sistent, and invisible in the places where policy is made. Dive centers are mostly small and medium enterprises; many op- erate informally; almost none report into the same statistical plumbing as cruise lines, hotels, or fisheries. Policymakers and national statistics offices work from comparable, standardized indicators. We tend to work from anecdotes, case studies, and one-off surveys. It’s time we change that – by generating, standardizing, and sharing our own data at scale. The blueprint already exists: Sectors with consistent “seats at the table” don’t wait for others to quantify their im- portance; they do it themselves and do it every year. Fisheries submit standardized effort and catch statistics to national ministries and Regional Fisheries Management Organizations, which roll up into Food & Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) global datasets. Forestry reports into FAO’s Global Forest Re- sources Assessment and is now complemented by near-real- time monitoring á la Global Forest Watch. Tourism uses common accounting frameworks (Tourism Satellite Ac- counts) to show how spending translates into GDP, jobs, and taxes. What these systems share: Common definitions and taxonomies ▪ Regular reporting cadence (quarterly/annual) ▪ Mixed methods (surveys, administrative data, sensors, ▪ remote sensing) Quality control and transparent aggregation ▪ Public-facing dashboards and downloadable time series ▪ There’s nothing stopping dive tourism from doing the same – except that we haven’t agreed on the basics. Start small, standardize, scale: A global monitoring sys- tem for dive tourism doesn’t need to be heavy or intrusive. It needs to be consistent. The minimum viable set of indicators can be collected by any operator in under 15 minutes per month, aggregated safely and transparently, and reported back as value: benchmarking, visibility, and influence. Consider these three pillars. 1. Economic Active operators and boats ▪ Certifications issued (by level), courses taught ▪ Dives delivered and trip volumes (domestic vs. interna- ▪ tional) Direct revenue from training, guiding, and rentals ▪ Employment: full-time equivalent (FTE), percent local ▪ hires 2. Environmental Site pressure: dives per site per month; mooring use ▪ ECO PRO continued
Simple condition signals: visibility range, presence/ab- ▪ sence of key species, bleaching/stress category, crown- of-thorns sightings Incident reporting: contact/anchor damage, fuel/oil ▪ spills (counts) 3. Community Local procurement share ▪ Conservation fees paid to MPAs/parks ▪ Participation in local conservation or co-management ▪ That’s the floor, not the ceiling. Over time, national associ- ations and MPAs can integrate permit data, training agencies can provide de-identified certification aggregates, and citizen science (e.g., Reef Check, Reef Life Survey, CoralWatch, eO- ceans) can enrich site condition trends. Booking and POS sys- tems can provide anonymized, automated feeds. But none of that works without a common language: what counts as a “dive,” what defines a “local hire,” how site IDs and coordi- nates are standardized. “What’s in it for me?” A fair question: Operators are busy. Margins are tight. Forms are nobody’s favorite. So the system must return value immediately. Dive into Dr. Alex Brylske’s Book: BENEATH THE BLUE PLANET
“An in-depth resource to indulge our passion for diving.” – Wayne B. Brown, Owner & CEO, Aggressor Adventures
A fascinating look at our oceans, marine biology & more! Great for classrooms and every dive retailer’s library!
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