|
Marine Conservation Training |
|
Fancy learning all about the underwater realm, learning to dive, and carry out life-changing conservation work in a tropical paradise? Whether you are looking for a life experience you won’t forget, a career break, gap year, improving you CV, starting a career in conservation, voluntary work abroad or just simply looking to broaden your horizons and try something new and exciting, we have the opportunity of a lifetime for you.
The main objective of Big Blue Conservation is to do as much as we can to ensure that the island remains undisturbed by the growing tourism and that the marine life is here in Koh Tao for future generations to enjoy. As well as working closely with Save Koh Tao on larger projects such as Buoyancy World and Bio Rock, we are implementing a range of smaller projects such as coral nurseries and a constructed wetland to help clean the islands grey water, as well as contributing to global research studying the impact of climate change on this beautiful environment. In order to achieve these goals, Big Blue Conservation depends on dedicated and trained teams of expedition volunteers to help construct, maintain, monitor and develop our projects. So whether you are looking to try something new, gain life experiences, develop a career in conservation, or just fancy a break from the norm, our month-long expeditions will train you from never having dived before to knowing how to identify sharks and grow corals.
We offer monthly Marine conservation skill development expeditions nearly every month, where you will receive advanced training on all things watery, including coral reef biology, underwater survey training, coral nursery construction and artificial reef maintenance. Does this sound exciting?? Visit our Big Blue Conservation site for more information on our expedition internships and other conservation courses. Otherwise, please email us at
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
for more information. |
|
 At Big Blue, we strive to ecologically-minded in every way possible. We understand the fragility of our island, and that it is a paradise with limited resources. Through numerous projects and initiatives, we work closely with the local community to sustain our local economy and protect our island from the impact of tourism. By choosing to dive with Big Blue, you contribute to our ecological mission whilst enjoying the best diving on the island.
As a small island with an economy dependant on tourism, we understand that there are many restrictions to living a completely ecologically-friendly life. We endeavour to be an eco-minded resort where possible, such as appropriately managing our waste and reducing our water and electrical consumption. As part of the island community, we aim to contribute to Koh Tao’s value by providing income and the financial incentive to protect the area’s natural environments and local communities through buying locally sourced produce.
Big Blue is a unique dive school in that we contribute to worldwide coral reef research. We have had the privileged to assist internationally renowned marine scientists and assist Masters Students conducting field research with us, such as diver-related damage, the impact of discarded nets on our reefs, and the recovery of corals from mass bleaching events. We are the first dive school on Koh Tao to have a team dedicated to this scientific research, which is essential to formulating the policies and guidelines required to protect our reefs for future generations to enjoy. You can see a list of our publications here.
 We strongly believe that communication and sharing of information is the key to the worldwide conservation of our reefs. If you would like know more about how to make your resort more ecologically-friendly, or more about how to implement marine conservation projects such as a coral nursery construction and reef health monitoring projects, please contact us at
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Finally, although the island remoteness is one of Koh Tao’s many charms, it does hinder some of our conservation efforts. We aim to be as eco-friendly as possible, but our best of intentions cannot always overcome the reality of some situations. To achieve the best results, we work closely with local communities and are regularly adapting our policies to shifts in local rules, laws and culture, in order try to have a positive effect on our local ecosystem. We are always open to suggestions, so if you have any suggestions to improving our policy, please feel free to contact us –
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
If you want to know more about our sustainable resource pledge, please check out our Eco Policy, which include tips on how to be an eco-minded tourist.
|
|
Read more...
|
 One of the key causes of damage on the reef is rubbish that end up in the ocean. Big Blue is proud to say that they always take part in the monthly clean ups that are organised on the island. You would be amazed at the amount of rubbish and some of the more unusual items that are found!
Along with other dive schools on the island, we gather a bunch of enthusiastic volunteers who give up their day to tidy up both on land and in the water. If you would like to volunteer for one of our clean ups, please email us at
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
|
 Coral nurseries are of increasing importance because Reefs around the globe are threatened by human activities. Like many parts of the world, the economy on Koh Tao is reliant upon our natural reef areas and the visitors they bring. Koh Tao currently has a number of coral nurseries using different techniques for research and restoration purposes. It is hoped that coral colonies from these nurseries can help add to the reefs around Koh Tao and provide a means of restoring damaged areas faster than would naturally occur,as well as providing additional dive sites. A number of organisations including Save Koh Tao and dive operators on Koh Tao have begun constructing small coral nurseries to test the feasibility and success of different methods. So far 3 different types of structures have been built 3 and all three have been successful.
 Big Blue conservation aims to contribute to this research, so that after a few months trial period the relative price and performance of each method can be optimised before making coral nurseries more widespread around the island. In the future, we would like to see a coral nursery near each dive site, and a few in places that currently are not being dived to provide alternative dive sites.
With nurseries in place in close proximity to dive sites, should a boat anchor or SCUBA divers break the corals, those fragments can be quickly brought to a secure growing area until they become large enough to transplant back onto the dive site. The nurseries themselves also serve as habitats for fish and a variety of other marine organisms, helping to maintain the reef abundance and biodiversity around Koh Tao. |
Buoyancy world is brand new dive site with features designed specifically to take divers through training exercises without causing damage to the reef.
Buoyancy World was designed and constructed by the island’s community and dive schools through Save Koh Tao. The idea is that by teaching buoyancy skills on artificial structures in the water, we can help reduce dramatically the damage being done to the reef accidentally. The project also includes a coral and fish nursery which aims to restore and improve the abundance and biodiversity of Koh Tao’s reefs.
Features of Buoyancy World include:
* Training aids
* Swim throughs
* Balance beams
* Hover weights
* Rings, hoops and other obstacles
* Search and recovery objects |
 Bio-Rock is a technology that uses low voltage electrical current on artificial underwater structures to encourage growth of Corals and other reef life. Experiments with the technology worldwide have shown that it can help counteract some of the difficult environmental factors affecting coral growth.
In conjunction with Save Koh Tao, Big Blue and a consortium of other dive schools launched a pilot project a few years ago to see if the technology would be successful here. The pilot project has been so successful that a new larger Bio-Rock was constructed in 2008.
 Now that the structure is in situ, regular dives are scheduled to the site for two main reasons. The first is to continue to plant broken Coral pieces on the structure and the second is to continue to monitor the growth of the test subjects. When the structure was first finished, test subjects were placed on the structure and tagged so that their growth could be monitored. This information is collated by Marine Conservation Koh Tao for scientific purposes. When a dive group visits the structure, various data including photographs are taken and then forwarded to Marine Conservation Koh Tao.
For more information on the technology visit www.biorock.net. |
|
