Here’s how to do good things for your mind, body, earth, and ocean.
Beware of your Buoyancy
The best way to protect the reef and its inhabitants is by staying neutrally buoyant. It can help you conserve air, too. Take PADI’s Peak Performance Buoyancy course at your local dive shop and bumping into coral heads will be a thing of the past.
Lose a Pound
Jump on any dive boat, and you’ll likely see at least one diver with the 4Ocean bracelet. With each purchase of the bracelet – they’re only $20 – the 4Ocean captains and crew remove a pound of trash from our oceans and coastlines. Losing weight has never been easier.
Eat Mindfully
When it comes to mealtime, make responsible seafood choices. Some estimates show that one-third of fish populations are over-fished and over-half are fully fished. Thanks to the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch, you don’t have to give up eating fish for good. Their Seafood Watch App features current seafood recommendations, restaurants, and stores that serve ocean-friendly seafood, and conservation reports and updates.
Turning a dive into a reef cleanup is a great way to spend the day and do something good for your favorite dive site. Fishing line not only tangles up the reef but it can also threaten other marine life. Look into participating in a local Dive Against Debris event. If there’s not one in your area, download the Dive Against Debris Survey Kit and host your own HERE.
Reuse and Recycle
Drinking out of a plastic bottle has always been a no-no. And not just for the ocean. Recent studies show that microplastics aren’t only found in some of the fish that we eat, but human feces as well. If that’s not enough to make you give up the bottle, the fact that an estimated 16 billion pounds of plastic enter the ocean each year, should. Plus, with so many cool reusable bottles to choose from, you can hydrate in style.
Give Back
There are countless ways to give back to the ocean. Organizations like Project AWARE [https://www.projectaware.org/] make it their mission to clean up and protect the waters and all of its inhabitants. Donate or find out how you can participate in your local area. Every little bit helps.
Skip the Straw
Over 500 million straws are used in the US every single day. Straws are made of plastic that never breaks down and ends up in our oceans, harming innocent marine life and birds. Do your part by saying no to the straw. Need another reason to ditch the straw? Repeated drinking from a straw can cause premature wrinkles.
Learn how to host your own coastal cleanup with these tips from Project AWARE.
