Whilst diving, it is important to be aware of your surroundings, your own body and the equipment you are using. A lot of damage to the coral reefs can be done unwittingly, by bumping into coral or dragging your equipment, spending a little more time being aware of your surroundings and being graceful whilst swimming will reduce the chances of this. Coral is extremely fragile and can get badly damaged when knocked, coral is also very slow at growing, so accidently hitting it and knocking bits off will take a long time to re-grow resulting in long term damage to the coral.

At all times, you should be aware of and respect all the aquatic life around you. Sea life can become very anxious when you interfere too much, do not touch, feed or handle the animals, because this can disrupt feeding and mating behaviour of animals. Many marine creatures pose no threat to humans, so be careful not to cause stress for them.

It is recommended to avoid the collection of souvenirs, and other objects underwater. Areas may be very quickly destroyed because of the collection of corals and shells, etc. In popular destinations, it will lead to areas known for their beauty, to become very limited and damaged. If you appreciate the beauty of the underwater world, leave it that way for others to enjoy and take your camera diving and capture the beauty and respect the environment instead.

If you notice any disturbances or destruction whilst diving then you must report it. This could be anything strange substances in the water to a collection of injuries to many fish in the area. If you are unsure of whom to report it to, then let a local dive centre know and they will contact the necessary organisation e.g. Environmental Protection Officers or other authorities similar. This could prevent further destruction and even save lives of many sea creatures so never hold off telling someone of your findings even if you believe they are not that significant.

You should always be a role model for other divers if you appreciate the beauty of the ocean, you must also respect and help keep it clean, if everyone did that, we will be able to see beauty for many centuries now. Being a role model is important because people will notice your good attitude and respect for the sea, they should follow, especially divers, because they can witness for themselves the damage already caused.

For those that are interested in helping the environment and marine conservation check out Phi Phi Dive Camp, they have many projects currently running in order to look after the sea life and corals in Thailand. As well as conservation you can also look at Diving Phi Phi