Atlas Aquatica: Recognizing the Economic Benefits of the Global Dive Industry, August 2021

Dear Participant:

Thank you so much for participating in this survey! We are a group of researchers at UC San Diego and the University of British Columbia working to understand the benefits of scuba diving and snorkeling to the global economy and ocean conservation. Because of your experience in the industry, we are inviting you to participate by completing the following survey, which will take about 30 minutes.

All individual responses are confidential and we will not ask your name and will remove any personal identifiers. There is no compensation for responding nor are there any known risks of doing so.

If you agree to participate, the survey will take place electronically. Participation in research is entirely voluntary and you may choose to withdraw at any time until the data are published. By completing this questionnaire you are giving consent to participate in this research, please answer all questions as honestly as possible. The results of this survey will be aggregated, anonymized and published in a scientific journal. Summaries of the survey results will be made publicly available at the level of country or US state.

This online survey company is hosted by a web survey company located in the USA. The security and privacy policy for the web survey company can be found at the following link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/mp/data-security-and-compliance/

We would be happy to answer any questions about this research, please email: atlasaquatica@gmail.com or a_cisneros@sfu.ca.

In addition, if you have any concerns or complaints about your rights as a research participant and/or your experiences while participating in this study, contact the Research Participant Complaint Line in the UBC Office of Research Ethics at 604-822-8598 or if long distance e-mail RSIL@ors.ubc.ca or call toll free 1-877-822-8598. Survey is certified as exempt by the University of California San Diego IRB (210112XX) and approved by the UBC Ethics (H21-00687).

If you are interested as to why we are asking a question, you can find more information by clicking on the ‘🗨’ at the end of each question.