🇱🇰Sri Lanka

The Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority published dive/snorkel operating guideline calls for recognized qualifications, recent medical clearance, pre-dive briefings, an emergency action plan and oxygen at dive centers, appropriate boat safety, and no more than five divers per guide. It states dives deeper than 30 m are prohibited and requires permission for marine protected/restricted areas. The document is a registration guideline, not a blanket claim that every provider meets it. Independently verify the operator and the selected site. Use a dive computer and SMB; do not penetrate wrecks or swim into caves without relevant authority and qualification. A nondiver swimming beach may still have deadly rip currents or shorebreak. Never freedive alone; train with a properly qualified instructor and rescue buddy. In a serious dive incident stop diving, administer first-aid oxygen if trained and equipped, and activate emergency services.

Call 1990 for Suwa Seriya emergency ambulance; 106 reaches the Sri Lanka Coast Guard for maritime distress, and 105 is the Navy maritime incident hotline. Documented recompression capability is associated with the Sri Lanka Navy base at Trincomalee, but it must not be assumed immediately available to any tourist, especially from the west or south. The operator should know an initial receiving hospital, who can coordinate specialist care, and how to contact the insurer or DAN. Serious cases may require longer transport to major hospitals. Check current medical service availability before deeper or remote diving, and always allow an appropriate post-dive interval before flying.

Sri Lanka protects marine habitat through the Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance and designated sites including Pigeon Island National Park, Hikkaduwa Marine National Park, Kalpitiya Bar Reef Marine Sanctuary, and other coastal sanctuaries. DWC/JNCC reviews document permitted visitor management at Pigeon Island and conservation stress at Bar Reef, where poor and declining coral condition has been reported. Do not stand on reef, feed fish or sharks, chase turtles, take wreck artifacts, remove shells, anchor on coral, or enter marked restricted zones. Pigeon Island is a snorkel-first protected reef; local operators must verify any proposed scuba site is actually permitted. Whale and dolphin watching follows licensing, vessel stand-off, no harassment and no ordinary in-water encounter rules. Reef health varies significantly from old tour photos.