In September 2017, Hurricane Irma bore down on Florida and parts of the Caribbean, leaving behind disruption and devastation. Millions evacuated in advance of the storm. Key Largo resident Jack Fishman was one of those evacuees. Like many others, he used the forced time away to connect with friends and dive buddies about gathering needed supplies for those in need and to lay out plans for organizing ocean and land debris cleanups. This is the kind of work the dedicated team at Rainbow Reef Dive Center in Key Largo cares deeply about. 

Tell us about your passion for ocean conservation.

As a PADI Ambassadiver, and a Marine Conservation Coordinator at Rainbow Reef Dive Center, I help spearhead our involvement with Project AWARE. During the past two years, our team has been successful in encouraging dive leaders and members of the community to come together for marine conservation and debris removal activities.

Perhaps the most enjoyable experience of working in conservation, is seeing the passions of so many hard working people and organizations come together for the right reasons. Whether it is sharing the love of diving, or keeping places you love clean, it is easy to see why bringing others into this world is so important. When people care about something, real change happens. When you find making a difference becomes exciting, easy and enjoyable, well… anything is possible.

Why and when did your team get involved with Project AWARE?

Rainbow Reef Dive Center’s staff of more than 60 dive professionals in this ‘Diving Capital of the World’ have a strong passion for the ocean environment. We have been involved with Project AWARE for many years. In late 2015, the ‘Dive Against Debris’ and ‘Adopt a Dive Site’ programs strongly resonated with the staff. It sparked what became a deep commitment to Project AWARE. We were excited to be aligned with this strong program that benefits our reefs, our divers, and, happily, our staff’s ability to interact with and help the ocean. Becoming 100% AWARE is a true badge of honor for both our dive center and the Key Largo community.

What are some issues that are affecting your local dive site or favorite underwater areas?

Like too many marine environments worldwide, the Florida Keys has its own set of issues affecting our dive sites. Here in the Keys, there are passionate individuals working hard to create new, as well as to enforce old, legislation that protects our underwater world. Fishing within protected areas is an all too common occurrence - especially when tourists are not aware of local regulations. Inevitably, downstream is impacted. Marine debris, like fishing line, detrimental to the oceans, is all too common within our dive profiles.

After Hurricane Irma, an entire new set of issues have appeared. Debris from land-based sources, such as lobster traps that have come loose, are now found scattered across the reefs and underwater habitats.  It is imperative that we remove these hazards in a safe and proper manner to ensure the continuation of a healthy reef system. Additionally, live coral structures, important to all sea life, are very sensitive to the high water temperatures brought about by the hurricane. Because they are designed to recover from natural disasters, these resilient creatures are coming back Clearly, it is important, now more than ever, for all of us to be most careful under water, to dive mindfully, to teach tourists and students to be aware of possibly negative impacts on the fragile and beautiful marine environment.

How important has it been to work with the community and bring all stakeholders together?

Working together, like-minded individuals and groups have a real opportunity to join forces to create positive action. The Florida Keys are known for having more dive shops than gas stations. At a dive shop, the divers are the gas. Each dive center is fueled by passionate people working hard to create access to and an understanding of the wonders of the underwater realm. When first established Dive Against Debris surveys at Rainbow Reef, we knew it would be a great opportunity to generate hands-on action in the community. We have organized large events with as many as seven different community dive shops, and share our conservation efforts up and down the coast of the Florida Keys. The addition to the Rainbow family of Marine Conservation Co-Coordinator Shayna Cohen a year ago, has been instrumental to our upping our game still further. We are so lucky to live and work in such a collaborative community, allowing us to create change so much bigger than could any one diver alone.

After more than a year of well-attended marine debris removal events, we are excited to announce our partnership with the marine debris clean-up titan 4Ocean. -- an organization committed to supporting the removal of marine debris in local communities.  4Ocean is working with us so that we can take our dive clean-ups to the next level. Now, when divers participate in diving cleanups, they will be offered the Project AWARE Dive Against Debris Specialty. Additionally, each Dive Against Debris trip includes donations to Project AWARE to help support ongoing marine conservation efforts.

We have further created important partnerships with other groups as well to advance our conservation efforts. Dive gear manufacturers allow us to create donation opportunities and bring in real firepower for supporting conservation endeavors. Special thanks to Aqualung, Mares, Diverite and Atomic Aquatics.  We are ever thankful for their presence, donations, and dedication to marine conservation. Because of their support, the programs we offer have more visibility and funding so that we can accomplish bigger events that involve more members of the community.

Creating relationships with your community’s local businesses and relevant organizations will help bring resources and participation to events that will make your passion that much more meaningful and help preserve our watery realm for future generations

What has been the highlight of your Project AWARE experience?

Our programs would not be possible without the help of conservation minded, professional, and dedicated staff. From our Course Directors, to our interns, every employee has a hand in making our dive shop a successful 100% AWARE location.

Here's the low down on just a few of them:

Chris Adams is our very own PADI Platinum Course Director, Project AWARE supporter and Director of Veteran Training, in addition to the Founder of DIVE ARMY. He has been using his passion to help instill access and inspiration for conservation in PADI Professional Development. You can feel his passion is his words and deeds:

“Diving is my church, my fortress of solitude. Not only does diving create within me a sense of adventure, but also one of deep internal peace, a oneness, a connection to the soul of our planet. With this love comes a great respect and a great responsibility to steward and care for that which we hold so sacred.  As part of my responsibility, as a steward to this place of serenity, as a conservationist, I try to do my part in as many ways possible from lifting debris and removing mono-filament line to lifting ropes, anchors and chains from these delicate ecosystems. But trying to think on a personal level is too small for me. Project AWARE allows me to reach as many people as possible so that we change the beliefs and attitudes of as many people as we can in order to create even more environmental conservationists who can then themselves spread their own personal message of change. I also pride myself in the certification of Project AWARE instructors. These passionate instructors may now take with them the necessary tools from Project AWARE to spread their wishes, as well for change. From there, divers may evolve independently, discover what it is that they love about the ocean so that they will fight to protect it. I feel a connection when I think that I may have had some tiny part of that change.”

Shayna Cohen, our Marine Conservation Co-Coordinator and The Sea Hugger, has had many passionate experiences sharing conservation with our communities. She reflects on some of her experiences:

“I became a scuba instructor to use diving as a tool to teach others about marine conservation. I believe that recreational divers are the untapped community that can save our ocean. So it's thrilling for me when new divers jump head first into conservation-based dives. In addition to teaching through a conservation lens, I put incalculable value on creating young marine stewards. The future generation is immensely important in fighting to protect our planet, and to plant the seed of marine conservation early yields an immeasurable amount of hope for the future. One of my first large open water classes consisted of multiple children getting certified for the purpose of future marine conservation efforts. I was so proud to see ten, eleven, and twelve year olds become competent divers, but even more so I was overwhelmingly moved to see how they used their newly-developed skills. The first dive that several of my students went on, following their certification, was as volunteers for the Coral Restoration Foundation. Without missing a beat, these young stewards hopped back into the ocean to heal it. They used their new found buoyancy control to collect and outplant staghorn corals on a reef, and their blossoming confidence underwater to make a tangible difference for our hurting marine ecosystem. With the right form of instruction, every open water student can be inspired to use their incredible opportunity as a diver to help heal the underwater world they are now able to explore.”

Phillip Rash, PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer, and one of our avid debris removalists shares why Dive Against Debris is so meaningful:

“One of the most interesting Dive Against Debris dives was the dive trip we ran directly after Irma surveying the wrecks and reefs. It wasn't a planned debris dive but it definitely turned out to be one. The first site we hit was the wreck of the Benwood. Within the first 5 minutes, my dive buddy Ari and I had armfuls of rope and line that were entangled on the wreck. As we scoured the Benwood we continued finding bottles and other various debris. Because the dives were only meant to be surveying dives we only spent 20 minutes down on each. We moved from the Benwood to multiple other sites, collecting debris not only under water on our dives, but also on the surface in between sites. We even ended up hauling in a full size refrigerator on the way back to the docks from our last dive site. Much of the debris we found was from a natural disaster that no one could have prevented, but a lot of the debris we pick up on almost a daily basis is not. If more of us around the globe actually took the time to properly dispose of garbage and the other various things that end up in ocean we wouldn't have many of the environmental issues, we face today. I only hope that one day when we run these debris dives we come up with nothing at all, because that's the end goal for all of us.”

Vance Kodon, one of the previous managers at Rainbow Reef and a Dive Against Debris instructors, has had many passionate experiences with Project AWARE and marine conservation. As he explains:

“Growing up surfing and diving in Southern California, we had a lot of pollution issues that would close beaches for days.  That was very frustrating for me, as I would spend all my free time in the ocean. Since then, making a positive impact on our oceans has been a high priority for me. Despite all the naysayers, you can make a difference!  There are many conservation areas that need attention and it can seem overwhelming, so focus on one, or maybe two areas, and get involved.  Before long, your one voice turns into several, which eventually turn into many!  You can make an impact!”

Each member of our team plays an integral role in the conservation initiatives we have created in the Florida Keys community. None of these feats would be possible without the help of many passionate individuals, businesses, and organizations that support these vital efforts.