Green Fins, 1-3 Gloucester Road, Orlando, FL (2026)

06/16/2026

Plastic is one of the most visible and preventable threats to coral reefs, and dive and snorkel operators are uniquely positioned to tackle it head on.

It doesn't require a complete operational overhaul. The examples listed here are practical, achievable changes that add up across hundreds of dives a year. And the ripple effect matters too. When guests see their guides picking up rubbish underwater, when operators share their cleanup efforts on social media, when briefings include waste disposal as standard, it normalises responsible behaviour across the industry.

Swipe through the checklist and count how many boxes your operation already ticks. Let us know in the comments – we'd love to hear what you're already doing and what you're working towards!

Green Fins Members have access to a full Solutions Library with practical guidance on reducing plastic use and managing waste responsibly. Not a Member yet? Visit greenfins.net/join to find out how we can support your sustainability journey.

06/13/2026

Your next dive could contribute to global marine research. And it might be easier than you think!

Citizen science doesn't require extra training, specialist equipment, or a separate conservation dive. It requires what divers are already doing: observing, photographing, and paying attention to the underwater world.

But when those observations are logged and shared through platforms like iNaturalist.org, Reef Check Foundation, CoralWatch, or PADI AWARE Foundation's Conservation Action Portal, they become part of something much larger. Species sightings feed into global biodiversity databases. Coral health data informs conservation strategies. Debris observations help researchers understand pollution patterns. Over time, this data tells a story about how marine ecosystems are changing, and why.

Whether you're a diver looking to contribute or an operator wanting to start a citizen science programme, the tools are already there. The data is waiting to be collected.

Photos via Ocean Image Bank
4 Amanda Cotton A Cotton Photo
6 Dimitris Poursanidis

06/10/2026

Last week, we shared research on the hidden scale of damage caused by diving tourism. Many of you probably thought: "Well, that's not me. I'm a careful diver." Most divers think the same thing.

Around three-quarters of divers rated themselves as "above average" in their ability to avoid reef contact compared to their peers. This is a well-documented psychological bias called illusory superiority – we systematically overestimate our own abilities relative to others. It happens to all of us, and it happened to divers across the study regardless of experience level.

But the research goes deeper. The study also documented the Dunning-Kruger effect: divers with lower buoyancy skills disproportionately overestimated their competence. The least skilled divers thought they were the most careful.

It's easy to assume these results reflect arrogance or indifference. But underwater environments are dynamic and highly task-oriented. Divers are often focused on navigation, depth control, photography, wildlife observation, or buddy communication – legitimate operational demands that require full attention. Subtle fin or equipment contact happening behind or beneath them goes completely unnoticed. Not from negligence, but from divided attention and competing priorities.

More than 80% of damaging contacts were unintentional or unnoticed. You can't fix what you don't see. And you can't see what you're not trained to notice while managing everything else underwater.

This is exactly why Green Fins exists. It's not about shaming divers or the dive industry. It's about closing the perception-reality gap through buoyancy training, environmental briefings, ongoing reinforcement, and building awareness into operational culture.

Study: Lin, B. et al ‘Causes and correlates of unsustainable scuba diving tourism on coral reefs’ (Conservation Letters 2026)

Photo credit
1, 3, 6, 7 Shaun Wolfe
2 A Cotton Photo
4, 5 The Ocean Agency
8 Hannes Klostermann Underwater Photography

06/09/2026

The Green Fins Community Forum is an exclusive space where members from around the world connect, share ideas, troubleshoot challenges, and support each other's sustainability journeys. It's where practical conservation solutions are shared, tested, and scaled across the global network.

An example? Green Fins Member Ceningan Divers shared their new citizen science initiative – Ceningan Divers Critter Chronicles – a partnership with iNaturalist that turns dives into meaningful data for global biodiversity studies.

Guests document marine species during their dives, upload observations to iNaturalist, and tag the Ceningan Divers Critter Chronicles project. Over time, this builds a living archive of marine life across the Coral Triangle; tracking species distribution, abundance, and ecosystem health.

Within days, other Green Fins Members responded: "We had no idea we can use it this way! Will definitely follow your practice." That's the power of the Community Forum. One operator identifies a scalable solution and shares how they implemented it. Others adapt it to their own operations. The impact multiplies across dive sites, countries, and ecosystems.

Want access to this community? Become a Green Fins Member! Digital Membership is available globally and gives you immediate access to the Community Forum, Solutions Library, personalised action plans, and a network of operators working towards the same goal. Visit greenfins.net/join to register.

Already a member? Check in on the Community Forum regularly to stay connected, share what's working for you, and learn from others. Your insights could be exactly what another operator needs.

06/06/2026

In today's Member Spotlight: Fast Manta Diving Krabi – a PADI 5 Star IDC Centre based in Thailand and Krabi's first PADI Eco Center!

Becoming a Green Fins Member helped them review every part of their operation and ask: "How can we do this better for the ocean?" The initiatives they've implemented include:
- Eliminating single-use plastics onboard
- Operating paperless through digital forms and e-learning
- Promoting reef-safe sunscreen awareness
- Integrating marine conservation education into all courses and briefings
- Teaching neutral buoyancy from the very beginning of diver training
- Working closely with marine conservation projects and researchers

But this journey hasn't been without any challenges. "Reducing waste sounds simple, but in daily operations it requires constant planning, staff training, and guest education," they explain. "Another challenge has been ensuring all divers understand why buoyancy control and responsible underwater behaviour are so important for reef protection."

They managed to overcome these challenges through education and consistency. "Instead of only giving rules, we explain the reasons behind them. When guests understand how small actions can damage coral reefs, most are very supportive."

Internally, they built a strong team culture where sustainability isn't an "extra task" – it's simply part of how they operate every day. And it's attracted like-minded professionals. "Many instructors and divemaster candidates specifically choose to work and train with us because they want to be part of an environmentally responsible dive operation."

Their advice to operators considering Green Fins? "Start with small actions, but start now. You don't need to change everything overnight. Even simple operational changes can make a big difference when repeated every day across hundreds or thousands of dives."

Ready to follow their lead? Visit greenfins.net to learn more about becoming a Green Fins Member.

06/04/2026

Thinking about becoming a Green Fins Member but not sure if you're ready? If you're asking the question, you probably are. 😉

Green Fins membership isn't about having all the answers or running a flawless operation. It's about committing to transparency, to improvement, and to doing better for the reefs your business depends on.

The questions in this post can help you decide whether you're ready to start the journey. And if you answered yes to those five questions, the framework is already there to support you.

Digital Membership is available globally for any dive, snorkel, or liveaboard operator. Certified Membership is available in active Green Fins countries with in-person assessments and tiered rankings.

Either way, you're not doing this alone. You'll have access to the Solutions Library, a personalised action plan, progress tracking, and a community of operators around the world working towards the same goal.

Ready to take the next step? Visit greenfins.net/join to register.

Photo credit
1 Coraldivingclub Sharm El Sheikh
6 Dune Penida
7 Ceningan Divers and Scuba Ju**ie at ADEX - Asia Dive Expo

06/03/2026

Think you're a careful diver? So did 75% of the divers studied. They were wrong.

New research supported by The Reef-World Foundation reveals the hidden scale of damage caused by scuba diving tourism on coral reefs and offers a roadmap for improvement.

The study, led by Dr Bing Lin from the University of Sydney and published in Conservation Letters, observed more than 400 divers across tourism hotspots in the Philippines and Indonesia. Over 300 hours of underwater observation, researchers recorded 4,981 reef contact events among 411 divers. Around 41% of those contacts caused observable damage to coral – from direct breakage to sediment disturbance that smothers reef life.

On average, divers made one reef contact every four minutes and spent nearly two seconds of every minute in direct contact with the reef. More than 80% of damaging contacts were not deliberate; divers simply didn't notice they were touching coral, kicking up sediment, or destabilising themselves against the reef.

It's important to recognise this study not as an attack on the diving industry, but as an opportunity for improvement. The data gives us precise insights into where damage occurs, what behaviours contribute to it, and how to address it effectively. With coral reefs already facing existential threats from climate change, pollution, and overfishing, improving dive tourism practices is one local stressor we can actually control.

This is exactly why Green Fins exists. The standards we've developed with dive operators worldwide directly address the problems documented in this research. But sustainable dive tourism doesn't come from a single briefing or policy. It emerges from operational culture, staff consistency, and ongoing reinforcement. Green Fins works with operators to build that culture: assessing impact regularly, providing tailored guidance, and creating accountability structures.

Tourism doesn't have to damage reefs. The research shows us where the problems are. Green Fins shows us how to fix them.

Study: Lin, B. et al ‘Causes and correlates of unsustainable scuba diving tourism on coral reefs’ (Conservation Letters 2026)

06/02/2026

What you put on your skin ends up in the ocean. And some of those chemicals are doing serious harm to the reefs you're there to see.

Studies show that certain sunscreen ingredients – like oxybenzone, octinoxate, nano zinc oxide and nano titanium dioxide – have harmful and sometimes deadly effects on corals and other aquatic life. They impact immune systems, reproduction, behaviour and resilience. And those effects can last multiple generations.

Even small doses can cause damage. When thousands of swimmers, divers and snorkellers enter the water each day, those small doses add up quickly.

So what can you do? The most effective option is to cover up. Rash guards, wetsuits, and hats provide sun protection that doesn't wash off into the water. If you do use sunscreen, choose products that only have non-nano zinc oxide or titanium dioxide in their active ingredients list. Read the label carefully and don't rely on marketing claims like "reef safe." That term isn't regulated and isn't backed by science.

This is one of the easiest ways to reduce your impact on reefs. Choose your sunscreen carefully. Or better yet, cover up instead. Download our free reef-safe sunscreen poster and other resources at greenfins.net/material

05/30/2026

Explorer Ventures didn't begin with Green Fins certification. They began with internal accountability. In 2008, the fleet introduced its Dive Green environmental policy to reduce their environmental footprint. In 2018, they became the first liveaboard company to form a symbiotic partnership with The Reef-World Foundation, aligning their operations more closely with Green Fins standards.

Today, four fleet vessels are active Green Fins Members: Caribbean Explorer II (Saba & St Kitts), Turks & Caicos Explorer II, Humboldt Explorer (Galápagos), and Tiburon Explorer (Galápagos).

"Green Fins allowed us to formalise those practices and apply them more consistently across the fleet," says Clay McCardell, President. "On a liveaboard, it's really the accumulation of small decisions that makes the difference."

And that's exactly what this looks like in practice. Standards integrated into operations from the start:
- Education reinforced continuously throughout multi-day trips
- Well-trained crews who translate protocols into real behaviour
- Conservation activities incorporated into commercial operations

Liveaboards operate in complex, remote, and continuously operating environments. Sustainability isn't a single initiative – it's built into systems, crew behaviour, and guest experience over the course of each trip.

Explorer Ventures shows what's possible when operators move beyond participation and build sustainability into how they operate, day after day. Read the full blog post at greenfins.net.

05/28/2026

We love how creative our members are when it comes to engaging their communities!

El Día del Niño (Children's Day) is celebrated annually in Mexico on 30 April to honour children, recognise their importance to society, and promote their wellbeing.

Green Fins Member celebrated the day by engaging local children in ocean protection. The kids learned about reef conservation, went snorkelling, and enjoyed a group breakfast together.

Introducing children to the underwater world and teaching them why it matters is one of the most powerful ways to protect reefs long-term. When children grow up understanding the ocean, they become advocates for it.

Thank you for inspiring the next generation to protect Cozumel's reefs, Sand Dollar Sports!

Green Fins

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