Sustainability

Dive Zone Whitianga teaches people how to dive and takes certified divers out exploring our beautiful underwater world. We aim to advocate to our customers and students how to care for our oceans and the wildlife within it.

When diving if we see rubbish we collect and dispose of it, and we encourage divers to consider what they take from the ocean. It is important to us to teach fellow divers the importance of leaving a larger ocean breeding stock for future generations.

We incorporate reduced crayfish limits for our customers (1 crayfish per leisure diver) and ensure no crayfish are taken during any training courses to preserve our oceans wildlife.

We promote and sell our reef sensitive sunscreen in store and on our website. We also supply it on our boats for our customers to use, and only use environmentally friendly chemicals in our facility.

We ensure our customers walk from our shop to the boat as it is only a short way, helping to limit unnecessary vehicle use.

We frequently liaise with our suppliers to discuss new ways of reducing waste with product packaging which is improving every year. We have Dive Zone shopping bags made from recycled plastic available for those who need one.

Dive Zone Whitianga skippers are trained to operate our vessels at optimum speeds to reduce diesel consumption and therefore our carbon footprint. We have recycling stations throughout our shop encouraging out students, staff and customers to recycle along with using low energy light bulbs throughout our premises.

Our training pool is solar heated and covered when not in use, and treated using an Enviroswim system which uses silver, copper and an electrolysis process. This significantly reduces chemical use in the pool, this also means better longevity for neoprene wetsuits that get used in our pool. We actively assisted Ngati Hei the Opito Bay Ratepayers and Legasea in obtaining the research necessary to seek the Rahui over the Opito Bay Scallop beds. This helps raise awareness of the dire situation of the offshore scallop beds and we provide our vessels and divers at no cost to undertake the survey work.

Over the last few years, our staff and students have been involved in beach clean up initiates, and sand dune planting at out shore dive sites.  

In July 2023 our students got together and planted a variety of species in the sand dunes at Otama Beach, and in August 2023 we conducted a Dive Against Debris dive to remove rubbish from underneath the Whitianga Wharf. In this we removed over 500kg of rubbish from the ocean. 

We are always looking to find what the next thing is that we can do to make us a more sustainable Dive Centre!

Dive Zone Whitianga Website: https://www.divezonewhitianga.co.nz/

Dive Zone Whitianga Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dive_zone_whitianga/?hl=en 

Dive Zone Whitianga Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DiveZoneWhitianga/

Dive Zone Whitianga Tiktok: Dive Shop Locator: https://www.padi.com/dive-shops/nearby/