In 2020, Great Keppel Water Sports Pty Ltd achieved the Ecotourism certification, and in turn, is recognised as a High Standard Tourism Operator within the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.
Ecotourism Australia’s certification process requires:
“Tourism in a natural area that focuses on optimal resources use, leaves minimal impact on the environment and offers interesting ways to learn about the environment with operators that use resources wisely, contribute to conserving the environment and help local communities.”
Both our Guided Snorkel Tours and Certified Boat Dives are Ecotourism Certified tours, and you will witness our staff adhering to best practices within the marine park and contributing to Citizens Science through reef health surveys and Eye on the Reef sightings reports.
Our focus is on economic, social, marine park and environmental sustainability best practices which are core to our operation, and we have a commitment to delivering a quality tourism experience.
View our Ecotourism certification.
Reef Conservation with Keppel Dive & Water Sports
Tourism operators play a key role in how the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) protects and manages the Great Barrier Reef. Their high frequency visitation to the Reef positions them to provide regular pulse checks of the health of the Reef and witness changes when they happen.
The Tourism Reef Protection Initiative (the Initiative) empowers Reef Tourism operators to monitor and protect the sites that they visit. Operators are contracted to undertake reef protection services that ensure the preservation of the world heritage values now and into the future.
The Initiative builds on the highly successful Eye on the Reef monitoring program.
Tourism operators provide high quality data via the Eye on the Reef program which provides near real-time Reef health information for Reef management and reporting, including Reef Health Updates, Reef Snapshot and Outlook Report. (GBRMPA, 2025)
As a Coral Site Steward in the Keppel Islands, Keppel Dive & Water Sports has been proudly involved with GBRMPA and the Tourism Reef Protection Initiative (TRPI) since 2022. We have conducted hundreds of surveys of protected coral reefs providing critical observational data that goes directly towards the study and conservation of the Great Barrier Reef. Countless entries into the Eye on the Reef program, through our Tourism Weekly dives & snorkels and shared all of this with our guests, schools and community groups to actively participate in Citizen Science on the Southern Great Barrier Reef.
All of the Crew at Keppel Dive & Water Sports are incredibly proud of the work we do supporting GBRMPA, the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) and many Educational & Research Institutions in understanding the environmental impacts on the Great Barrier Reef, and how we, the public and tourism operators, can work together to build a sustainable future for the Great Barrier Reef.
We love to share this with our guests through our tours, or just come up and have a chat and learn more about the many great works that happen on Great Keppel Island, a jewel in the Southern Great Barrier Reef