by Elizabeth M Young

Created on: October 01, 2010

Scuba divers possess a unique gift and skill set that would be of great help in monitoring, sampling, observing and improving the aquatic environment. They have the capacity to go into places that most of us would never see or hear about if it were not for their desire to explore and to experience the watery worlds.

The helping part of scuba diving begins with preparation. Scuba divers can ask the experts or they can do online research into the area of their interest. When they know what to look for, have some extra training in taking pictures or videos, or even get training in how to do some of the basics, such as counting, measuring and so on, they can go on a dive with some specific goals, understandings and outcomes in mind.

By joining a scuba diving organization or  that has environmental awareness and preservation in mind, it is much easier for new and experienced divers to get education, information and support for helping to keep the environment healthy.

Scuba divers can tell of changes in fish populations and the health of coral reefs. They can document the condition of aquatic plants and animals. They can identify, document and report evidence of waste dumping or bad fishing practices that damage or destroy coral formations. Finally, scuba divers can monitor the progress of new reefs, especially artificial reefs.

With more study, academic support and official help, scuba divers can develop skills and understand the required procedures for taking basic samples of water, aquatic plants and soil while they are enjoying a dive. Then they can prepare or properly store the samples that will be submitted to those who can do further analysis and study.

Diver's logs, photos, videos and notebooks can provide valuable information about areas that the academics and governments might not be able to observe or monitor during a particular season. By learning and refining skills for observing, knowing what to look for and knowing how to properly document observations, divers can be trained to provide information that is collected during the trip to the dive site, the dive itself and the return trip. 

Finally, the mere appearance of more divers encourages government tourist agencies and ocean management agencies to set aside protected areas that provide healthy, well populated parts of the aquatic environment that contribute to the economy. Diving tourism, itself, can be responsible for the preservation and continued health of many great diving sites and arenas.

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