As an responsible eco-tourist, you should…

• Enjoy nature but don’t chase or touch animals.
• Not remove anything that is part of the natural environment.
• Urge your guides to act responsibly and tip them for their cooperation.
• Stay on trails or other designated areas and leave the site cleaner than when you found it.
• Report environmental damage to authorities and encourage responsible behavior in others.
• Patronize locally owned businesses, but avoid items made from endangered species, threatened species, coral or tropical hardwoods.
• Interact with and show respect for local people, their culture and their traditions. Talk with them about environmental issues affecting their area. Visitors respecting a destination are key to ecotourism.
• Protect threatened fisheries by choosing seafood items caught or harvested from sustainable native fish populations.
• Practice buoyancy control skills in a pool or sandy area before swimming near a coral reef or any sensitive environment.
• Make sure your equipment is secured, you’re weighted properly and be careful not to touch, stand on or collect coral.
• Be an AWARE diver – enroll in a Project AWARE Specialty course to increase your knowledge about the environment and learn sustainable dive practice knowledge.
• Participate in local conservation activities when available and support established parks and reserves.