Green fins make sure that your trip is safe to the island of Bali. This trip will not be complete if you have not visited the beaches and coasts and even dive in the depths of the blue sea. To some, diving sounds like an extreme and dangerous activity.
However, many also really enjoy the beauty and underwater life with diving activities. Currently there are hundreds of dive operators on the island of Bali.
Unfortunately, the increasing number of divers does not always pay attention to the carrying capacity of the environment. Not infrequently found the behavior of the divers damaging or endangering marine animals.
Therefore, there is a need for guidelines and efforts to monitor the activities of divers under water. One effective way is to work closely with dive operators.
What is Green Fins?
Since 2004, an initiative under the UN Environment Program (UNEP) called Green Fins was initiated to protect and conserve coral reefs through environmentally friendly guidelines. The goal is to keep the diving and snorkeling industry sustainable.
This program has been adopted by 12 countries in the world, including Indonesia, which has coordinated the Coral Triangle Center (CTC) since 2018.
The hope is that both novice and experienced divers can act wisely while enjoying Bali’s underwater natural wealth which is already well-known in the eyes of the world. One of the points in the guide, for example, is not feeding fish (no fish feeding) during activities at sea.
This fun feeding activity can actually have an impact on the behavior (behavior) of fish in the sea that should eat algae. If the fish are continuously fed bread or other food by humans, one of the consequences is the algae population will increase. This can threaten the balance of marine ecosystems such as coral reefs, because fish no longer eat algae.
Green Fins Diving Guide
- No stepping on coral
- No stirring the sediment
- No touching or chasing marine life
- No gloves
- No feeding fish
- No littering
- No spearfishing
- Do not support shark finning
- Don’t buy souvenirs of coral and marine life
- Do not collect dead or alive marine life
- Do not anchor on coral reefs
- Use mooring buoys
- Wear a life jacket when snorkeling
- Report environmental violations
- Join in conservation projects
How to become a Green FIns member
Before joining as a member of Green Fins, apart from registering, each dive operator must go through an assessment process that can only be carried out by an official assessor from Green Fins. During the assessment process, all activities of the dive operator from guest pick-up to completion of the dive will be assessed.
This is to ensure that dive operators have followed a code of ethics or diving guidelines that minimize the impact on the environment and are able to provide an understanding to their guests about the do’s and don’ts when diving in the sea.
This Green Fins membership is free of charge. Members will get a Green Fins certificate from UNEP which is valid for one year. Every year the dive operator will be reassessed to see progress related to environmentally friendly operations.
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