A diving organization in Sabah, Malaysia, is calling for mandatory marine conservation briefings for first-time divers and snorkellers, reigniting a debate that extends far beyond Southeast Asia.
The proposal comes from the Sabah Dive Squad Club, which recently welcomed the enforcement of Malaysia’s Fisheries (Amendment) Act 2025 while arguing that stronger laws alone are not enough to protect marine ecosystems. The group says education should play a larger role in preventing harmful interactions between tourists and marine wildlife.
Among its recommendations are mandatory marine conservation briefings for Discover Scuba Diving participants, first-time divers and snorkellers before they enter the water. The club is also advocating multilingual educational materials, improved reporting mechanisms for wildlife harassment, and greater cooperation between dive operators, marine parks, conservation organizations and local communities.
The proposal follows several highly publicized incidents involving marine wildlife in Sabah. According to local reports, videos circulated online showing people restraining sea turtles for photographs and divers disturbing whale sharks. Conservation advocates argue that many visitors simply do not understand the impact such interactions can have on animal behaviour and wellbeing.
While the recommendation is currently only a proposal and not government policy, it raises an important question for the global diving industry:
Should environmental education be mandatory before every introductory dive?
The Gap in Diver Education
Most discover scuba experiences already include safety briefings covering equipment use, underwater communication and emergency procedures.
Environmental considerations, however, often receive far less attention.
Many experienced dive professionals can recall witnessing new divers standing on coral, chasing turtles for photographs, crowding marine animals or inadvertently damaging fragile reef systems. In many cases, these actions are not malicious. They are the result of inexperience and a lack of awareness.
A first-time diver may understand buoyancy only in theory. They may never have been told that touching a sea turtle can interrupt feeding behaviour, or that a single misplaced fin kick can damage coral growth that took decades to develop.
A Growing Global Issue
The debate is not unique to Sabah.
Popular diving destinations around the world have faced increasing pressure to balance tourism growth with conservation. Locations such as Sipadan, Raja Ampat, the Galápagos Islands and parts of the Red Sea already place strong emphasis on responsible diver behaviour through briefings, codes of conduct and marine park regulations.
Many operators voluntarily include environmental messaging before dives. The question is whether such briefings should become a mandatory requirement for introductory diving experiences rather than remaining a best practice.
Supporters argue that even a five-minute conservation briefing could significantly reduce wildlife harassment incidents and reef damage.
Critics may counter that additional requirements create more administrative burden for operators and could complicate entry-level experiences that are already heavily regulated.
The Cost of Getting It Wrong
Marine tourism depends on healthy ecosystems.
Sea turtles, whale sharks, manta rays and vibrant coral reefs are among the primary reasons many travellers choose dive destinations in the first place. When those ecosystems are damaged, the tourism industry ultimately suffers alongside the environment.
Sabah’s dive community argues that stronger penalties under Malaysia’s updated fisheries legislation are an important step forward. However, preventing harmful behaviour before it occurs may prove even more effective than punishing it afterward.
Education remains one of the simplest and least expensive conservation tools available.
A Discussion Worth Having
The proposal from Sabah Dive Squad Club is unlikely to be the last call for stronger environmental education in diving.
As marine tourism continues to grow worldwide, the industry may increasingly face pressure to demonstrate that it is not only introducing people to the underwater world but also teaching them how to protect it.
Whether mandatory conservation briefings become the next industry standard remains to be seen.
But for many divers, the idea that every new participant should learn how to interact responsibly with marine life before entering the water may be difficult to argue against.
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