi.com/conservation
https://www.padi.com/aware/dive-against-debris
https://oceanfdn.org/blue-carbon/
https://www.padi.com/courses/project-aware-specialist
https://www.padi.com/courses/aware-shark-conservation-diver
https://www.padi.com/courses/coral-reef-conservation
https://www.divein.com/diving/a-scuba-divers-impact-on-a-coral-reef/
https://www.khaolakexplorer.com/scuba-tips/how-to-be-an-eco-diver/
https://www.orcanation.org/2020/01/09/how-to-minimize-the-environmental-impact-of-diving/
https://www.treehugger.com/can-scuba-diving-be-green-4855032
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_impact_of_recreational_diving