With the ever-increasing threat to the marine environment from debris, the Curacao Hospitality and Tourism Association (CHATA) dive department has decided to act to protect the marine environment in Curacao.
Scubaverse.com reports that CHATA has fully adopted the PADI Project Aware initiatives Adopt a Dive Site and Dive Against Debris.
In an effort to combat the problem of debris, four dive centres have already joined CHATA’s dive task force. The four centres are:
- The Dive Bus
- CURious 2 Dive
- Ocean Encounters Diving
- Scuba Lodge Dive Centre Pietermaai
CHATA expects another eight of its members to join the initiative soon. All the dive operators have committed to adopting their house reef and to conducting monthly cleanup dives. To increase the knowledge and science behind the conservation initiative, members will submit data to the PADI Dive Against Debris project, in order to gain a better understand about the challenges faced by the marine environment.
To increase awareness and public understanding of the issues surrounding marine debris, CHATA is pushing the Dive Against Debris specialty course to help fight against marine plastic pollution, which is estimated to cost somewhere in the region of US$13 billion/11 billion Euros per year.
According to Miles Mercera CEO of CHATA:
“Our ocean and dive sites are an important component of our Tourism Product. It is a shared responsibility of the whole community to conserve and positively contribute to our natural resources, such as our ocean and dive sites for the benefit of our future generations. The commitment of the Dive Task Force to the Dive Against Debris and Adopt a Dive Site Initiatives is an important step towards the creation of awareness regarding the negative effects of marine debris on the island and ultimately the conservation of our ocean.”
Certified divers in Curacao — both locals and tourists — are encouraged to join one of the monthly free Dives Against Debris conducted by CHATA members.
Read the full Scubaverse.com article here, or check out one of the dives below.
