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ECO POLICY

So who wants to dive at a site full of dead coral?

Or what about a site with no fish or marine life?

Sort of takes away the whole point of diving really, doesn’t it?

All divers hope to see something magical each time we dive. We’re disappointed when we don’t.

But how often do we consider how much our actions have a direct impact on that magic? Do we even know how our actions impact or what to do about it? Not just when we’re out diving it, but also back home?

The Dive Bus is committed to the Coral Reef Alliance and the Project AWARE Eco-Operator regulations.

On The Dive Bus, we aim to reduce the negative impact of divers underwater and make a positive impact wherever possible. We built an Eco Policy which outlines really, really simple, commonsense ways to do this, protecting and respecting our underwater world for our pleasure today, and that of generations to come. Because as divers, we all have a responsibility to do just that.

Just taking the time to read this information means that you’ve already made a difference - without even getting wet!

Thanks from The Dive Bus Crew – especially Doris - for doing so.

Doing your bit on board The Dive Bus
Doing your bit back home
Eco-Operator guidelines
Forthcoming Eco Events on board The Dive Bus

Doing your bit on board The Dive Bus
Click on each statement for more information.

1. Be the best diver you know.
2. Take only photographs, leave only bubbles.
3. No spear fishing and no fishing.
4. Don’t feed, touch or disturb the marine life.
5. Don’t crowd dive sites.
6. Get smart.
7. Reduce, re-use, recycle.
8. Clean up.
9 - 12. Food for thought…

Doing your bit back home

1. Do your homework
Before you go on vacation, research your destination and its operators and resorts. Some countries have more enlightened zoning and marine-protected areas than others; seek them out. Search for a dive operation, resort or boat that adheres to ecotourism principles such as The Dive Bus, which follows the Project AWARE Eco Operator guidelines

2. Be an Eco tourist
Project AWARE also suggests guidelines for you as tourists. For more information, click here.

i. Enjoy nature but don’t chase or touch animals

ii. Don’t remove anything that is part of the natural environment.

iii. Urge your guides to act responsibly and tip them for their cooperation.

iv. Stay on trails or other designated areas and leave the site cleaner than when you found it.

v. Report environmental damage to authorities and encourage responsible behaviour in others.

vi. Patronize locally owned businesses, but avoid items made from endangered species, threatened species, coral or tropical hardwoods.

vii. Interact with and show respect for local people, their culture and their traditions. Talk with them about environmental issues affecting their area. Visitors respecting a destination are key to ecotourism.

viii. Protect threatened fisheries by choosing seafood items caught or harvested from sustainable native fish populations.

ix. Practice buoyancy control skills in a pool or sandy area before swimming near a coral reef or any sensitive environment. Make sure your equipment is secured, you’re weighted properly and be careful not to touch, stand on or collect coral.

x. Be an AWARE diver – enroll in a Project AWARE Specialty course to increase your knowledge about the environment and learn sustainable dive practice knowledge.

xi. Participate in local conservation activities when available and support established parks and reserves.

For a free Go ECO educational brochure send your mailing address to: information@projectaware.org

3. Reduce, re-use, recycle
Get into the habit. The fewer disposable containers we use, the fewer we'll see in the ocean and shorelines. Re-use: washing up ain’t so bad. It can even save you money!

4. Shop for sustainable seafood
Some fish stocks are well-managed; others are being fished to the brink of extinction. Some farmed species offer hope for meeting humanity's rising food demands; others are destroying coastal environments around the world. It's tough to know what's the right thing to buy or eat.

Fortunately several non-profit groups offer guides that you can print out, stick in your wallet and consult when you're buying seafood or ordering dinner in a restaurant. Check out:
• Blue Ocean Institute (www.blueoceaninstitute.org)
• Environmental Defence (www.environmentaldefense.org)
• Monterey Bay Aquarium (www.mbayaq.org/cr/seafoodwatch.asp).
• Alternatively, The Seafood Choices Alliance publishes a synthesis of the above three lists at www.thefishlist.org.

If you fish yourself, obey the laws and consider your impact. Try not to take too much of any one species, and if you are fishing or diving with novices, they will likely follow your example --and so will the friends they bring along, and so on.

5. Educate your fellow divers
Share your knowledge. It’s interesting. The more you share, the more you learn – and more importantly you’ll be enlisting help and awareness from other people without even realizing.

6. Break the oil addiction
The less you drive, the fewer fossil fuel emissions trickle their way into our oceans. A 2002 National Academy of Sciences study found that the oil flowing from our streets and driveways into the oceans amounts to one Exxon Valdez oil spill, or nearly 11 million gallons, every eight months. Euugh.

7. Watch your waste water
For example, wash your car on your lawn or at a car wash that recycles the used water. Don't let the dirty water and soap run off into the storm drains, which eventually drain into the ocean. Route rooftop downspouts into landscaped areas for the same reason.

8. Choose non toxic household products
Avoid using fertilizers and pesticides on your lawn and garden. These nutrients and toxins pour into rivers, steams and oceans whenever it rains. So don’t use them or at least, reduce your usage.

9. Buy a specialty license plate supporting the oceans
A few states offer them: In Florida for example, a $25 specialty license plate urges people to "Protect Our Reefs" and also raises money for research and reef-restoration programs.

10. Put your money where your mask is
There are a lot of non-profit groups working on behalf of marine conservation. One of the best things you can do to help the environment is to join one of these groups and donate to the cause:

• Blue Ocean Institute (www.blueoceaninstitute.org) focuses on deepening connections between humanity and living seas.

• Conservation International (www.conservation.org) applies science, economics, policy and community participation to protect ecosystems.

• Coral Reef Alliance (www.coral.org) works with global communities around the world, helping to solve coral reef conservation challenges.

• The Cousteau Society (www.cousteau.org) is dedicated to the preservation of nature for future generations.

• Earth Island Institute (www.earthisland.org) serves as an incubator and support network for more than 30 conservation and restoration projects.

• Greenpeace (www.greenpeace.org) uses non-violent confrontation to expose environmental problems and to force solutions.

• Marine Conservation Biology Institute (www.mcbi.org) works to protect and restore marine life.

• Marine Fish Conservation Network (www.conservefish.org) lobbies government officials in support of marine conservation legislation.

• Monterey Bay Aquarium (www.mbayaq.org) coordinates marine conservation and research programs.

• National Coalition for Marine Conservation (www.savethefish.org) works to conserve the world's ocean fish.

• National Environment Trust's Conserve Our Ocean Legacy Campaign (www.oceanlegacy.org) is a broad national effort to build support for ocean and fish protection.

• Natural Resources Defense Council (www.nrdc.org) uses law, science and activism to protect the planet's wildlife and wild places.

• The Nature Conservancy (www.nature.org) works to protect more than 117 million acres around the world.

• New England Aquarium (www.neaq.org) provides leadership for the preservation and sustainable use of aquatic resources.

• Oceana (www.oceana.org) works to restore and protect the world's oceans through policy advocacy, science, law and public education.

• The Ocean Conservancy (www.oceanconservancy.org) seeks to inform, inspire and empower through science-based advocacy, research and public education.

• The Ocean Project (www.theoceanproject.org) works to promote ocean conservation through zoos, aquariums and museums.

• Reef Check (www.reefcheck.org) works to restore and maintain coral reef health.

• Reef Environmental Education Foundation (www.reef.org) educates and enlists
divers in the conservation of marine habitats.

• Reef Guardian International (www.reefguardian.org) works to protect coral reefs
and their marine life.

• Reef Relief (www.reefrelief.org) works to preserve and protect living coral reef ecosystems.

• Seacology (www.seacology.org) works to preserve the environments and cultures of islands.

• SeaWeb (www.seaweb.org) works to link the media to marine conservation groups.

• World Wildlife Fund (www.wwf.org) works to save endangered species and wild places.

Eco operator statement

The Dive Bus is committed to the Project AWARE Eco-Operator regulations and as such we aim to:

1. Provide dive experiences that enhance visitor awareness, appreciation and understanding of the local aquatic environment.

2. Use recycled products whenever possible.

3. Participate in local conservation efforts and support established parks and reserves

4. Not sell items made from endangered species, threatened species, corals or tropical hardwoods.

5. Respect local people, culture and traditions while abiding by local laws and regulations

6. Provide pre-dive briefings on responsible dive practices such as
a. Proper buoyancy control
b. Securing equipment and streamlining body position
c. Maintaining distance from sensitive environments
d. Not touching or chasing animals
e. Abiding by all fish and game regulations

7. Use mooring buoys or drift diving techniques whenever possible to avoid damage to underwater habitat

8. Offer Project AWARE specialty courses that teach customers about ecology and conservation.

9. Practice buoyancy control skills in a pool or sandy area before swimming near a coral reef or any sensitive environment

10. Make sure our divers’ equipment is secured, that they are weighted properly and are careful not to touch, stand on or collect coral.

11. Display environmental public awareness materials and provide community involvement opportunities.

12. Use environmentally sound methods of rubbish disposal.
For more information, click here:

Eco Events with The Dive Bus

The Dive Bus, together with Caribbean Sea Sports, will be working with tens of thousands of scuba divers, snorkelers and ocean lovers from around the world, to clean up the reefs and beaches on Curacao on March 10 and April 17, for Dive In To Earth Day.

This huge international clean up operation is supported by celebrities such as Leonardo DiCaprio, Susan Sarandon and William Shatner, World Champion Freediver Tanya Streeter and underwater cinematographer Stan Waterman. Sadly though, none of them will be on The Dive Bus any time soon.

Elvis diving Superior Producer with The Dive Bus. See more of Elvis diving, here.

However, when we asked The Dive Bus’s own celebrity, Elvis, if he supported our efforts to clean up the reefs and beaches, he replied ‘Uhuh huh, thank you very much.’

The purpose of Dive In To Earth is is focus is to brings attention to the need to protect our coral reefs, oceans and underwater world and events such as ours will be taking place in more than 50 countries during the week of Earth Day, April 22.

But why all the fuss over cleaning up? Because the oceans are home to 80% of all living organisms on earth, and coral reefs support a quarter of all known marine species. Yet our oceans are under serious stress from pollution and trash, destructive fishing practices and uncontrolled tourism. We all share the responsibility to reduce these activities and Dive In To Earth Day is a great way to show people how easy it is to get involved and make a difference.

This marks the sixth year of Dive In To Earth Day, which was launched by the Coral Reef Alliance (CORAL) in 2000 to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Earth Day (held annually on April 22). Dive In has been a huge success from the very beginning. In the past five years, Dive In organizers have held 1158 marine conservation events in 89 countries and territories around the world, removing trash, educating children, supporting coral reef protected areas and much more. CORAL, a non-profit coral reef conservation organization, is once again coordinating the event with the help of Project AWARE Foundation, West Marine, Earth Day Network and International Coral Reef Action Network (ICRAN). For more information about Dive In To Earth Day, click on the logo.

If you would like any more information on The Dive Bus clean up activities or to get involved, please call or email us.

Doing your bit on board The Dive Bus:

1. Be the best diver you know. Here’s how:

i. Make sure all your equipment is well secured. No dangly bits to bash up the reef.

ii. Make sure you’re neutrally buoyant at all times. Can’t get your weight or your buoyancy quite right? Ask The Dive Bus Crew for advice and tips or check out the articles in the Info folder.

iii. Keep a comfortable distance from the reef to avoid unplanned collisions. Using your breathing to fine-tune your proximity instead of your BCD makes it a lot easier.

iv. Practice good finning technique to avoid contact with the reef and/or stirring up sediment. This spoils the visibility for other divers and damages corals and other reef organisms when it settles.

v. Keep your diving skills finely tuned - and practice them away from the reef.

vi. Stay off the bottom and never, ever stand or rest on corals. Some of them bite back.

vii. Good divers know that the best way to enjoy a reef is to slow down, relax and watch as reef creatures go about their daily lives undisturbed. So – chill out…

viii. Keep your hands off. Don't touch anything on a dive, not with your feet, not with your hands, not with your regulator. Even slight contact can damage coral; some can sting you back. Corals are the ‘building blocks’ of the reef and take years to grow.

ix. No gloves. This makes it easier to ensure you keep your hands off.

x. Make sure your buddy is the second best diver you know. If he isn’t, tell him. If he’s not interested or not listening, please advise The Dive Bus Crew.

There are plenty more tips for being a good diver in the Information folder on board The Dive Bus. If you’re unsure of anything or need any help, just ask any of The Dive Bus Crew.

2. Take only photographs, leave only bubbles
No Dive Bus divers are permitted to take souvenirs from any of the dives under any circumstances. If every diver helped themselves, there would be nothing left to see for us to see tomorrow.

Instead, take only photos and leave only bubbles.

You need excellent diving skills for underwater photography and videography. The equipment will affect your buoyancy and mobility, and it’s very, very easy to inadvertently touch or rest on marine life in the quest for the perfect shot. It’s not worth killing the reef for and we will stop divers taking photos if they continue to damage marine life, however unintentionally.

Don’t be tempted to buy souvenirs made of coral, turtles and other marine life either except from approved sources. Not only are many of them gathered and made illegally, but they could have been taken from that dive site you loved exploring yesterday…

3. Don’t spearfish
Rules on spear-fishing and hunting whilst on SCUBA gear vary from country to country. Both are illegal on Curacao.

There is no fishing of any kind permitted on The Dive Bus trips.

4. Don’t feed the animals
Or touch them. Or ride them. Or disturb them in any way. Such activities stress marine life, disrupting their feeding and mating activities enough to put them in danger.

5. Don’t crowd dive sites
Crowds don’t help already-stressed reefs and a fin in your face can knock off your buoyancy not to mention your mask, causing all sorts of unplanned collisions.
The Dive Bus visits the least dived, least crowded sites on Curacao.

6. Get smart
You’ll be surprised how much more fun and interesting diving becomes if you know more about what you’re seeing on your dives. It also helps you better understand and able to protect and respect the fragile eco-system.

That’s why on The Dive Bus we’ll introduce you to the fish of the dive during the briefings, provide fish ID slates for you to dive with, and the Humann Reef books are there for you to look up and give a name to what you saw.

7. Reduce, re-use, recycle
The fewer disposable containers we use, the fewer will end up littering the ocean and beaches. A recent report from Deep Ocean Exploration Research found Styrofoam broken into tiny pieces in some of the deepest parts of the ocean. Because it doesn't decompose, it can cause big digestive problems for tiny animals like brine shrimp and other bottom-feeders.

We avoid disposable items (including Styrofoam) on The Dive Bus wherever possible, using re-usable plastic ones instead. (Even though it means more washing up for Suzy.)

8. Clean up
Nobody likes seeing unsightly trash on land or underwater, so clean it up. If you don’t have a mesh bag, fill your BC pockets with trash. Such a simple action will make a big difference, especially if all our divers do it.

The Dive Bus aims to leave every dive site and beach cleaner than it was before we arrived. Do your part to help out. Don’t leave any of your trash lying around – especially cigarette butts – and picking up just one piece of trash from the beach and one from the ocean will make a difference.

Or why not make a party of it and join the International Coastal Cleanup in September 2005 - www.coastalcleanup.org. Watch our website for information on The Dive Bus Clean Up activities.

Do be careful when cleaning up underwater that you don’t cause more damage than you prevent, however, by following these Coral Reef Alliance guidelines:

Don’t remove
• anything that’s been incorporated into the reef and is helping to support life such as
• anything which is “stuck” or encrusted with growth
• anything, no matter how ugly, that’s overgrown with marine life
• anything that may be dangerous including metal drums or containers   which might contain hazardous materials
• Heavy items—never use your BCD to lift heavy objects.

Make sure you:
• Check tin cans to make sure it’s not someone’s home before removing it.
• Shake out any sand and silt from items over a sandy area. You don’t want it    landing on the corals.
• Take care with fishing line:
• Never try to pull it free. Cut and remove it in sections to avoid damaging    organisms growing around it.
• Use shears or scissors rather than a knife.
• Wrap the line around an object or hand to control it.

9. Support marine protected areas
Underwater parks offer marine life a refuge to recover from decades of intensifying fishing pressure or other damage. The Curacao Dive Operators Association (CDOA) is responsible for the Underwater Park on Curacao. Like many other parks, the CDOA invites you to pay a fee of $10 for a divers tag. The money goes towards research and protection projects such as mooring buoys installation and maintenance, and education.

10. Pay the fee
You’re privileged to be able to dive such places where people care about the ocean, where in so many others, they don’t. By paying the fee, you should rightly feel a sense of pride in having played a part in keeping Curacao's dive sites among the best in the world.

11. Boat responsibly
We know, we know, we have a Dive Bus not a dive boat. But we book our divers on other dive operator’s boats, all of whom belong to the CDOA and follow the Curacao marine park rules. You can help out too, however:
• Take care not to lose anything overboard. Secure everything, and return all trash to land.
• Avoid operators which drop anchor on the reef instead of using a mooring buoy.

12. Donate your dive to science
As a recreational diver, you have something extraordinarily valuable to offer marine science: lots of time in the water. In recent years, savvy scientists have been enlisting divers just like you in their research through reef, fish and sea life monitoring programs.

Click here to find out more about the Eco Events that The Dive Bus is involved with.