[Coral-List] Dive industry progress

[Steve Mussman]

Alex,  
Sorry for the conspicuous omission. You have been part of the solution for a long time now and hopefully your vision will proliferate throughout the industry. There certainly is a lot of work to do in attempting to nudge standards up to speed, but your efforts combined with other recent signs of progress are encouraging. It would clearly be a win / win for the diving industry if they got out in front on this and I hope your project can show them the way. 

Regards,
Steve  


Sent from my iPad  

On Oct 31, 2018, at 5:42 PM, Alex Brylske <brylske at me.com> wrote:  

Steve:  

I hope the link here will put me in the “part of the solution” category, too.  

https://www.divenewswire.com/dr-alex-brylske-introduces-ocean-education-international-and-eco-pro-the-environmental-idc/?utm_source=DNW&utm_medium=email&utm_term=article-12656&utm_campaign=DNW_10_31_18&fbclid=IwAR37cczwRNYx91t1fMYdqGOjSu0SUbcpZUMIxL2vXU16YRiuO8tAMtdLEFc  

Alex  

Alex Brylske, Ph.D.  
President  
701 Spanish Main Dr. #327  
Cudjoe Key, FL 33042  
954-701-1966 (cell)  
305-809-3148 (office)  
brylske at me.com  
www.oceaneducationinternational.com  

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On Oct 30, 2018, at 12:51 PM, Steve Mussman <sealab at earthlink.net> wrote:  
Dear Listers,  

Over the years I have been a rather consistent critic of the scuba diving industry for their lack of focus on the plight of the world’s coral reefs and other ocean related sustainability issues. At the same time I believe there are lots of people within the industry who care deeply about marine ecosystems and want to change industry attitudes and policies for the better. Most recently I have come across two initiatives that indicate that things are moving in the right direction and I want to draw your attention to these efforts.  

SSI (Scuba Schools International), a major scuba certification agency has initiated a new ecology program entitled Mission Deep Blue, which focuses on three main topics among which is “coral reef loss”. Aggressor Liveaboards has started a new program it calls Green the Fleet which it claims “strives to make the liveaboard lifestyle environmentally sustainable for divers and the health of our oceans”. (PADI has long had Project Aware which is their version of a marine environmental program). I don’t yet know the full extent and content of these two latest efforts, but I hope they will at least move the needle ever so slightly in the direction we need to go.  

Perhaps one day we will even see the scuba diving industry take a firm stand on anthropogenic climate change, a move I believe is both over due and essential in establishing their legitimate credentials in ocean stewardship and conservation. Until then, I feel it is only right to give credit where credit is due. SSI and Aggressor Liveaboards have stepped up their game and deserve recognition. Hopefully the industry will seize on these efforts and keep the momentum going.  

One more note. I share the grief of many of you in the passing of Ruth Gates. I didn’t know her personally, but I was familiar with her work and found her advocacy as displayed in Chasing Corals to be heartfelt and inspirational. There are many of you out there just like her working hard to raise awareness of coral reef issues. You may not realize how much your efforts are appreciated - well, I am here to tell you that they are. Thank you and keep up the good work!  

Regards,  
Steve Mussman  

Sent from my iPad  
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