Many people look at the ocean as a blue impenetrable mass, far beyond our comprehension. Appreciation of the natural environment is the foundation of our business. Scuba divers literally immerse themselves in nature’s largest playground and witness first-hand the beauty and sensitive nature of the ocean.

Given our position we feel it is our duty to promote environmental awareness and responsible behavior, embrace sustainable business practices, and actively pursue community and global stewardship efforts.

As a Green Fins member we are committed to protecting our marine life, please help us by following these simple guidelines.

Coral animals are very fragile and take a long time to grow. By stepping on the coral it will break, or you could damage the surface of the coral as well as cut your feet. Coral is very sensitive to being touched and the smallest contact can kill or infection the animal. Watch your feet and fins at all times.
 

As you swim, your fins create a wash that can cause sediment and small debris to upset habitats and cover corals. This will reduce the photosynthetic efficiency of the coral and can cause it to die. It can also lead to small animals being washed away or increase their chance of predation.

This can cause great stress to any animal and through touch you may transmit diseases or remove protective coatings on fish, mammals, invertebrates and other species. Look but never touch and try not to get too close.
 

This has become a wide-scale problem the world over. Feeding fish or any other species can lead to them becoming reliant upon that food source. It makes fish more aggressive towards divers and can lead to species interacting with others which they wouldn't natrually come into contact with. It can also lead to corals getting smothered in algae as fish no longer eat the algae but eat the food instead. It also increases the amount of nutrients in the water leading to an inbalance within the ecosystem.
 

There are many problems with marine litter ranging from turtles eating plastic bags and fish eating cigarette butts to chemicals in rubbish contaminating the water and entering the food chain. As we are top of the food chain, this can result in us eating fish that have been poisoned. Bin it, don’t throw it.

By simply wearing the gloves you are given a false sense of security which may lead you to holding on underwater. This can cause corals to break, or allow you to get too close to marine life by holding onto rocks and can lead to you harming yourself as gloved will not actually provide reliable protection against dangerous marine life.
 

It is very important that all divers respect the marine environment and only observe the sensitive and fragile species that live within it. All divers should refrain from intrusive and damaging interactions such as handling marine life or manipulating it. Using your hand, dive or muck sticks, knives or anything else to move or to come into contact with corals and other marine fauna can cause damage, kill it or may even be illegal. Green Fins also recommends improving your buoyancy skills over relying on tools to maintain your position underwater.
 

Don’t buy souvenirs of corals or marine life – not only it is illegal in Thailand but this also encourages people to remove tons of alive or dead marine life from marine ecosystems each year for selling to tourists. If we didn’t buy it then people wouldn’t collect it. Leave it where it belongs.

Green Fins is against the shark fin trade which single-handedly results in tens of millions of sharks being killed each year globally. Some shark species have dropped by 90% over the last 50 years. The sharks are killed for their highly prized fins which are used in soups and other meals. Removing these top predators is highly damaging to the ecology of our seas. Don’t eat in restaurants that sell shark products. 

Our marine ecology programs offer a wealth of knowledge about different aspects of the underwater world, including how to identify fish based on physical appearance and behavior, the unique reproductive cycle of corals, and how human behaviors impact the marine environment. These programs are the perfect opportunity to learn more about the fascinating and beautiful underwater world!