by Judith Willson

Created on: July 21, 2010   Last Updated: October 22, 2010

The recent disaster in the Gulf of Mexico has had devastating effects on wildlife and the seafood industries.  The long term consequences are predicted to go on for decades.  All sports relating to the water will be affected too, and this includes scuba diving.  However scuba diving may not be affected as badly as you might imagine.

Once a popular scuba diving destination because of its beautiful reefs and stunning wildlife, some parts of the Gulf of Mexico are now effectively off-limits.  The first reason is that oil is toxic to all life, including divers.  It is also something highly unpleasant to become coated in.  Diving through an oil slick is not a recommended pastime.  There have been divers going under the oil, but not for fun.  They are they to gather information about the consequences of the spill and in some case film what is happening.  Sport scuba diving is on hold.

However this only applies to where the oil spill actually is, which is not the entire Gulf of Mexico.  There are areas, including sites popular with scuba enthusiasts, that are still perfectly safe to dive in.  The chances are, though, that some people will still be put off.  You might not be planning to dive in oily waters, but knowing a slick is not far away can be off-putting to many.

The long-term consequences of the spill are likely to affect the scuba industry. The oil will eventually disperse but before it does so, it will have wrecked entire ecosystems, including some of the coral reefs so appealing to scuba divers.  As a diving destination, the Gulf of Mexico is unlikely to have quite the appeal it once had.

Diving trips are still running out of Mississippi, Florida, and Louisiana.  They are reporting a large number of understandable cancellations.  People have no desire to see dying dolphins and struggling turtles, even if this tragic state of affairs is not the case throughout the entire Gulf of Mexico.

On the other hand, divers tend to be knowledgeable about the sites they are planning to visit, and won’t necessarily cancel excursions if they know the site they plan to visit has not been directly affected.  It is probably more likely that an average family will cancel a beach holiday than a keen diver would cancel a diving trip.

If you are a diver and were planning to visit the Gulf of Mexico it is advisable you research the exact location, but not necessary to cancel your trip.  In fact supporting an industry that has a vested interest in protecting the oceans, and has been hard hit by both the oil spill and the publicity, is a positive thing to do. 

Since the chances are you will be concerned about the effects of the oil slick the other positive thing you could do is spend some of your vacation helping with the clean-up attempts.  Volunteers are still needed throughout the region and it is rewarding to spend some of your vacation appreciating the ocean and some of it helping.

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