EOWD-Eco Open Water Diver- New Divers License needed? Effect of Intensive SCUBA Diving on Fringing Reefs of the Northern Red Sea

摘要

Intensive recreational SCUBA diving threatens coral reef diversity and health [1]. Two anthropogenic factors contributing to coral reef decline are sedimentation [4] and damage from snorklers and SCUBA divers [1]. Physical contact of divers (fins, hands, equipment) and increased sedimentation are two major effects diredtly caused by SCUBA diving. Diver damage varies depending on the growth form of corals present. Branching corals appear to sustain most of the breaks although they are most affected [5]. As coral reef tourism continues to grow, the need to quantify, manage and mitigate anthropogenic stress is given. In 2005 6 mio. visited the Red Sea region in with the South Sinai region is a main investment target of Egypt’s tourism development plan [2].