ECO PRO
Beyond the “Tourist Diver” and the Rise of the Restorative Professional by Kramer Wimberley , Board of Directors & Founder of DWP/DWP-CARES
T HE FATE OF OUR PLANET’S CLIMATE is in- extricably linked to the health of the ocean, yet the most critical link – human behavior – often remains the least addressed variable in climate mitigation. After forty years in the diving industry, I have watched the decline of our coral ecosystems with a heavy heart. I have seen vibrant, kaleidoscopic cities of coral transition into gray, skeletal graveyards. But what is more frustrating than the loss of the reef itself is the systemic complacency of the industry that depends on it. We have reconciled ourselves to a “Great Migration.” To survive, the diving industry has piv- oted toward a strategy of avoidance rather than one of restoration. The business model has shifted to mar- keting expensive trips to the other side of the world to see the “last of the best” before they are gone. We are selling tickets to a disappearing show. This is not a sustainable busi- ness model; it is a funeral procession. Once those distant reefs in the Indo- Pacific or the Red Sea decline, the dive industry dies along with them. The better option – the only option – is to restore the reefs in our own backyard. The Civility of the Deep and the Myth of the Predator: To understand why we must restore, we must first understand what we are protecting. The average non-diver is often trau- matically impacted by the legacy of films like Jaws , which fueled an irrational fear that has allowed humanity to tolerate the slaughter of 10 to 100 million sharks annually. We stand by as these apex predators – some of the most beautiful and functional animals on the planet – are erased, destabilizing the marine hierarchy in their absence. The uninformed believe that everything in the depths is trying to kill everything else. But as divers, we know the truth is far more civil. I have spent 45 minutes hovering over a ten-square-foot section of the ocean floor just to marvel at a cleaning station. At these stations, you witness a social dynamic where
predators and prey recognize the necessity of interaction. A massive grouper or a barracuda – creatures that could easily consume the smaller organisms around them – will hang suspended in the water column, gills flared, as tiny cleaner gobies and shrimp pick away parasites. There is a pause in the predator-prey relationship born of pure utility and mutual respect. I have never seen a marine organism "cut" to the front of the line; there is an inherent understanding of order. Where else on Earth can you witness such a profound truce? This "civility" is made possible by rugosity – the structural
complexity of the reef. A flat, de- graded reef offers no shelter; it is a biological desert. High rugosity pro- vides the nooks and crannies that act as nurseries and shelters. By out- planting branching corals, we aren't just adding plants; we are building the high-rise city infrastructure that allows this complex social truce to exist. The Paradigm Problem: Skills Without Purpose: The industry agencies, and subsequently the pro-
fessionals they produce, are often ill-equipped to teach students about this delicate social fabric. An open water cer- tification teaches the basic skills to get a body into the water – how to clear a mask, how to recover a regulator, and how to manage buoyancy. But we are putting people in the ocean without giving them a reason to be there beyond the novelty of weightlessness. For years, I attempted to work within existing agency structures to expand the vision of training "mission-driven advocates." I reached out to major certifying agencies to address a major barrier: the exorbitant virtual training fees and certification costs that prevent us from expanding the pool of next-generation divers, particularly within traditionally disenfranchised communities. I presented proposals to Man- aging Directors, Regional Directors, and Campaign Man- agers. Despite the clear benefits of training "mission-driven ad-
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