DEEP TURTLE PLONGEE is a well-established diving center (recreational and Tek Dives) in South Martinique, welcoming divers of all levels and origins, 365 days per year. Nicolas PRIEUR, its director, is also the representative of the French West Indies & Guyana commercial structures to the French Federation. Since our creation 8 years ago, we have been already involved in communication of best practices with our divers, and the protection of our martinican under water biodiversity. We participate to different local programs such as identification and protection of sea turtles (nest tracking, turtle counting), helping with lionfish non proliferation, abandoned Fishing Trap Recovery Operations, and setting up clean moorings. Our center is also a training platform for the National School of Professional Scuba Divers which trains all biologists, scientists, cameramen, photographers, archaeologists… in the French West Indies in the requirements and safety of underwater work.

For this ecoroute, we’ll lead the specific WP for dissemination, communication, sustainability and replicability of this project. We will also mainly be involved in interventions supporting green and sustainable tourism, promoting biodiversity and best practices for managing sites and diving operations, and also to develop a communication plan and supports to make this project sustainable and help other areas with replicate it for themselves.

In Martinique, we should develop underwater maps of our dive sites, communication materials about our biodiversity and ways to protect it, and organize local operations to involve general public as well as institutional actors of the sea. We will closely work with AAPA, also involved in this project, to carry out these operations in the north and south of Martinique Carribean coast.