As a diver, you have a profound effect on marine life. Most divers would not deliberately destroy creatures of the underwater world. However, if you do not know or understand the delicate nature of certain fish or other life, you could do more harm than good. Let's discuss some things you can do to help protect marine life while on a dive.
Coral Reefs
The hard coral structures are really thousands of delicate animals called polyps. A careless diver could easily break off pieces of the coral. Once broken, the coral will die. To avoid breaking the coral, you must maintain careful buoyancy control, secure dangling gauges and equipment, and never touch or handle the coral.
The polyps that live within the coral are filter feeders. They eat the microscopic plants and animals floating in the water. If you stir up sand and silt around coral, you could choke the polyps and keep them from feeding properly.
Fish and Shellfish
Some divers are tempted to handle and examine fish and shellfish. You should avoid touching them. Most fish have a protective layer of slime over their bodies. Human handling removes this slime, making the fish vulnerable to parasites. The parasites could kill the fish. Not only could you remove the slime, but you could easily damage its internal organs as well.
Shell collecting is a natural activity enjoyed by many divers. Every shell is formed by some type of marine animal. If you remove a shell from the water that has a living animal in it, you destroy its chance to reproduce and populate the water. Conscientious divers only collect empty shells.
Pollution
Looking at trash underwater is not considered a fun dive. Not only is it ugly, but many types of trash can be harmful to marine life. Do not dump trash over board or on the beach. Some materials, such as plastic, will survive for years and harm numerous animals. Plastic rings from soda cans should be cut open. If the rings are lost overboard, the open rings will help prevent an animal from becoming entangled. Recycle the rings whenever possible. Plastic trash bags are harmful to sea turtles. A floating trash bag resembles a jelly fish, which is part of the natural diet of sea turtles. The turtles can not digest the plastic and they die.
The reason we dive is to enjoy the beauty of marine life and the underwater world. Divers must take responsibility for protecting underwater resources. There are many things you can do to help.
