Oxybenzone and octinoxate are two ingredients believed to contribute to coral bleaching. When coral bleaches, it is not dead, but under significant stress and subject to increased mortality levels. According to the National Park Service, 14,000 tons of sunscreen enter coral reefs every year. These now banned chemicals are believed to be one of the contributing factors to the coral reef destruction. Most popular sunscreen brands are known to contain these dangerous chemicals. These brands include Coppertone, Hawaiian Tropic and Banana Boat, to name a few. However, we are starting to see a trend of these big brands creating new, less toxic sunscreen lines such as Banana Boat’s Simply Protect which is made without oxybenzone & parabens.

Choosing the right sunscreen is important not only to protect skin from burns and cancer, but also to preserve our oceans and marine life. Selecting a sunscreen that is both effective and reef safe can be overwhelming.

AVOID THESE CHEMICALS

• Avoid sunscreens containing petrolatum, commonly known as mineral oil, which takes years to biodegrade, and are known to be harmful or fatal to aquatic life and waterfowl.
• Avoid sunscreens with high content of Titanium Dioxide. This mineral does not biodegrade and is found to react in warm seawater to form hydrogen peroxide which is harmful to all sea life.
• Oxybenzone and octinoxate, the two chemicals recently banned in Hawaii and are believed to cause coral bleaching.

The liveaboard diving yachts Scubaspa Ying and Scubaspa Yang have been designed to accommodate up to 40 guests. The ships feature 10 cabins and nine suites on each yacht, and are tastefully decorated, all with panoramic sea view or port lights. The cabins are configured with queen, king or twin bed combinations. One suite and one cabin sleep up to three people. All cabins have air conditioning, en suite bathrooms with shower, personal safe, and mini-fridge.

Diving takes place from a tender. Approximately 20 meters in length, the dive boat carries all the equipment, including air compressors and state-of-the-art nitrox; purpose-built for comfort, each has adequate seating, multiple entry points, stern platform, and on-board toilet facilities. Both yachts are the only vessels in the Maldives awarded PADI 5 Star Dive Resort status. Nitrox is available but Scubaspa does not support technical diving or rebreathers. 

Contact us today to book an amazing dive and spa retreat holiday to the Maldives and get our 10% DISCOUNT. 

For centuries humans believed the ocean was so vast that it was impossible to do it measurable harm. But we now know human activities can destroy critical marine habitats, dangerously pollute seawater and make sea environments more acidic. Overharvesting has disrupted food chains and directly pushed many ocean species into the critically endangered category—and has driven some animals, including Steller's sea cow, into total extinction. This past March the smooth handfish officially became the first modern-day marine fish to be declared extinct.

Handfish are a family of 14 unusual bottom-dwelling species related to deep-sea anglerfish. Unlike most other fishes, they do not have a larval phase and do not move around very much as adults; these traits make them sensitive to environmental changes, according to Graham Edgar, a marine ecologist at the University of Tasmania. “They spend most of their time sitting on the seabed, with an occasional flap for a few meters if they're disturbed,” Edgar says. “As they lack a larval stage, they are unable to disperse to new locations—and consequently, handfish populations are very localized and vulnerable to threats.” In 1996, he adds, another species called the spotted handfish was the first marine fish listed as critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.