By DIVE Staff
Curaçao’s leading sustainable dive tourism operators have announced they have signed up to the Reef-World Foundation’s new online Green Fins Hub as Digital Members.
Ocean Encounters, The Dive Bus, Scubacao and GO West Diving announced in a joint statement through Dive Curaçao that they took the measure ‘to reinforce the absolute need to create change in order to provide future generations with an opportunity for a healthy and sustainable environment, both above and below the waterline.
‘From a private sector point of view, Dive Curaçao is incredibly proud to support sustainable dive tourism and these leaders of the Curaçao Dive Tourism Industry to create change,’ said Dive Curaçao founder, Bryan Horne. ‘After all, if we do nothing to support the environment, we will eventually have an unsustainable dive tourism industry in Curaçao. This will lead to an inability to deliver exceptional dive travel and vacation experiences in the future. Bottom line is that apathy can no longer be embraced.’
Curaçao’s coral reefs are among the most biodiverse in the Caribbean, covering 104 sq km and home to at lease 65 different species of coral and more than 350 species of fish. Scuba diving contributes a large component of the island’s tourist income, and with an increasing number of travellers seeking out sustainability-led tour operators, the islanders see signing up to projects such as the Green Fins programmes as imperative to protect not only the reefs but to ensure the sustainable growth of the industry.
‘Marine tourism plays an important role in Curaçao’s economy and as the industry grows, it is critical to establish practical approaches to protect the marine environment,’ said said JJ Harvey, Director at The Reef-World Foundation. ‘By adopting Green Fins, dive operators are taking vital steps in ensuring Curaçao’s dive market is sustainably managed to increase corals and marine life’s resilience to wider global threats and protect the valuable marine ecosystems for future generations.’
It is hoped that initiatives such as joining the Green Fins Hub, combined with government support for progressive marine management legislation will strengthen the position of the dive tourism industry in Curaçao as a leading contributor to the island’s economy.
It is also hoped that becoming Green Fins Digital Members will pave the way for the Green Fins programme to be implemented on a national level, enabling dive operators to become Certified Members and receive annual in-person assessment and on-site staff training to help businesses implement best practice for the sustainability of Curaçao’s marine tourism industry.
For more about Curaçao diving, visit the Dive Curaçao website. and head to the new Green Fins Digital Hub website for more information about digital membership
