Good Dive Practices
In our efforts to support sustainable diving and snorkeling, here are some environmentally sound dive practices we expect you to comply with when diving or snorkeling with us:
!['Do not litter ' icon Good dive practices - 'Do not litter ' icon](https://seahorse-marsaalam.com/wp-content/uploads/1bis-90-x-90.jpg)
Do not litter – there are many problems with marine pollution, ranging from animals eating plastic bags and cigarette butts, to chemicals in the waste contaminating the water and entering the food chain. Marine pollution impacts humans too; after all, whatever we put in the ocean comes back to us when we eat seafood. Use the trash bins, including for food waste.
!['Do not litter ' icon Good dive practices - 'Do not litter ' icon](https://seahorse-marsaalam.com/wp-content/uploads/1bis-90-x-90.jpg)
Do not litter – there are many problems with marine pollution, ranging from animals eating plastic bags and cigarette butts, to chemicals in the waste contaminating the water and entering the food chain. Marine pollution impacts humans too; after all, whatever we put in the ocean comes back to us when we eat seafood. Use the trash bins, including for food waste.
!['Do not feed the fish' icon Good dive practices - 'Do not feed the fish' icon](https://seahorse-marsaalam.com/wp-content/uploads/2-90-x-90.jpg)
Do not feed the fish – feeding fish and any other species attracts them away from their natural food and make them rely on this new food source. This also makes fish more aggressive towards divers because they expect to be fed. It can even lead to corals getting smothered in algae, as the fish no longer eat their natural food source, like algae.
!['Do not feed the fish' icon Good dive practices - 'Do not feed the fish' icon](https://seahorse-marsaalam.com/wp-content/uploads/2-90-x-90.jpg)
Do not feed the fish – feeding fish and any other species attracts them away from their natural food and make them rely on this new food source. This also makes fish more aggressive towards divers because they expect to be fed. It can even lead to corals getting smothered in algae, as the fish no longer eat their natural food source, like algae.
!['Do not touch' icon Good dive practices - 'Do not touch' icon](https://seahorse-marsaalam.com/wp-content/uploads/3-90-x-90.jpg)
Do not touch – touching the reef can damage it and spread diseases. Harassing and touching marine life can cause great stress to any animal, transmit diseases or remove them from their homes, leaving them vulnerable to predation. Look but never touch or get too close.
!['Do not touch' icon Good dive practices - 'Do not touch' icon](https://seahorse-marsaalam.com/wp-content/uploads/3-90-x-90.jpg)
Do not touch – touching the reef can damage it and spread diseases. Harassing and touching marine life can cause great stress to any animal, transmit diseases or remove them from their homes, leaving them vulnerable to predation. Look but never touch or get too close.
!['Keep away from the reef' icon Good dive practices - 'Keep away from the reef' icon](https://seahorse-marsaalam.com/wp-content/uploads/4-90-x-90.jpg)
Keep away from the reef – maintaining good buoyancy and not getting too close to the reef reduces the damage caused by accidental contact and avoids stress for some species, allowing you to enjoy more natural behavior.
!['Keep away from the reef' icon Good dive practices - 'Keep away from the reef' icon](https://seahorse-marsaalam.com/wp-content/uploads/4-90-x-90.jpg)
Keep away from the reef – maintaining good buoyancy and not getting too close to the reef reduces the damage caused by accidental contact and avoids stress for some species, allowing you to enjoy more natural behavior.
!['Watch your fins' icon Good dive practices - 'Watch your fins' icon](https://seahorse-marsaalam.com/wp-content/uploads/5-90-x-90.jpg)
Watch your fins – most damaging contacts to the reef come from your fins. Corals are very fragile and take a long time to grow. Stepping on or kicking the coral can break it, damage its surface or cut your feet. If you are not careful, your fins can stir up the sediment and debris, upsetting small habitats and covering corals. This not only reduces the ability of the coral to photosynthesize, it can also lead to devastating coral diseases. Learning advanced finning techniques like frog kick or back kick helps reducing the damage caused by fins and fin wash.
!['Watch your fins' icon Good dive practices - 'Watch your fins' icon](https://seahorse-marsaalam.com/wp-content/uploads/5-90-x-90.jpg)
Watch your fins – most damaging contacts to the reef come from your fins. Corals are very fragile and take a long time to grow. Stepping on or kicking the coral can break it, damage its surface or cut your feet. If you are not careful, your fins can stir up the sediment and debris, upsetting small habitats and covering corals. This not only reduces the ability of the coral to photosynthesize, it can also lead to devastating coral diseases. Learning advanced finning techniques like frog kick or back kick helps reducing the damage caused by fins and fin wash.
!['Secure all equipment' icon Good dive practices - 'Secure all equipment' icon](https://seahorse-marsaalam.com/wp-content/uploads/6-90-x-90.jpg)
Secure all equipment – dangling equipment may break coral without divers even realizing. Protect the coral and your equipment by using BCD clips to secure all hoses and gauges.
!['Secure all equipment' icon Good dive practices - 'Secure all equipment' icon](https://seahorse-marsaalam.com/wp-content/uploads/6-90-x-90.jpg)
Secure all equipment – dangling equipment may break coral without divers even realizing. Protect the coral and your equipment by using BCD clips to secure all hoses and gauges.
!['Do not collect' icon Good dive practices - 'Do not collect' icon](https://seahorse-marsaalam.com/wp-content/uploads/7-90-x-90.jpg)
Do not collect – if it’s found underwater, it should stay underwater – except debris and garbage! Collecting marine life, dead or alive (even empty shells on the beach), is illegal and can leave your favorite species homeless. In the same context, do not buy corals or marine life as souvenirs.
!['Do not collect' icon Good dive practices - 'Do not collect' icon](https://seahorse-marsaalam.com/wp-content/uploads/7-90-x-90.jpg)
Do not collect – if it’s found underwater, it should stay underwater – except debris and garbage! Collecting marine life, dead or alive (even empty shells on the beach), is illegal and can leave your favorite species homeless. In the same context, do not buy corals or marine life as souvenirs.
!['Be a responsible photographer' icon Good dive practices - 'Be a responsible photographer' icon](https://seahorse-marsaalam.com/wp-content/uploads/8-90-x-90.jpg)
Be a responsible photographer – research shows that photographers damage the reef more than any other diver. Maintain neutral buoyancy throughout the dive, watch your fins, learn to fin backwards, don’t hold on to corals, don’t harass marine life and use minimal flash photography as ‘over-flashing’ can damage many species.
!['Be a responsible photographer' icon Good dive practices - 'Be a responsible photographer' icon](https://seahorse-marsaalam.com/wp-content/uploads/8-90-x-90.jpg)
Be a responsible photographer – research shows that photographers damage the reef more than any other diver. Maintain neutral buoyancy throughout the dive, watch your fins, learn to fin backwards, don’t hold on to corals, don’t harass marine life and use minimal flash photography as ‘over-flashing’ can damage many species.
!['Wear a life jacket when snorkeling' icon Good dive practices - 'Wear a life jacket when snorkeling' icon](https://seahorse-marsaalam.com/wp-content/uploads/9-90-x-90.jpg)
Wear a life jacket when snorkeling – if you are not a good swimmer or not in a good physical condition, we advise you to wear a life jacket when snorkeling, for your own safety. It also helps you avoid standing on or kicking shallow corals that will take many years to recover.
!['Wear a life jacket when snorkeling' icon Good dive practices - 'Wear a life jacket when snorkeling' icon](https://seahorse-marsaalam.com/wp-content/uploads/9-90-x-90.jpg)
Wear a life jacket when snorkeling – if you are not a good swimmer or not in a good physical condition, we advise you to wear a life jacket when snorkeling, for your own safety. It also helps you avoid standing on or kicking shallow corals that will take many years to recover.
!['Marine toilet' icon Good dive practices - 'Marine toilet' icon](https://seahorse-marsaalam.com/wp-content/uploads/10-90-x-90.jpg)
Marine toilet – on the boat, anything you flush down the toilet will enter the sea. Don’t put any wastes, tissue paper or anything else in the toilet; use the bin provided.
!['Marine toilet' icon Good dive practices - 'Marine toilet' icon](https://seahorse-marsaalam.com/wp-content/uploads/10-90-x-90.jpg)
Marine toilet – on the boat, anything you flush down the toilet will enter the sea. Don’t put any wastes, tissue paper or anything else in the toilet; use the bin provided.