Mauritius main island

Ask to see current Tourism Authority licensing and relevant marine-park permission, skipper qualification, passenger count, flotation devices, oxygen supply, emergency action plan, marine radio/communications and the operator's route cancellation criteria. Tourism Authority sea-safety guidance requires appropriate personal flotation on commercial craft outside lagoons and safe capacity/speeds. Use certification-appropriate depths; currents at Passe St Jacques need advanced experience. For wrecks, avoid penetration without proper overhead training and equipment. Never dive or freedive solo. Respect no-decompression limits, surface intervals and appropriate flying-after-diving guidance, and have active dive-specific coverage.

For emergency medical help call SAMU 114. The Mauritius Underwater Group reports the public recompression chamber at Victoria Hospital, Candos, reachable through the hospital switchboard +230 402 0800, but warns specialist staffing may take longer after hours. That is a community-source operational description, not a live confirmation of capacity. If DCI, embolism or severe hypoxia is suspected, activate emergency services, administer oxygen only if trained/equipped and follow emergency clinicians' instructions. Recompression, ground transport, medical deposits and evacuation arrangements should be checked directly in advance; insurer authorization may not equal immediate cashless treatment.

Blue Bay and Balaclava marine parks operate under government permit and zoning systems. The Marine Conservation Division monitors reefs and coral restoration, and the published regulations prohibit damaging and removing protected marine organisms and constrain commercial access. Do not stand on coral, anchor outside authorized areas, feed or chase wildlife, or remove shells/coral. The Mauritius Tourism Authority sea-turtle notice also expressly forbids swimming with, feeding or harassing wild sea turtles; do not book advertised turtle-swimming trips. Tourism Authority expressly forbids operators to let guests swim, dive or snorkel with whales on dolphin/whale-watching trips. Dolphin watching and permitted swimming have separate stringent rules and should not be advertised as guaranteed encounters. The post-2020 southeast oil-spill history and documented reef conservation needs mean operators' claims that every reef is pristine must not be treated as verified current coral condition.