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Roctopus ecoTrust Marine Conservation

What we do...

The Roctopus ecoTrust is a marine ecology and conservation programme that is based on the island of Koh Tao, situated in the Gulf of Thailand. This programme provides divers and ocean enthusiasts with an in-depth education on coral reef ecosystems and marine conservation, and offers a platform for individuals to engage directly in underwater research, monitoring and restoration projects through various programmes and internships.

Marine conservation we are involved in…

The Roctopus ecoTrust has established several reef monitoring, research and mariner conservation projects around the island that provide essential information on the health of Koh Tao’s reefs, threats that they may be exposed to, and the effects that environmental stress and human impacts may have on corals and the diverse collection of reef organisms they provide habitats to.

Koh Tao Reef Monitoring
Koh Tao Marine Conservation Internships

Get involved with the Roctopus ecoTrust...

The Roctopus ecoTrust offers a collection of coral reef ecology and marine conservation programmes and conservation internships that accommodate individuals of varying ability and experience, providing options to those who have never dived before through to industry professionals. Conservation programmes offered through the Roctopus ecoTrust range from 1-5 day courses to long term internships, including our unique 'conservation ecoDivemaster internship'.

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Marine Ecology Blog

04 April 2021

A comb jelly lures in prey with a dazzling light show of vibrant colours pulsing rhythmically down its entire body.

04 February 2021

A prawn goby (Cryptocentrus cinctus) peers out of its hole, acting as a sentinel for its mutualistic partner, an Alpheid shimp 

07 January 2021

 A Box jellyfish (Tamoya spp..) migrates from the deep ocean to feed on zooplankton living at shallower depths.

Peter
My favourite part of my Divemaster Training was the Eco DMT. Aside from being extremely interesting and engaging Piers is great fun and the most knowledgeable person about the marine environment I’ve ever met. I loved diving before. The Eco DMT course has massively expanded my understanding of coral reefs and began a process, that continues to this day, of deeper understanding of these unique environments. It’s made every dive a much more special experience than ‘just another dive’.
Amanda
Interning with the EcoTrust at Roctopus was a once in a life time experience! They are a dedicated team really striving to make a difference in the marine world. Piers was knowledgeable and passionate about the program making it an automatic success. I am forever grateful for the skills I learned and the memories that were made!
Adrian
Roctopus Ecotrust was a game changer. The program offered valuable insights into the marine world and we would learn something new every single day. Piers is trying really hard to give you a very good understanding of the relationship between the individual participants of the ecosystem. Hence, you will start noticing so many more details when you are out for a dive. Personally, it helped me by providing me with biology basics and the fundamentals of life. Thanks to Piers, now it will never stop fascinating me!
Grace
From start to finish my 2-month Eco-Internship was incredible. The lecture content was both engaging and inspiring. Piers is extremely knowledgeable, friendly and supportive. Not coming from a science background, I was worried I may be out of my depth, but the pace, structure and development was really well planned. The eco dives were loads of fun and so interesting - they gave us unlimited chances to put our theory knowledge to the test. I know so much more about fish, ecology and the environment, and am really inspired to continue my career along this path. You quickly become part of the Rocto family and will find it very hard to leave!
Tara
Joining the ecoTrust team was the best thing that I ever did. I already had a massive passion for scuba diving, but learning about everything that you discover whilst diving, and all of their ecological roles, made it so much more fascinating! Not only are all of the projects very interesting and enjoyable, they make you aware of the positive impact that can be made. 10/10 would recommend
Kara
Diving, for me, has always been both about a career in marine biology as well as for fun, so I was already thinking about my divemaster training when I was taking my open water course. When I started looking into programs, I hoped to find one that combined divemaster training with a marine conservation internship that would allow me to contribute to meaningful ongoing research and conservation projects. I found that at Roctopus, along with amazing instructors and a great community. It was incredibly rewarding to be able to learn about marine ecosystems and immediately put that knowledge to use in surveys and reef monitoring. And I have also continued to use many of the skills I learned as an ecoDMT in my current job both in and out of the water. I haven’t been off of the island for too long yet, but I already look forward to when I can go diving on Koh Tao again!
Jacob
I recently completed my ecoDMT with Roctopus ecoTrust and can’t recommend it enough. The program combines classroom learning with real-world application. In the morning, you might learn about fish ecology, and in the afternoon, you’ll head underwater to see what you learned first-hand. Some of my favourite activities during the ecoDMT were working on the coral nursery and performing pelagic fish surveys. The ecoDMT is a lot of fun and a great way to hone your dive skills and gain a better understanding of the underwater world.
Daisy
My experience with the Roctopus ecoTrust was out of this world! Not only did I achieve my divemaster with a brilliant company, I was able to gain scientific skills along the way. From learning and identifying different species of marine life, gathering real life population data and having a helping hand in coral reef restoration, this internship definitely broadened my horizons! I am now studying a marine biology degree with the University of Exeter, and the skills I gained with the ecoTrust have proven invaluable!
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