SSI ITC Dive Resort Oceans 5 Gili Air Blog Posts
SSI ITC Dive Resort Oceans 5 Gili Air Blog Posts
The Main Legal Framework The protection, management and responsible use of Gili Matra are supported by several layers of Indonesian law. Together, these regulations govern conservation zoning, coastal development, environmental protection, wastewater and pollution, business activities, public access and the use of small islands. Among …
What Are You Actually Paying For? When comparing scuba-diving prices, it is tempting to choose the lowest number. A fun dive is a fun dive, right? You receive a tank, join a boat, go underwater and return to shore. Why pay more when another dive …
A scuba certification gives someone permission to dive within the limits of their training. But does a certification card automatically prove that the diver is currently capable of diving safely?
The honest answer is no.
Some certified divers return to the water after several years without diving. Others completed their course but never developed reliable buoyancy control. Occasionally, a diver may have logged many dives but still depend on a guide to prevent uncontrolled descents, contact with the reef or rapid ascents.
This raises a difficult question for dive centres:
Should a certified diver be allowed to join an ordinary guided fun dive if they cannot control their buoyancy?
At Oceans 5 Gili Air, we believe that safety and environmental responsibility must come before avoiding an uncomfortable conversation. A certification card should be respected, but the diver must also demonstrate that they can participate in the dive without creating an unreasonable risk to themselves, the group or the marine environment.
An Open Water Diver course teaches the fundamental knowledge and skills required to begin diving independently with a buddy. However, receiving a certification does not mean that every skill has been permanently mastered.
Buoyancy requires continued practice. Skills can deteriorate when someone does not dive regularly, particularly if the diver:
The number printed in a logbook does not always tell the complete story. A diver with 20 carefully supervised and well-practised dives may have better control than someone with 100 dives who has repeated the same poor habits.
Poor buoyancy is more than an inconvenience.
A diver who cannot control their depth may descend deeper than planned, consume gas rapidly or become separated from the group. Constantly adding and releasing air from the BCD can make the problem worse.
The most serious concern is an uncontrolled ascent. Divers Alert Network warns that a rapid ascent can increase the risk of lung-overexpansion injuries and arterial gas embolism.[1]
A dive guide can assist with a temporary problem, but a guide should not have to physically hold a certified diver throughout an entire dive. While the guide is concentrating on one struggling person, their attention is taken away from the other divers in the group.
That changes a normal guided dive into something much closer to a training dive.
Divers often book a fun dive expecting to explore the reef, observe marine life and enjoy a relaxed underwater experience.
When one diver cannot maintain depth, the entire dive may have to be changed. The guide may need to:
This is unfair to the other guests, especially when they booked and paid for a guided recreational dive rather than joining someone else’s training session.
Small groups help, but even in a group of no more than four divers, one person requiring continuous assistance can occupy most of the guide’s attention.
Around the Gili Islands, many dive sites contain coral formations and fragile marine life. A diver who is overweighted, vertical in the water or unaware of their fins can damage the reef without deliberately touching it.
Fins can break coral, stir up sediment and disturb small animals. Dangling gauges and alternate air sources can also strike the reef.
Green Fins explains that divers with good buoyancy are considerably less likely to contact coral and other delicate parts of the marine environment.[2] Its guidance also states that dive professionals should ensure photographers have adequate buoyancy before allowing them to concentrate on taking pictures.[3]
A no-touching policy means very little if divers do not possess the control needed to remain away from the bottom.
Conservation begins with the way we dive.
Refusing someone without offering help is rarely the best solution. Most divers do not intentionally create unsafe situations or damage coral. Many genuinely do not realise that their buoyancy needs improvement.
The professional response is to explain the problem respectfully and offer a way forward.
At Oceans 5 Gili Air, a diver who cannot safely control their buoyancy should not continue participating in ordinary guided fun dives until the problem has been addressed. Instead, we can offer two appropriate solutions.
The most effective solution is the SSI Perfect Buoyancy Specialty.
This program is not simply another card to add to a diver’s collection. It provides structured training and time to concentrate specifically on:
SSI describes Perfect Buoyancy as a program that teaches advanced buoyancy skills, improves body position and helps divers protect the underwater environment.[4]
Unlike a regular fun dive, the purpose of this specialty is training. The instructor can observe the diver, identify the cause of the problem and provide exercises, feedback and repeated practice.
At Oceans 5, buoyancy skills are practised neutrally buoyant. We do not believe that kneeling on the bottom is the right way to teach someone how to become a controlled, environmentally responsible diver.
Completing the specialty gives the diver more than another certification. It can transform every future dive.
A diver who does not want to complete the full Perfect Buoyancy Specialty may be offered the option of diving privately with an instructor.
This is different from joining an ordinary guided fun dive.
The instructor’s primary responsibility is to supervise, assist and coach that individual diver. The dive can be adapted to the diver’s ability, and the instructor can intervene immediately when necessary.
Because an instructor is being assigned specifically to one diver, this option is more expensive than a normal fun dive. The diver is paying for professional instruction and close supervision, not only for somebody to show them the dive site.
This additional cost is reasonable. It would not be fair to charge the ordinary fun-dive price while expecting the dive centre to provide private instruction or continuous one-to-one assistance.
If the diver demonstrates sufficient control, they can later return to normal guided fun dives.
Being told that your buoyancy needs improvement can feel personal, particularly if you have been certified for many years.
But the decision should never be based on embarrassment, ego or the training agency named on the certification card. It should be based on what happens in the water.
Even experienced divers can become rusty. A change in equipment, body weight, physical condition or diving environment can affect buoyancy. Recognising that you need help is not a failure. Refusing to address a clear safety problem is the real concern.
A responsible dive centre should explain:
The conversation should be professional and constructive.
A dive guide is there to lead the dive, manage the group, assess conditions, assist with unexpected problems and show divers the underwater environment.
A guide is not there to compensate continuously for skills that a certified diver is expected to possess.
There is an important difference between assisting a diver with a temporary issue and physically managing that diver for most of the dive. When continuous correction, holding or equipment adjustment is necessary, the diver requires instruction—not ordinary guiding.
This is why diving privately with an instructor costs more than joining a fun dive.
Scuba diving is not a normal retail transaction. Dive professionals have responsibilities that cannot be ignored simply because a customer has paid.
A customer cannot demand a deep dive when they lack the appropriate training. They cannot insist on entering unsafe conditions, touching marine life or continuing a dive after creating an unacceptable risk.
In the same way, a certification card does not give someone the right to join every dive regardless of their current ability.
A professional dive centre must sometimes say:
“We cannot safely take you on another ordinary fun dive today, but we can help you improve.”
That may not be the easiest answer, but it is often the most responsible one.
Oceans 5 Gili Air is located inside the Gili Matra Marine Protected Area. We have a responsibility to our divers, our staff and the reefs on which our business depends.
If a certified diver cannot control their buoyancy sufficiently to participate safely in a normal guided dive, we believe the dive centre has the right—and sometimes the obligation—not to accept that person on another regular fun dive.
However, the answer should not end with “no.”
The diver can:
Once the diver demonstrates safe, controlled buoyancy, they can return to normal guided diving with greater confidence, better gas consumption and more enjoyment.
Good buoyancy makes diving safer, easier and more enjoyable. It reduces gas consumption, protects the reef and allows the guide to give appropriate attention to the complete group.
Dive centres should not shame people whose skills need improvement. But they should also not ignore poor buoyancy because they are afraid of losing a booking or receiving a negative review.
Sometimes saying no to another fun dive is not rejecting the diver.
It is offering them the opportunity to become a better one.
A dive centre is responsible for deciding whether it can safely provide a particular dive. Certification, recent experience, observed ability, medical fitness and local conditions may all influence that decision.
It proves that you satisfied the course requirements when you were certified. It does not guarantee that your skills have remained current or that you are comfortable with unfamiliar equipment and conditions.
A guide can assist with occasional difficulties. If you require continuous physical assistance, correction or equipment adjustment, you need individual instruction. The guide must also remain responsible for the other members of the group.
The instructor is assigned specifically to supervise and coach you. You are receiving one-to-one professional attention rather than sharing a guide during a normal recreational dive.
The best structured option is the SSI Perfect Buoyancy Specialty. It focuses on weighting, trim, breathing, BCD use, body position, propulsion and controlled ascents and descents.
Yes. Logged dives do not automatically equal good technique. Long periods without diving, unfamiliar equipment and repeated poor habits can affect divers at any experience level.
It is better to master buoyancy first. A camera divides your attention and can make you less aware of your depth, fins, buddy and surroundings.
Should a certification card always be accepted as proof that someone is ready for a fun dive?
Or should a dive centre require additional training or private instructor supervision when a certified diver cannot control their buoyancy?
We would like to hear the opinions of divers, instructors and dive-centre owners.
Using Air Faster Than Your Buddy? You finish a beautiful dive around the Gili Islands and look at your pressure gauge. You have 50 bar remaining. Your buddy still has 90 bar, and the Divemaster appears to have barely used any air. Does that mean …
The 27–28 August TCN survey and the announced beach clearance may mark a turning point—but only lasting enforcement will protect the marine park Gili Air, Gili Meno and Gili Trawangan are not simply three popular holiday islands. Together with their surrounding waters, they form Gili …
The equipment is ready. The tanks are on the boat. The water looks inviting, and everyone wants to start diving.
Then the Divemaster begins the dive briefing.
For some experienced divers, this can feel like information they have heard many times before. They already know the common hand signals, understand how to complete a safety stop and have entered the water from dozens of dive boats.
But a dive briefing is not simply a lesson for beginners—and it should never be treated as a formality that must be completed before everyone can jump into the water.
A proper briefing explains how this particular dive will be conducted, with this group, at this site and under today’s conditions.
It turns a collection of individual divers into an organized dive team.
You may have visited the same dive site several times, but you will never make exactly the same dive twice.
The current may be moving in a different direction. Visibility may have changed. The boat may need to use another entry point. The group may include divers with different experience levels or air consumption. Recent marine-life sightings may influence the route.
This is particularly important around the Gili Islands, where many dives are affected by currents.
A briefing at Shark Point will not necessarily be the same as one at Turtle Heaven, Halik, Deep Turbo or the Bounty Wreck. Even a briefing for the same site may change between the morning and afternoon.
Divers Alert Network describes a dive briefing as the moment to explain the site, underwater topography, expected marine life and the instructions needed for everyone to follow the plan.[1]
The purpose is not to repeat generic information. It is to prepare divers for the dive they are about to make.
Divers should know where they are going and what the site looks like underwater.
The guide may describe:
A clear description helps divers mentally visualize the dive before entering the water. When they descend, the environment will feel more familiar, and the guide’s route will make more sense.
The briefing should include the conditions that may affect the dive, including:
Conditions can change, and predictions are not always perfect. The guide may therefore explain more than one possible plan.
For example:
“We expect the current to move north. If the current check shows that it is running in the opposite direction, we will change the entry point and reverse the route.”
That is not uncertainty. It is responsible preparation for a dynamic environment.
Divers need to know how they will enter the water and what will happen immediately afterwards.
The briefing should make clear:
This prevents one diver from descending while their buddy remains on the surface adjusting equipment.
Around the Gili Islands, a negative or prompt descent may occasionally be appropriate for experienced divers at certain sites and in suitable conditions. This procedure should never come as a surprise after someone enters the water. It must be discussed clearly during the briefing and matched to the group’s abilities.
Being part of a guided group does not remove the buddy system.
Every diver should know:
SSI recommends discussing the plan directly with your buddy even when a dive center has already provided a group briefing.[2]
A good buddy relationship begins before the dive, not after a problem occurs underwater.
The group must understand the limits of the dive.
These commonly include:
The guide should also explain whether a buddy team ends the dive together when one person reaches the agreed gas limit.
SSI’s professional briefing criteria include maximum depth, maximum time, gas-management signals, turning points and reserve pressure.[3] These are not minor details; they are part of the dive plan.
A guide asking for a gas reading is not merely collecting information. The answer may determine the route, depth and time remaining.
Most basic scuba signals are widely recognized, but not every diver was trained by the same agency or in the same part of the world.
Divers may also communicate gas differently. Some think in bar, while others use PSI. Even simple number signals can have variations.
A briefing should review the signals that will be important during the dive, such as:
If a signal is unclear on land, it will not become clearer underwater.
Nobody expects an emergency, but every diver should understand what to do if the dive does not proceed according to plan.
The group should know the procedure if a buddy becomes separated.
A commonly taught response is to search briefly in the immediate area before making a controlled ascent and reuniting at the surface. However, local procedures and circumstances can affect the exact plan.
The important point is that everyone agrees on the procedure before entering the water.
A lost-buddy situation becomes more difficult when one diver searches for several minutes, another surfaces immediately and a third person assumes the guide will solve the problem.
Clear planning prevents different people from taking conflicting actions.
Divers should know:
This information should be reinforced through the pre-dive safety check. DAN notes that buddies should understand each other’s weight-release system, alternate air-source location and equipment releases before the dive.[4]
Any diver may end a dive at any time for any reason.
A diver might feel uncomfortable, cold, tired, anxious or simply believe that something is not right. They should never feel that ending the dive will disappoint the group or create a problem for the guide.
The briefing should explain the signal for ending the dive and what will happen afterwards. DAN recommends discussing the possibility of calling a dive during every briefing, including the procedure for returning to the surface, boat or shore.[5]
It is much easier to make a calm decision when the procedure has already been discussed.
A boat briefing and a dive briefing are related, but they are not identical.
Divers should know:
DAN recommends that operators explain their method of accounting for divers, monitor buddy checks and review entry and exit procedures.[6]
At Oceans 5 Gili Air, our boats carry oxygen, first-aid equipment, communication equipment and safety supplies. A roll call is completed before departure, and divers should pay attention when names and groups are checked.
Boat organization may not seem exciting, but it prevents equipment confusion and ensures that every person is accounted for.
At Oceans 5, the main dive briefing is normally given in front of the dive center before guests board the boat.
There are practical reasons for this.
The area is quieter, and the guide can speak to the entire group without competing with engine noise. Divers can ask questions comfortably, and changes to equipment or group organization can be made before departure.
It also allows the team to confirm:
Once the boat approaches the site, the guide can provide a shorter update based on the actual conditions and current check.
This separates the detailed briefing from the final site assessment. Both are important.
A briefing does not replace a buddy check.
The briefing explains the plan. The pre-dive safety check confirms that the divers and their equipment are ready to execute that plan.
Before every dive, buddies should check:
SSI advises that even experienced divers should perform a pre-dive check before every dive.[7] DAN similarly warns that experienced divers can still forget to open a cylinder valve fully, secure a weight pouch or correctly position equipment.[8]
Experience should make a diver more disciplined—not less interested in basic safety procedures.
A diver with 1,000 logged dives may know how to complete a safety stop. That does not mean they know:
Talking through a briefing can also prevent other divers from hearing information they need. DAN’s guidance on dive etiquette specifically advises divers not to talk during the briefing, even when they already know the standard procedures.[9]
Listening is not an indication of inexperience. It is part of professional and respectful dive behaviour.
A responsible briefing should explain how the group is expected to behave underwater.
At Oceans 5, this includes:
Environmental conduct should not be reduced to “do not touch anything.”
Divers need to understand how their position, buoyancy and behaviour affect marine life. A diver does not need to touch coral with their hands to cause damage. Unsecured equipment, vertical positioning and careless fin kicks can also affect the reef.
DAN includes environmental briefings among the important forms of pre-dive communication, recommending clear instructions about actions divers can take to protect the site.[1]
A five-minute explanation before the dive can prevent avoidable damage underwater.
A briefing creates a plan, but it does not remove the need for judgment.
Conditions may differ from expectations. The current may turn, visibility may decrease, another group may occupy the intended route, or a diver may consume gas faster than expected.
The guide may decide to:
Divers should remain close enough to see the guide’s signals and close enough to assist their buddies.
Following the plan does not mean blindly following the original route. It means following the procedures established during the briefing, including how changes will be communicated.
If something is unclear, ask before entering the water.
Useful questions include:
A professional Divemaster will prefer to answer a question on land rather than solve a misunderstanding underwater.
A good dive briefing does not need to be unnecessarily long. It needs to be clear, relevant and specific.
It should tell divers:
At Oceans 5 Gili Air, the briefing is part of the dive—not an obstacle delaying it.
Those few minutes create better communication, stronger buddy teams, safer entries, more controlled dives and less environmental impact.
So, when your Divemaster begins the next briefing, stop assembling your camera, pause the conversation and listen.
You may have heard some of the information before.
But you have not made this dive before.
A proper briefing should cover the dive-site layout, conditions, route, maximum depth, approximate duration, gas-management procedures, buddy teams, hand signals, entry and exit procedures, emergency procedures and environmental behaviour.
Yes. Experienced divers may know standard scuba procedures, but they may not know the local conditions, planned route, entry method, group organization or boat procedures for that particular dive.
The area in front of the dive center provides a quieter environment where everyone can hear the guide, ask questions and make any necessary equipment or group changes. A shorter update can then be provided on the boat after the current and site conditions are checked.
No. The briefing explains the dive plan. The buddy check confirms that both divers understand each other’s equipment and that the equipment is functioning and ready for the dive.
The guide may adjust the entry point, route, depth or dive time. If necessary, the guide can change or end the dive. The original briefing should explain how changes will be communicated.
The guide normally carries and deploys a surface marker buoy for the group. At Oceans 5, all Divemasters and instructors are required to carry an SMB and reel. Certified divers should also develop the ability to carry and deploy their own SMB where appropriate.
Yes. Any diver can end a dive at any time and for any reason. Feeling uncomfortable is already a valid reason. Signal the guide and your buddy and follow the agreed ascent procedure.
Dive operations use different boats, dive sites, equipment arrangements and local procedures. Listen to the briefing even when you are an experienced diver or have dived in the area before.
The Best Dive Site in the Gili Islands “What is the best dive site in the Gili Islands?” It is one of the questions we hear most often at Oceans 5 Gili Air. Some divers arrive with a famous name already written in their logbook: …
The Ocean Doesn’t Start at the Shore When people hear the words marine conservation, they usually look toward the ocean. They think about coral restoration, turtles, sharks, plastic pollution, fishing, anchor damage and divers touching coral. But there is a fundamental problem with that way of …
Shark encounters are one of the highlights of diving around the Gili Islands.
For many divers, seeing their first shark underwater is an experience they will remember for the rest of their lives. Around Gili Air, Gili Meno and Gili Trawangan, divers regularly encounter whitetip and blacktip reef sharks, including juveniles.
But perhaps we need to start asking a different question.
Are we behaving correctly when we encounter them?
A few days ago, we saw something at Halik that made us think seriously about this question.
A group of divers was lying flat on the bottom in front of the shark cave, apparently trying to get photographs of the juvenile sharks.
For Oceans 5 Gili Air, this is exactly the kind of diving behaviour we don’t want to see.
Not from our students.
Not from our certified divers.
And especially not from Divemasters and instructors.
Maybe it is time for the dive community around the Gili Islands to introduce something new:
Shark Etiquette.
When we enter the ocean, we enter the sharks’ environment.
The shark hasn’t entered our dive centre.
We have entered its home.
That distinction is important.
When a juvenile reef shark is resting underneath an overhang or inside a cave, our desire to get a photograph shouldn’t become more important than the animal’s ability to behave naturally.
Responsible shark tourism is not a new idea. WWF, Project AWARE and The Manta Trust developed Responsible Shark and Ray Tourism: A Guide to Best Practice, providing science-based guidance designed to help operators minimize impacts on sharks, rays and their habitats.[1]
Research into shark-diving tourism has also found widespread use of formal codes of conduct among shark-tourism operators. One study reported that 93% of surveyed shark operators had a formal code of conduct and concluded that such codes should define acceptable diver behaviour and appropriate numbers of divers.[2]
So why shouldn’t we consider a simple local Shark Etiquette Code for the Gili Islands?
Halik is one of the best-known dive sites around Gili Trawangan.
Divers visit the area for turtles, beautiful reef scenery and, of course, the possibility of encountering sharks.
At the shark cave, juvenile sharks can sometimes be observed.
And that creates a temptation.
A diver wants a better photograph.
Then another diver moves closer.
Someone goes down to the bottom.
Another diver follows.
Soon, instead of observing the sharks from the water column, a group can end up lying on the seabed in front of the place where the animals are resting.
Perhaps nobody intends to harm anything.
But good intentions don’t automatically create good diving behaviour.
For Oceans 5, the principle is simple:
We don’t need to lie on the bottom to watch a shark.
We are scuba divers.
We can hover.
At Oceans 5 Gili Air, we teach our students to dive neutrally buoyant.
That philosophy starts during diver education.
In open water, we don’t want students using the seafloor as their classroom. Skills are performed neutrally buoyant because we believe students should learn from the beginning how real divers should behave underwater.
We recently explained this philosophy in our article Should Dive Students Be Allowed to Touch the Seafloor?[3]
Neutral buoyancy isn’t only about becoming a better-looking diver.
It is conservation.
A diver who can control their buoyancy doesn’t need to grab coral.
They don’t need to kneel on the reef.
They don’t need to lie on the bottom to take a photograph.
And they don’t need the seabed to provide stability while watching marine life.
That becomes particularly important when we encounter animals such as sharks.
There is another important part of this discussion.
Guests copy their dive professionals.
If a Divemaster lies on the bottom to photograph a shark, what message does that give the four divers following them?
That it is acceptable.
If an instructor kneels beside the reef to get a photograph, why should we be surprised when their students do the same thing?
This is why shark etiquette shouldn’t only be aimed at tourists.
It should start with us—the dive professionals.
Divemasters and instructors are not simply underwater tour guides. Our behaviour demonstrates what responsible diving looks like.
If we remain neutrally buoyant, keep an appropriate distance and calmly observe an animal, our divers are much more likely to do the same.
Professional behaviour creates diver behaviour.
We have dive briefings.
We have safety procedures.
We discuss currents.
We discuss maximum depths.
We discuss buddy systems.
We explain entry and exit procedures.
So why shouldn’t we spend another minute explaining how to behave when we encounter sharks?
A simple Gili Islands Shark Etiquette could become part of the dive briefing at sites where sharks are regularly encountered.
It doesn’t need to be complicated.
1. Stay neutrally buoyant
Observe sharks from the water column. Don’t deliberately lie, sit or kneel on the seabed to get closer.
2. Give sharks space
Don’t crowd a resting shark or position a group directly around its shelter.
3. Never chase a shark
If the shark swims away, let it swim away. An encounter should happen on the animal’s terms.
4. Never touch
Sharks are wild animals, not underwater attractions.
5. Don’t block their route
Always give the animal an easy way to move away from divers.
6. Stay calm
Avoid sudden movements and unnecessary excitement. International shark-encounter guidance similarly recommends remaining calm, staying with the group and never deliberately touching, harassing or attracting sharks.[4]
7. The photograph comes second
Don’t sacrifice buoyancy, environmental awareness or responsible behaviour for a picture or video.
8. Divemasters and instructors lead by example
The professional should demonstrate the behaviour expected from the group.
9. Brief before the dive
If sharks are likely to be encountered, explain the etiquette before entering the water—not after something has already happened.
10. Observe—don’t interfere
The objective should be to watch natural behaviour, not change that behaviour to create a better encounter.
This might be the most important message.
A shark cave is not an underwater photo studio.
The sharks are not there for us.
They haven’t positioned themselves underneath an overhang so divers can create better Instagram content.
When we encounter them, we are fortunate enough to witness a small part of their natural lives.
Our objective should therefore be:
Leave the shark behaving exactly as it was before we arrived.
That is a very different philosophy from:
How close can I get?
And perhaps that simple change in mentality is what responsible shark diving really requires.
Oceans 5 Gili Air operates within the Gili Matra Marine Protected Area.
For us, supporting marine conservation doesn’t only mean participating in occasional projects.
We support research and data collection around the Gili Islands and work with organizations and institutions including Indonesian government authorities and the University of Mataram.
Scientific research is important.
Data collection is important.
Monitoring reefs is important.
But conservation also happens during an ordinary 60-minute recreational dive.
Every time a Divemaster tells somebody not to touch the reef, that is conservation.
Every time an instructor teaches a student proper buoyancy, that is conservation.
Every time a photographer decides not to chase an animal for a better picture, that is conservation.
And every time a group observes a shark without disturbing it, that is conservation.
Green Fins similarly approaches environmental responsibility as something that should be integrated into everyday marine-tourism operations. Its Code of Conduct contains environmental standards covering operators, staff and tourists, both above and below the water.[5]
We don’t think this should necessarily become an “Oceans 5 rule.”
It could become something much more useful.
Imagine if dive centres around Gili Air, Gili Meno and Gili Trawangan agreed on a simple shark etiquette.
Different dive centres.
Different training organizations.
Different instructors.
Different Divemasters.
But the same message.
When we encounter sharks:
Respect their space.
Remain neutrally buoyant.
Don’t touch the bottom unnecessarily.
Don’t chase.
Don’t surround.
Don’t block.
Don’t disturb.
Observe.
If every Divemaster included those principles in their briefing, thousands of divers visiting the Gili Islands every year could hear the same conservation message.
That is how a small idea can create a much larger impact.
There is another benefit.
Responsible behaviour doesn’t necessarily make a shark encounter less exciting.
It may make it better.
A group of calm, neutrally buoyant divers observing from an appropriate position is very different from several divers crawling towards an animal with cameras.
Responsible shark tourism guidelines internationally are designed around exactly this principle: providing memorable experiences while reducing impacts on animals and habitats.[1]
The goal shouldn’t be getting as close as possible.
The goal should be creating an encounter where our presence matters as little as possible to the shark.
The incident we saw at Halik isn’t about attacking another dive centre or blaming individual divers.
It should start a conversation.
We all operate in the same marine environment.
We all benefit from healthy reefs.
We all benefit when divers see turtles, sharks, rays and other marine life.
And therefore we all share some responsibility for how that environment is treated.
At Oceans 5 Gili Air, our position is clear.
We don’t want our Divemasters or instructors lying on the bottom in front of a shark cave.
We don’t want our students learning that behaviour.
We want our divers neutrally buoyant.
We want sharks to have space.
And we want marine-life encounters to happen with as little interference as possible.
Perhaps it is time to take the next step.
Let’s introduce Shark Etiquette around the Gili Islands.
Not because sharks need another rule written about them.
Because sometimes we humans need rules to remind us how to behave around wildlife.
The sharks were here before our dive centres.
The least we can do is behave respectfully when we visit them.
Shark etiquette is a simple set of behavioural guidelines explaining how divers and dive professionals should act when encountering sharks. Its purpose is to reduce disturbance, protect the surrounding environment and encourage responsible wildlife tourism.
At Oceans 5 Gili Air, we believe they shouldn’t. Divers who have adequate buoyancy control can observe sharks while remaining neutrally buoyant. Deliberately lying on the seabed simply to get closer or obtain a photograph is unnecessary.
Neutral buoyancy allows divers to maintain their position without using the seabed for support. It also helps them maintain an appropriate distance, control their movements and avoid unnecessary environmental contact.
We believe so. At dive sites where shark encounters are reasonably likely, a short explanation before entering the water could establish expectations for the entire group.
No. In many ways it is even more important for Divemasters and instructors because guests frequently copy the behaviour demonstrated by dive professionals.
No. Halik started this particular discussion, but the principle can apply anywhere around Gili Air, Gili Meno and Gili Trawangan where divers encounter sharks.
Perhaps the simplest rule is:
Observe without interfering.
If the shark has to change its behaviour because we want a photograph, we should ask ourselves whether we are already too close.
[1] WWF, Project AWARE & The Manta Trust. Responsible Shark and Ray Tourism: A Guide to Best Practice. The guide provides science-based tools for shark and ray tourism operators, communities and marine managers.
[2] Richards, K. et al. (2015). Sharks and people: Insight into the global practices of tourism operators and their attitudes to shark behaviour. Marine Pollution Bulletin. The study discusses formal codes of conduct, diver behaviour and operator responsibility in shark tourism.
[3] Oceans 5 Gili Air (2026). Should Dive Students Be Allowed to Touch the Seafloor? Oceans 5’s approach to teaching open-water skills neutrally buoyant and connecting diver education with conservation.
[4] SHARKPROJECT. Shark Encounter Recommendations. Guidance includes remaining calm, staying with the group and avoiding touching, harassing or deliberately attracting sharks.
[5] Green Fins. Environmental Standards and Code of Conduct. Environmental standards for marine tourism operators, staff and tourists designed to reduce impacts on marine ecosystems.
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