Responsible Diving

Throughout the training and certification process – both at the recreational diver and professional divemaster/instructor levels – PADI encourages divers to learn about the challenges facing underwater environments, and take part in activities that help preserve and protect aquatic resources.

To further its eco-responsible ethos, in 1992 PADI established the Project Aware Foundation, a non-profit organization with a mandate to conserve underwater environments through education, advocacy and action. Anyone who’s taken a PADI course or been on a dive with one of the 5,700+ dive shops and resorts worldwide that fly the PADI banner knows the basics: Don’t touch anything and don’t harass the critters. The Project Aware guidelines for divers expand those two basic tenets into “10 Ways A Diver Can Protect The Underwater Environment.”

Following is an abbreviated version of the “rules” for responsible diving.

1. Dive carefully to protect fragile aquatic ecosystems
2. Be aware of your body and equipment placement when diving
3. Keep your dive skills sharp through continuing education
4. Consider how your interactions affect aquatic life
5. Understand and respect underwater life
6. Be an ecotourist; make informed decisions when selecting a destination
7. Respect underwater cultural heritage
8. Report environmental disturbances or destruction
9. Be a role model for other divers and nondivers when interacting with the environment
10. Get involved in local environmental activities and issues

Download PDF of “Ten Ways A Diver Can Protect The Underwater Environment.”

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