recovery Archives - Go2Similan Diving and Snorkeling Centre

Positive Environmental Actions

Ann — Wed, 03 Feb 2021 07:17:23 +0000

Dive Your Way to a Healthier Planet!

Being a responsible scuba diver is important wherever you are diving and there are many actions that responsible divers can do from home, in their day to day lives too! The great news about being a responsible scuba diver is that it has a major feel good factor, and together we can make a difference and raise awareness – all of which leads to healthier dive sites, a healthier planet and happy divers!

Here are some tips for responsible diving underwater and some actions you can take from home too:

1. Have an appropriate certification to dive

If you are not already a diver, find a good dive centre and get certified to dive! If you are a diver, keep learning and getting trained. Don’t stop at the Open Water Course. The more you learn, the more confident and competent you become.

This not only increases your personal safety underwater, it also means you’ll learn about how to dive to limit your impact on the coral reef and marine life. The dive sites you visit will stay preserved for you and other divers to enjoy dive after dive.

2. Don’t touch the coral reef or marine life

Did you know that corals are living animals? Corals need to be treated with the same respect you would give other creatures. Touching corals can lead to nasty stings and, as humans, we can actually infect the reef by having different natural bacteria and micro-organism on our skin. Contamination from humans can be deadly for coral reefs, and for the fish living there. Hard coral is often covered with a thin layer of live tissue which protects it, but when touched by humans, this layer is damaged and no longer functions.

The basic rules of sustainable scuba diving are:

don’t touch the corals
don’t take any coral or shells out of the ocean

3. Be in control of your movements

Being in control of your movements makes you look more accomplished underwater and you’ll be ensuring the longevity of the reef by not making contact with it. As an ‘in control’ diver, beginners will look up to you and follow your example.

Having good control underwater comes through proper training and supervised practice.

4. Control your buoyancy

Divers with good buoyancy control are looked up to wherever they dive. Be a good role model with excellent skills and you’ll gain the respect of your buddies in no time and help preserve our reefs. Good buoyancy control also means that your air will last longer so you can dive for longer. You’ll be able to avoid crashing into the reef or making contact with the bottom. You’ll also be able to manoeuvre better meaning you can get up closer to the marine life and corals. You’ll reduce your stress and anxiety level in the process – meaning more relaxed and comfortable dives. If you want to use an underwater camera and take home great images when you dive on the Similans, then good buoyancy control is essential.

If you are not sure about your buoyancy control, or struggle with neutral buoyancy, take your Advanced Open Water Course with us in Khao Lak, or book a personalised refresher with one of our experienced instructors.

5. Wear the appropriate equipment properly

If you want to look and feel great underwater, you have to have the right equipment, and it has to fit correctly. Oversized gear or a ‘too-snug’ fit is both uncomfortable and unsafe. Ask us about what gear you should have and how it should fit to give the best performance. If your gear isn’t right for you, you’ll struggle with buoyancy and are more likely to damage the reef as your focus becomes on your gear and not on your surroundings.

Make sure that all gear is tucked away and that nothing is trailing or dangling which can cause to damage to the reef or even lead to entanglement.

Check out equipment in our on-line dive shop, order items in advance and they will be ready for you to collect when you join us!

6. Don’t pollute the water

For the sake of both land and marine species, it’s increasingly important today to be responsible and try your best to reduce your environmental footprint. Never throw any litter or trash, even organic, in the ocean. Pick up any trash that you see while diving and others will follow your example. Role model good behaviour at home too. Try to reduce your use of plastic by using eco-bags for your shopping and think twice about buying items that are overly packaged. Be a trailblazer and get active on social media about what you are doing to reduce your own plastic consumption.

7. Educate yourself – and tell others

The more people know about something, the greater their interest in protecting it. Learn about corals and marine life and share your findings with others. Not only will you impress them with your knowledge, you’ll be helping to create the next generation of educated scuba divers who, like you, want to protect our amazing underwater environments.

8. Be an Ocean Advocate

Being a scuba diver is not just about what we do when we are diving. It’s about our behaviours at home too. Be a better diver every day by becoming aware of global issues such as climate change and overfishing. Join online conservation groups and be a leading voice on social media. Join us in contributing to the growing wave of awareness and change!

9. Promote Scuba Diving and the Underwater World

Share your underwater pictures and talk with your friends, family and neighbours about your adventures and experiences when scuba diving. The more people that are interested in diving, the more powerful our collective voice becomes.

Are you ready to put these points into action? Get started and give yourself something to look forward to when you can travel again by booking a PADI Dive course, or your next trip to go diving in Khao Lak now! Contact us via our online contact form in the footer below, or send us an email to: info@go2similan.com

Scuba Diving with Go2Similan

At Go2Similan we follow all recommendations regarding health and hygiene standards when diving and we have new procedures in place to ensure that gear is disinfected and all recommendations are being met. Our priority is always your comfort and safety.

If you’d like to learn to dive
if you are a certified diver and you’d like to join a dive trip,
find out about a diving liveaboard or
if you have any questions about diving, health or corona virus and diving

Please contact us:

The post Positive Environmental Actions appeared first on Go2Similan Diving and Snorkeling Centre.

The Brighter Side of COVID-19

Ann — Fri, 08 Jan 2021 02:59:22 +0000

COVID-19 has been tough on all of us

Right now, it’s no secret that being a human is pretty difficult. We are experiencing a global pandemic that’s totally novel in our lifetimes.We’re getting used to wearing masks that most of us have never had to wear them before, we’re social distancing from others, and we don’t get to travel like we’re used to.

There is a brighter side to COVID-19

Wildlife, on the other hand, is having an overall wonderful year. Animals that are traditionally hunted as trophies are experiencing more safety, bee populations are growing with less pollution in the air, and marine life right here in the Similan Islands is benefitting from the lessened human traffic.

This year, sea turtle populations on and around the Similan Islands are flourishing. More nests are being placed, more turtles are surviving, and there have even been sightings of nests from the elusive and endangered leatherback turtle.

Fewer Tourists – Less Pollution

It is easy to make an association between lowered human disturbance and growing turtle populations, however it is important to examine more closely which human behaviors that have been removed or lessened are benefiting the turtles. With fewer humans in the equation, pollution is reduced. This can include anything from garbage left on beaches and washed into the ocean to boat gas pollution and even human urine which can change the pH of the water.

All of these are present at higher levels when people are free to travel. Plastic pollution is particularly harmful to turtles, as plastic bags bear a striking resemblance to jellyfish, a main staple of most sea turtle diets

Light Pollution

This even applies to light pollution. Sea turtles nest on beaches, and hatched babies are reliant on the light of the moon on the ocean to find their way into the water, however this has become increasingly difficult with beachfront hotels giving them a second light source. With all of these things lessened by a lower volume of people, the turtles have a chance to increase their population.

Tourism isn’t all bad

Recognising all of the benefits to the sea turtle populations is important, however maintaining this way of life is unrealistic. People who rely on tourism as their source of income are suffering. Tourism also fosters a love for the beauty of the ocean, and instills values that are essential to continued conservation, which are benefits that are essential to keeping our oceans healthy in the future.

What can we do for the future?

With that in mind, we must ask ourselves how we can do a better job coexisting with sea turtles, and marine life. On an individual level, making sure your garbage is disposed of properly is an excellent way to start, while cleaning up garbage at a beach or park is a great way to take it a step further. Perhaps beaches can provide more conveniently place garbage receptacles in order to encourage all beachgoers to do so as well.

In order to reduce light pollution, hotels have several options to make positive changes. They could incentivise a stay during sea turtle laying season by offering a discount in exchange for hotel guests agreeing to dim their lights after sundown. Another option would be to tint the glass in windows, or make sure the curtains in each room are thick enough not to let light out onto the beach.

The positive of COVID-19

The positives for wildlife that have come with this remarkable year are too great to ignore, and hopefully as the world begins its return to normalcy, those benefits can be retained as well.

Scuba Diving with Go2Similan

If you’d like to learn to dive
if you are a certified diver and you’d like to join a dive trip,
find out about a diving liveaboard or
if you have any questions about diving, health or corona virus and diving

Please contact us:

The post The Brighter Side of COVID-19 appeared first on Go2Similan Diving and Snorkeling Centre.