The Essential Ingredients of Responsible Snorkeling
Editorial by Joel Simon

During my first solo trip to Mexico in the early ‘70’s, I clearly remember seeing numerous snorkelers, fins in hand and children in tow, walking among and over the coral reef at El Garrafon on Isla Mujeres. It wasn’t just the corals that were being harmed. Many folks had bloody knees, shins, and injured feet from unwanted and unwarranted impact with corals. I’m sure they didn’t want to harm either themselves or the coral, they simply didn’t know any better. Today we do.

Garrafon is now one of a growing number of protected marine reserves. But with respect to snorkelers, what does "protected" really mean? While legislation is a good start to preserving valued marine resources, ultimately, it’s our behavior in the water that will help insure healthy reefs and healthy snorkelers. This requires both education and skill.

Perhaps no one understands this better than Kalli de Meyer, manager of Bonaire’s Marine Park. More than 25,000 scuba divers and snorkelers visit this park each year. On Bonaire, the legislation is in place. All elements of the marine environment, living or dead, are protected by law from the high tide line to a depth of 200 feet. But are laws alone any guarantee for the health of the reef? I recently asked Kalli.

"In order for laws to have effect, they must have teeth, and ours have teeth. But folks don’t come down here to deliberately destroy a reef! They come here to enjoy the reef. Our job is to help them do that without inadvertently harming themselves or our marine resources. To this end, our most important contribution is through education. In fact, education is our best enforcement."

As Kalli explains, the educational process is twofold. There is a wealth of information available on the nature of coral reef communities, both their strengths and their vulnerabilities. Coral animals have hard but delicate skeletons and are easily damaged by contact. They grow slowly, and need to remain free of silt and other surface accumulations to thrive. A misplaced hand or careless fin kick can easily imperil the lives of hundreds of coral polyps.

Our understanding of the nature of corals now encourages snorkelers to develop skills with an underlying attitude of appreciation and respect. Snorkelers learn to relax in the water, being careful not to impact corals needlessly with their hands, feet, or other errant body parts. This requires training since shallow water is especially subject to surge, and snorkelers frequently enter and exit from the shore.

Realistically, most tropical marine environments can face more traumatic perils than snorkelers. Storms can and do easily ravage the shallow reef. Even slight aberrant variations in water temperature can upset ecological balances. Disease can decimate specific marine populations. But these events don’t make our careless or untrained behavior any less irresponsible. There are enough factors we can’t control, making it all the more important to work diligently on those we can.

Kalli recognizes that legislation and education are active partners in preservation. Laws alone aren’t an answer to maintaining a healthy reef. But they can encourage us to learn more about the reef, develop skills safe for corals and for snorkelers, and adopt a respectful attitude for the marine environment. The most important partners for preservation of the coral reefs are those who visit. Attitude, aptitude, and education, these are the essential ingredients for responsible snorkeling.