“I never wanted to own a dive shop… I’ve worked in enough of them over the years to understand the grey hairs that come along with it. So when the idea behind Dive Ninja began to materialize six years ago I knew that if I was going to head down that crazy road I wanted to do it differently.” reflects Jay Clue, Owner of Dive Ninja Expeditions in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. 

By connecting diver demand for epic marine life encounters with a marine conservation mission, Jay has established a loyal customer base and multi-award-winning dive business. But it didn’t begin with that in mind. Dive Ninjas was born from the marvel of two humpback whales, a “crazy” decision to try something different and an unwavering dedication to protect the ocean.

A Crazy Idea

“One night while sitting on the beach in Cabo watching two humpbacks play just off the coast, I had this crazy thought. Could we use dive tourism to help protect the incredible creatures that keep us coming back to the ocean time and time again?” he remembers. “I set out on this insane journey cold calling scientists, researching tourism impacts, studying scientific papers, racking my brain, and just trying to figure out how a dive center could drive impact in a bigger way than we were used to seeing.”

Back then, the idea that conservation could play a valuable role in a dive center business plan seemed a little far fetched. “In the beginning, entrepreneurs and business owners thought I was mad. You should have seen their faces when I’d try explaining we donate upwards of 50% of our profits to fund marine research and conservation programs.” But Jay did it anyway. 

That’s not to say that the path forward was always clear. He explains “I admit, it was difficult to figure out how we would drive impact. I spent countless hours creating ideas, designing programs, testing, revising, and then throwing them out, and starting all over again. Eventually I would find a formula that works for us which we call our Ninja full circle tourism model.“

Connecting with a Network

Things really started to gain momentum when Jay connected with a wider network of conservation and sustainability advocates who believed in what he was trying to do, and wanted to help. “Over the years I found some incredible resources and remarkable humans to lean on and bounce ideas off of. The team at PADI AWARE has become like my extended family because we talk so much. And Green Fins, when I first reached out to them years ago they didn’t have a program that covered Mexico yet, but they still went out of their way to provide me with information and resources. And that to me speaks volumes about an organization.” 

After years of muddling through, trying to design sustainability solutions that would work within a dive business and arriving at systems and processes that Dive Ninja’s felt confident with, external validation was found through AWARE and Green Fins. Jay recounts, “It was confirmation that we were doing the right thing. In other words, we found that our practices aligned with their proven strategies so it was like a ‘YES we are actually doing good things’ moment. On top of this AWARE and Green Fins also did give us new tools and help spawn new ideas to take our efforts even further – especially in the dive center part of the business since the multi day expeditions were where we were originally driving the most impact. It helped us drive more impact through the local dive shop side of the business and operate more sustainably.”

Thinking back to the beginning of his sustainability journey with Dive Ninjas, Jay reflects on how different his experience could have been if he had had access to the programs, tools and materials available to all PADI Members today. “I wish I had tools like this 5 years ago.” 

Speaking at PADI x Reef-World Foundation’s co-hosted DEMA 2022 session “Driving Industry Sustainability through PADI Eco Center and Green Fins initiative,” Jay expressed how different – and more efficient – a dive business’ sustainability journey could be today. “In my DEMA talk I wanted to drive home how at Dive Ninjas we were doing all this research and legwork trying to build and design new programs and protocols, but now, dive shops don’t have to do any of that because AWARE and Green Fins have done it for them.”

“It’s kind of remarkable how AWARE and Green Fins have made it so easy to take your first steps to get involved and start making a difference. AWARE’s Adopt The Blue program gives you the ability to start monitoring your dive sites in seconds. Green Fin’s new digital platform brings their wealth of experience and resources right to your door no matter where in the world you are,” Jay states. “But not only that, it makes the process of analyzing your current practices and creating an action plan ridiculously simple.” 

Building a Community

Jay continues, “Both platforms give you new ways to really connect with your guests and help inspire them to get more involved. For example, on the AWARE side we have Dive Against Debris, Adopt the Blue and a variety of conservation courses. Green Fins brings in a different angle from tailor made infographics and information created for divers and ideas and protocols for how to make your shop have less of an impact on the local environment.” 

While change was gradual, Jay began to witness a definite shift in perspective as more divers started to connect with his conservation ethos. He recalls, “At first, a lot of our divers didn’t really understand what we were doing, but they loved the experiences we provided… and that was totally OK as our mission was to open their minds and inspire them to take action.” More individuals started to come through the doors who really clicked with the mission and inspired the team to keep going. “There were a few amazing divers that really shared our passions and supported our ideas which kept us pushing forward. And little by little our tiny ninja family began to grow.” 

From humble beginnings firmly rooted in conservation impact, Dive Ninjas now boasts a global community of loyal divers committed to the ethos behind each dive adventure. And it’s no secret! Jay was proud to announce, “In 2022, we took first place in all 7 categories of the 2023 Readers Choice Awards for world’s best diving in the entirety of the Pacific & Indian oceans, as well as 6 other best dive center accolades and awards. I find that mind blowing since we are a tiny shop with a team of 9!”

A Promising Future

Thanks to his recent successes, Jay looks ahead with optimism. There is now no doubt in his mind that conservation is not only the right thing for dive professionals to get involved with, but something that presents a significant business opportunity. “Over the past few years I’ve seen what I think has been a massive shift in the industry. Divers not only want a more personalized experience, they want to dive with businesses that are dedicated to driving positive impact. Gone are the days of grabbing some cash for a quick ride out to the dive site. And this is… amazing.” 

Interestingly, the benefits of adopting a conservation business plan extended beyond awards, financial security and a loyal customer base. Jay believes it has also helped to attract and retain the best PADI professionals and keep them for longer. “We’ve been really blessed to have such an incredible team over the years. I’d love to believe part of that is because being a very outspoken environmentally conscious business helps us attract staff that share our passion for protecting the ocean. They truly love working in the water and sharing their passion with our guests and students – which brings a really special and authentic energy to all our tours and courses.” 

Teaching PADI AWARE Courses is one of the primary ways that Dive Ninjas have helped to educate divers on the importance of conservation. “Our most popular PADI AWARE conservation courses are Whale Defender, Shark Conservation and Dive Against Debris. Whale Defender is a PADI Distinctive Specialty we created to help divers and non-divers alike learn more about the gentle giants that visit our waters and how they play such a critical role in the health of our planet.” But it doesn’t end there. The team hosts a multitude of conservation activities throughout the year. 

“From shorter events such as our monthly Dive Against Debris dives, marine life census data collection, or sea turtle releases with local scientists, to the multi-day citizen science expeditions Dive Ninja was founded on like our Mobula Ray Aggregation Expeditions, Striped Marlin Expeditions, Grey Whales, and Gentle Giants Expeditions.” It has never been simpler to take a comprehensive approach to ocean conservation as a dive business owner. And it’s what divers are looking for!

More About The Programs

With Adopt the Blue, Dive Ninja’s created a long term, ongoing dive site debris clean up initiative as well as a program for their Divemaster students in which they use Adopt the Blue to monitor local sites on a weekly basis. Jay explains “This helps the students gain citizen science experience and learn how they can create their own debris programs in their future dive career, while familiarizing themself with Adopt the Blue and AWARE programs.”

On the Green Fins side, the operations audit helped Dive Ninja’s to take another look at their business, consider blind spots and see where further improvements could be made. It pushed the team to re-examine projects they tried years ago that didn’t work back then and now look at them in a new light, such as exploring mooring buoy ideas. “But the most exciting thing to come out of our work with Green Fins was the idea of a PADI Divemaster student workshop teaching our Divemaster candidates how to create Environmental Action Plans to work through sustainability and eco issues when working in dive centers.” explained Jay. 

“The workshop helps them to design an Environmental Action Plan that could be used to pitch to their manager or the shop owner on how to fix an issue. Instead of just saying ‘I don’t like how they do this’, they can now say ‘I don’t like it, and this is how we are going to fix it’. Which I believe is a MASSIVE step forward for dive pros as it’s a question we hear all the time — ‘How do I make change at the place I am working? Or I work at X shop and they do this thing that’s not so sustainable, how do I get them to change etc etc…’ This new workshop teaches the Divemaster students how to work through an issue, research solutions, figure out which works best for their specific case, and then put it together as a short pitch for their employer. This way all the hard work is done and the employer can be like ‘Oh, wow, we CAN do this’. It’s based on discussion with Florian from Reef-World foundation and work by Christine at DAN and also the model Green Fins uses for working through their action plan for dive businesses. Long story short, the model we use was actually inspired by using Green Fins digital member action plan.”

A Unique Opportunity 

“Divers want more, so why shouldn’t we step up to give them what they want and build new connections and relationships with our guests?” asks Jay. “It’s incredible that the conservation of our planet’s waterways is front and center in the public eye. But it also brings so many benefits to us as dive professionals and business owners. Our guests are craving the knowledge that many of us dive professionals are already so passionately waiting to share.” 

By putting sustainability at the core of all business decisions, in April 2023 Dive Ninjas became Mexico’s first PADI Eco Center. The achievement indicates 5+ years of hard work spent searching for, discovering and implementing initiatives and sustainability solutions that have had a measurable positive impact on Baja’s local ecosystems, above and below the surface. Jay’s story illustrates the challenging nature of PADI Eco Center, and the time and dedication it takes to be recognized as such. 

However, it also shows that any dive business, regardless of size, location and starting point can, with the right attitude and commitment to conservation, become a PADI Eco Center. And there has never been a better time to start – or continue – your sustainability journey. “More and more we see guests caring less and less about the cheapest tour and more about the sustainability and environmental impact of that tour. They understand that doing things the right way costs more. But they want to know that their hard earned paycheck is supporting something that actually helps protect the ocean they love so much. And not only that, they want to get involved. They want to make a difference. And this is beautiful.” 

“It opens up a world of opportunities that I don’t believe are seen in any other industry. Think about that for a second… You could help support initiatives working to protect your local ecosystems while also being successful in your business. And by doing this you’re also securing the longevity of your business by helping create even better dive experiences for the future… of your business.” Sounds like a no brainer, right?

In order to become a PADI Eco Center, each PADI operator has joined PADI AWARE’s Adopt the Blue network and demonstrated an exemplary level of environmental performance through The Reef-World Foundation’s Green Fins initiative. To learn more about PADI Eco Center and the steps you can take at your dive business to begin or continue your sustainability journey, check out the links below. 

PADI Eco Center Launches on Earth Day
Understanding PADI Eco Center: How To Demonstrate Exemplary Environmental Performance

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