FAQs

What happens if I join and scheduled trips are canceled due to the Coronavirus?

• Your membership will be extended for an additional year if the upcoming scheduled trips are canceled due to COVID19.
• If you booked a trip and it cannot be taken because the destination is closed due to the Coronavirus, our travel agent will contact you. If your flight is canceled, you need to make the travel agent aware of this since members book their own flights.

Can I bring a guest?

• Yes. The person can be a guest non-diver or a certified diver. If the guest wants to participate in the restoration course provided by the diver operator for certification, they will be put on a waiting list. If there is an opening in the class after the ADFC members sign up by a cutoff date, the guest may sign up through the travel agent who will be first to know the numbers. The waiting list operates on a first-come, first-served basis.
  What is the impact on Coral Restoration by participating with ADFC?
• Those statistics will take some time to collect and compare to the work done by foundations with and without ADFC participation.  The more members and more trips, the greater the amount of positive data. The goal is to increase restoration by 20%.

Does Coral Restoration really make a difference in helping to stabilize the ocean’s ecosystem?

• There are a lot of factors at play. The answer is that restoration efforts worldwide truly buy time for the human race to reduce its pollution impact on the oceans. Coral Restoration helps keep the coral alive and more resistant to climate change.
• Coral reefs make up 1% of the ocean. Thirty percent of that 1% is now dead due to human impact within the last 40 years. Without coral, the ocean dies.  It is an essential link to the ocean ecosystem. Twenty-five percent of all marine life lives in coral reefs and another large percentage lives off the fish that travel between the deep ocean and the reefs. The reef is a sanctuary for young marine life until it’s old enough to travel to the open ocean.
• Without a sufficient amount of living coral, the reef formations are destroyed by storms and can no longer protect islands like the Florida Keys from storm damage.  Approximately 8.4 billion dollars of the Florida economy is based on healthy coral and the reef formations they hold in place. Tourism and a wide range of jobs make up that economy.

What are the types of pollution affecting the coral?

• Carbon emissions (Co2) create heat in the atmosphere that heats the ocean and changes its pH level, which damages the coral.
• Methane emission is given off from cattle and other grass-eating animals, landfills, and industry, heating up the atmosphere even more than Co2 does.
• Plastic, fishing nets, fishing methods, and paint leeching off docked ships in reef areas also damage and kill coral.
• Damage is also caused by chemical and sewerage runoff as well as silt runoff
• Hundreds of thousands of beach-goers worldwide contribute to the problem by using sunscreen lotions that wash off while swimming over coral reefs.

Impact of ships and boats.

• Ships running aground, dragging anchors, dragging fishing nets, or dropping anchor on coral formations that took a thousand years to grow can cause major damage to these ecosystems..

Isn’t traveling to do Coral Restoration increasing C02 levels?

• ADFC is designed to mix coral restoration diving with recreational diving for a week. About 2-3 days are spent on restoration unless the diver arranges more on his or her own. The strategy is to have divers use these trips for one of their yearly or bi-yearly dive trips. This way there is no measurable increase in their carbon footprint. Besides, if the members travel more frequently to perform restoration,  the impact  would be marginal at worst. For example, the weight of 10 people booking on a flight already traveling to a destination has a marginal impact on fuel and Co2. ADFC has no plans to increase air travel by chartering flights.

Can I cancel a trip I have booked?

• The travel agent would have the details on the resort’s cancelation policies. This information would will be available before booking your trip with the travel agent.

What if I get hurt while on the dive trip?

• Seek medical attention.
• Contact your dive accident insurance carrier or have someone contact them on your behalf. Travel with that information and emergency contact information. Know your policy and what it provides.
• Inform the trip group leader and resort office.

Should I bring my own dive gear or rent?

• That is your decision.  Bring your own, rent from a local dive shop where you live or check out the rental prices online for the dive shop on location for that trip.

Can I deduct this trip on my federal income tax return?

• Donations are deductible for US Federal IRS income taxes now that ADFC has received its 501c3 status from the IRS. The donations can be deducted the next year if the donation was made in this first year while waiting for the status.
• Check with a tax consultant to see if the trip itself is deductible.  Payment for the trip (flight, hotel, etc.) goes through the travel agent and payment for the

coursework and certification goes to the dive operator doing the training.
Are there membership meetings?

• The membership will spread out across the country and beyond. News will be posted on the website.  Members can communicate with the Board officers if needed by email.
• Members will meet on trips but those meetings will most likely be about the trip logistics, not about the Coral Restoration Society.