Low-impact diver training in management of SCUBA diver impacts Zan Hammerton Marine Ecology Research Centre, School of Environmental Science and Management, Southern Cross University, Lismore, NSW, Australia ABSTRACT SCUBA divers make a range of accidental and intentional contacts with the benthos during each reef visit. Reefs with high levels of diving tourism can be subjected to major impacts. Whilst strategies currently exist to reduce diver contacts, including pre-dive briefing and carrying-capacity approaches, significant impacts still occur. This study tested the effectiveness of Low-Impact Diver (LID) training on 183 certified SCUBA divers. The aim was to assess if specific training could provide divers with the skill base to avoid, or significantly reduce, contact with the reef, regardless of certification or experience level. Students completed a single pre-training dive, in which a set of tasks was completed to the best of their current ability and which could be used as a baseline for comparison with a similar post-course completion dive. Regardless of an individual diver’s certification, or experience level, LID training was shown to significantly reduce contact with the benthos during subsequent dives. This study demonstrated a clear deficiency in current entry-level diver training standards and shows that divers from all experience levels are capable of learning and applying LID techniques. This study presents evidence that LID techniques provide a viable ecotourism management strategy to reduce diver impacts globally. ARTICLE HISTORY Received 26 January 2016 Accepted 23 May 2016 KEYWORDS SCUBA diver impacts; low- impact diver training; environmental education; ecotourism; management of marine protected areas; SCUBA diver education 1. Introduction The importance of environmental education within the tourism sector has been well established (Buckley, 2000; Madin & Fenton, 2004; Orams, 1996; Palmer, 2002). Such education is particularly crucial for destinations accommodating high tourist visitation, including marine protected areas. SCUBA divers are often drawn to areas of high conservation value (Barker & Roberts, 2007), this being due to the perceived biodiversity and the opportunity to encounter species not commonly found elsewhere. With the increase in accessibility and popularity of SCUBA diving, what was once considered a benign low-impact © 2016 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group CONTACT Zan Hammerton zan.hammerton@liu.edu JOURNAL OF ECOTOURISM, 2016 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14724049.2016.1194849