[Coral-List] Vietnam bans scuba diving to protect a coral reef

[Sarah Frias-Torres]

Steve
The damage of recreational SCUBA divers to coral reefs has been documented. The problem is mostly bad buoyancy control and contact with the corals. Uncontrolled numbers of divers hitting the same coral reefs cause even greater damage. A Code of Conduct for both dive guides and divers, as well as basic management of the number of divers can help.
Here is an example of a publication among many:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4887546/




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Sarah Frias-Torres, Ph.D.
Twitter: @GrouperDoc
Science Blog: https://grouperluna.com/
Art Blog: https://oceanbestiary.com/


________________________________
From: Coral-List <coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> on behalf of Steve Mussman via Coral-List <coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>
Sent: Wednesday, July 6, 2022 7:31 PM
To: coral list <coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>
Subject: [Coral-List] Vietnam bans scuba diving to protect a coral reef



In my opinion, scuba diving does little direct harm to coral reefs. On the other hand, divers, like all tourists, most certainly contribute to the overall problem. I say this with mixed emotions while preparing my dive gear for an upcoming trip to my favorite reef after a prolonged hiatus.

https://www.macaubusiness.com/vietnam-halts-scuba-diving-off-popular-island-to-protect-coral/

Regards,

Steve

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