Ocean Spirit in Mauritius starts to shine
- Jill Holloway
- Jul 24
- 4 min read
Updated: Jul 25
It’s not often that the international spotlight falls on a small diving center in the middle of the Indian Ocean, but this year has been the year Ocean Spirit strengthened its international ties and together with Mauritius, broadened its international footprint.
Ocean Spirit now has 5000 subscribers on YouTube, 60 000 followers on Facebook and 3400 Instagram followers. Together with @ianhaggertyrsa we have been published in the BBC Magazine, published by the World Reef Federation, and as Green Fins members, we are vigorously supporting conservation initiatives.
The Unbottle Revolution with BOSI and Zero Waste Mauritius is a clever initiative by Karuna Rana which has been an eye-opener. She has devised a 21-day challenge to control plastics pollution, vigorously supported by Ocean Spirit’s Media reach of over 1 500 000 Mauritian nationals.
On Friday I had the privilege of meeting the new Deputy Minister of Tourism, Mr Sydney Jean Pierre. He is a true son of Mauritius, embodying the traditional values of humility and respect together with family values, and he has deep roots in the Tourism Industry. Best of all, he is also a scuba diver, and he recognizes the importance of scuba diving to the National Economy.
However, he also recognized that Mauritius Social Media presence is cause for concern, and he noted that there is available assistance from the GIS. The International Copyright Act of 2014 pre-dates the requirements of the 2 major Internet giants, and consequently, anybody posting on Mauritian platforms has extremely limited exposure, and very little opportunity to make a living out of Internet activities. This is an important revenue stream for an ageing popolation, yet to date Mauritius has not signed any Copyright agreement with any of the Internet Giants according to Riki (@bryandiscoversworld.
Since the addition of the Chagos Islands, Mauritius with 3 million square kilomentrs under its control has become the world’s 3 largest state by square kilometres. Bigger than India, smaller than Russian and China. Composed primarily of the Indian ocean and with full control over the bulk of its marine resources, the addition of the Chagos has been a game changer for tourism. Already pristine, already priotected, and already with an airfield- it looks like a gilded opportuity for scuba diving.
Mauritius has always been exclusive, with powerful controls over it marine resources, and now there is an even stronger incentive to protect them. International philanthropist and billionaire Andrew Forrest recently visited Mauritius following the United Nations Ocean Conference, (UNOC) where he was very emphatic.Incentivise dont penalize. He says that the Minderoo Federation has committed an extra AU$25 million to ocean protection and their total ocean investment now stands at AU$170 million globally.
The additional funding will help:
• Strengthen marine protected areas
• Defend the high seas
• Advance eDNA research with UNESCO
• Enhance real-time vessel tracking
• Backing a new approach to support fair and sustainable fishing
Mindreroo is backing the Flourishing Oceans Commercial Fishing Act (FOCFA) – a new enforcement model that flips the script: If you report a transgression – you win the license or vessel thats breaking the law. This incentivises legal operators, exposes illegal actors, and helps governments reclaim lost revenue. It makes protection not just possible – but profitable.
The use of AIS has been a blessing, and greatly strengthened the policing of illegal fishing in the MPAS. The Chagos Marine Reserve is protected by powerful satellite surveillance, so illegal fishermen decimating the marine resources will be held accountable very readily with incontrovertibel satellite images and AIS proof of transgressions. We look forward to the sinking of illegal trawlers and establishing more wreck dives around Mauritius- Our old wrecks are looking a bit shapeless after the cyclone last year.
Deeply entrenched legislation already protects marine resources in Mauritius. The Fisheries and Marine Resources Act of 2023 is the primary resource for the protection of our reefs and our marine world.
Objectives of Act (1) The general objective of this Act shall be to ensure the long-term conservation, management and development of fisheries and aquaculture in Mauritius while safeguarding the marine resources, biodiversity, environment and ecosystems for the benefit of the people of Mauritius.
The Mauritian Government has a buy back plan dating back to 2016 to pay MUR 450 000 to fishers to give up their nets, and the Minister confirmed that this incentive would be upgraded.
All fishing is controlled by the issue of licences, so arbitrary controls are not an option. Incentives are the solution, and Dr Forrest is a master at incentivisation.
The scuba diving industry fits perfectly into the Mauritius Tourism offering.
Mauritius has a unique advantage for diver training.
• Shallow lagoons
• Safe reefs close to shore
• Blue water
• White sand
• Colourful soft corals
• Only the Gili Island in Indonesia has such an offering, and they are top in the world for Padi Training.
ESTIMATED CONTRIBUTION OF the SCUBA DIVING industryTO THE GDP OF MAURITIUS June 2020These figures have been extrapolated from the client Insurance forms sold over a single year by the MSDA, and are the total for all diving in Mauritius for a single year. We have considered that half of the cost of the diver air travel benefits the Mauritian Economy. Road transport includes Transfers, Taxis and car rentals. The cost of accommodation is an average between Hotels and Tourist Residences. Recreational activities include golf, skydive, Blue Safari submarines, helicopter tours, skydive.
Season 2025-26 looks to be an exciting time for Scuba diving in Mauritius. Meetings between PADI Officials and the Ministry of fisheries and of the Minister of Tourism are on the cards, so watch this space. We are living in exciting times.
Caption: Dr Andrew Forrest presenting at the UNOC3 conference in Nice.
Ocean Spirit Scuba Diving osdiving.com
Ocean Spirit Mauriitus facebook.com/oceanspiritdiving
Ocean_Spirit_Diving_Centre instagram.com/divingmauritius
Ocean Spirit Scuba Diving youtube.com/@oceandivermu
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