Scuba diving study suggests marine conservation economically benefits coastal economies

The global economic contribution of the scuba industry shows the sector’s unique annual fiscal impact — but also a driving reason for marine conservation, according to a new study by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

The study is part of Atlas Aquatica, a project looking at the distribution of dive operators and dive sites around the world and calculating the annual global economic value of scuba diving. 

The study revealed that direct spending on diving generates between $900 million and $3.2 billion annually. The study also examined indirect contributions from scuba diving, such as food, accommodations and other expenses. The sector’s annual global contribution was between $8.5 and $20.4 billion, when including indirect spending. 

Ocean-based tourism has been studied before, but the scuba diving sector has never been focused on specifically. The study not only shows the sector’s importance; it also suggests that the economic benefits of scuba diving could help drive marine conservation.  

“We show that diving generates a lot of income, and it does this without degrading the environment like extractive industries such as fishing or mining,” said Aburto-Oropeza, co-author of the study. “We hope that showing the scale of the economic impact from this activity will encourage policies that invest in diving by increasing marine protections.”

Scuba diving might have a large global contribution, but it also supports local economies. It supports almost 124,000 jobs across 170 countries, with 80% of the employees being local or national residents of the dive operator locality.

Roughly 70% of all marine dives currently occur in a marine protected area. The Atlas Aquatics study suggests that with improved marine conservation, the diving sector will continue to grow. Improved conservation that promotes sealife will draw in divers interested in seeing unique marine life. 

“Scuba diving is pretty unique because it makes you spend time underwater,” said Fabio Favoretto, who co-authored the study as coordinator of Atlas Aquatica and as a postdoctoral researcher at Scripps.

“You can sail or surf above a dead ocean, but scuba divers notice if there are no fish — it’s really an activity that is dependent on the health of the system. That’s a positive for conservation because it makes divers allies.” 

The UCSD study shows the prominence of scuba diving within the ocean-based tourism industry, but it also suggests scuba diving as a model for a “Blue Economy.” Blue economies sustainably use ocean resources for economic growth — scuba diving would use ocean resources to promote dive locations and operators, drawing in tourists to see unique marine ecosystems. 

“Unlike mass tourism operations that can harm local communities and marine environments, dive tourism, when managed well, can be economically viable, socially equitable and environmentally sustainable,” said Anna Schuhbauer, lead study author and fisheries scientist at the University of British Columbia. 

The Scripps study suggests establishing standardized monitoring systems across the diving industry so dive operators can formally contribute to marine management decisions.