How we ask divers using and contributing to Dive Plaza to behave underwater. These guidelines are non-negotiable for any contribution that earns points or appears in the catalogue.
No touching, chasing, or feeding. Hover, observe, photograph from a respectful distance. If an animal moves away, you've come too close. Sharks and rays especially — keep horizontal distance, don't follow, never get between an animal and the open water.
Catalog entries note depth ranges and difficulty. Stay within your certification. The atlas describes places — it does not authorise dives. Local operators and dive guides decide who's qualified for a given dive.
Surface marker buoy on any drift dive. Computer, spare mask, audible signal. For night, wreck-penetration, or deep-air technical dives: bring what your training demands.
Probabilities only stay accurate if reports are honest. Don't overstate, don't make up identifications, don't log animals you only think you saw. When in doubt, mark a sighting as 'unconfirmed' or skip it.
Bad behaviour by other divers, damaged sites, unsafe operators — flag them via the report mechanism on a site page or by emailing the editorial team.