Coral tourism involves a lot of water activities and touring the beaches. Keeping these in mind, as tourists, there are certain things to do and certain to not do during Coral Tourism. While you pay attention and marvel at the colourful world underwater and near the coastline it is also your responsibility to be aware of the protected areas, species, conservation efforts and contribute in your own way to keep the place clean and green.
Respect Marine Life
While on coral tourism, the primary thing to do is respect corals. While they may paint picturesque scenery in front of you, in reality, they, too are living organisms. Even a slight touch to a coral can damage it irrevocably or even kill it. Moreover, corals are just a treat for the eye, not for the sensation of touch, tease, lean, stand or sit. You never know what might look dead is actually alive. Moreover, do not try to chase or irritate marine animals like turtles or dolphins. Also, avoid touching them or trying to lean on them while swimming. This might irritate them, and their behaviour can change abruptly to hurt you.
Marine Life is not a hobby
Collecting shells on sea beaches is one of the earliest memories most children have while on their trips to the coastlines. Since most of them are dead, broken and have no life in them, no one really restricts their collection. However, corals and other marine life should not be collected. In fact, in many beaches, collecting dead sea shells are also not permitted. This is because even though it is not necessarily visible, they all contribute in their own way to the delicate ecosystem. Tampering with this ecosystem might harm the balance in the chain.
Careful with the anchor
In most cases there are guides with you while you are exploring the corals. But in case you do try to venture out then be careful of dropping anchor on corals. It is an absolute no-no which will crush the corals and kill them. It is ideally recommended to use mooring buoys.
No feeding
No matter how many puppy eyes, dolphin eyes, fish eyes or greedy seagull eyes stare at you, do not feed the animals. This can be harmful to their diet and also causes an imbalance in nature’s food chain.
Careful with sand
Building sand castles or playing with sand or simply lying on the sand is common on the coastline. However, one must not kick sand abruptly. This might cause harm to the many organisms buried in the sand that you may not be aware of in the first go. Also, dumping sand on the coral is not an option. This might choke corals; ensure reduction of water clarity and affects the health and visibility of the corals.
Littering is offensive!
The least responsible tourists can do while out on Coral tourism is to not litter the coastline and the coral reefs. Mostly plastics, trash cans, nets, etc are found littered all over which are enough to choke marine life.
Following guidelines are a must
Each coastline has their own guidelines and regulations. It might vary from opening hours to swimming hours etc. One should definitely adhere to local guidelines and listen to guides. Coastal areas have their coast guards and they take their duties very seriously of protecting and conserving marine life.
Use Coral-safe skincare
While applying sunscreen is definitely a must when you visit the sea, the sunscreen composition should be coral-safe. Regular sunscreens might have chemicals like oxybenzone or octinoxate and others which are harmful for the corals. They are often the reason for coral bleaching. Thus, coral-safe sunscreen or sun-protective clothing layers can be worn instead.