Sustainable Snorkeling

Is snorkelling bad for the environment?

No – snorkelling certainly doesn’t need to be detrimental to our natural ocean environment!

Snorkeling is a very simple way to admire the wonders of the sea. Simply by wearing a mask, snorkel and fins you will be able to see what happens below the surface of the water and discover how its inhabitants live.

Millions of people snorkel every year, but not all of them behave in a way that doesn’t harm the marine environment.

What are the important things to do while snorkelling?

It is important to remember that responsible snorkelling can prevent damage to our marine ecosystems. Sustainable snorkelling must promote responsible practices such as avoiding feeding or interacting with aquatic creatures, handling or breaking coral reef structures and leaving litter.

Can snorkelling be sustainable?

Yes – certainly there is no reason why snorkelling responsibly cannot be a sustainable activity.

It is for this reason that Friend of the Sea has created a certification standard dedicated to tour operators that offer snorkelling activities, to give clear indications on how to be responsible and snorkel sustainably and protect the marine ecosystem.

This standard has been developed in collaboration with Luca Saponari, a marine biologist and expert in sustainable tourism.

The Sustainable Snorkeling Standard

Friend of the Sea Sustainable Snorkelling standard seeks to encourage responsible snorkelling and minimise unintentional disturbance through key principles of conduct.

Friend of the Sea criteria for Sustainable Snorkeling require:

don’t touch any marine organism;
how to behave into the water;
don’t feed any animal;
training programmes for operators and crew;
scientific data collection;
no single-use plastic on-board.

Apply to Sustainable Snorkeling

Would you like to receive a quotation for Friend of the Sea audit and royalties to use our logo?
Please fill out the online Preliminary Information Form (PIF) and send back to quality@friendofthesea.org

All the information will be kept strictly confidential and implies NO commitment from your company.
The Friend of the Sea certification is voluntary and NOT mandatory to gain access to markets.
The application process is NOT discriminatory on size, scale, management and minimum number of operators.