Recreational diver perceptions of effects on the marine environment

Antaya March – MSc Student, University of Portsmouth

We have awarded a research grant to Antaya March, an MSc student in Coastal and Marine Resource Management at the University of Portsmouth. Antaya is an avid scuba diver and has taught diving and worked on conservation projects around the world including in Malaysia, Thailand, Madagascar and the Caribbean Islands. She obtained an undergraduate degree in her home country at the University of Cape Town in Marine Biology and Conservation, after which she moved on to working at sea for a few years. During this time, she found her passion in the effects of Marine Protected Areas and the management thereof as well as policy, governance and the social impacts of conservation

Research Project

Antaya’s research will be an investigation into the relationship between the dive community and the Marine Protected Areas in which they dive around the Cape Peninsula in Cape Town, South Africa.

Divers are known to be generally good ambassadors for the marine environment. However, to date there has been limited research into the awareness of divers both about the MPAs in which they dive, and their implications, especially along the Cape Peninsula, most of which is protected. Furthermore, gaps in literature exist on divers’ understanding of the impacts of diving and dive associated tourism on the marine environment. This study aims to address these gaps.

Data will be collected through web-based surveys to the dive community (through operators and dive clubs, of which she is acquainted), separate surveys to operators and semi-structured interviews with Table Mountain National Parks (TMNP) rangers and personnel.