SSI Dive Logs Support Ocean Science - German Ocean Foundation

Think back to your last dive. What moved you in that moment? It might have been the way light filtered through the water, a turtle gliding effortlessly through the blue, or a school of fish moving as one. Or perhaps it was something quieter—the deep calm that comes from being underwater.

For most divers, moments like these live on as memories, recorded in a handwritten logbook or a digital dive log. But today, those same records can do more than mark where you have been. When logged digitally, your dives and wildlife sightings can help scientists better understand ocean conditions, support conservation efforts, and contribute to a growing global picture of life beneath the surface.

This article explores how everyday dive logging—through SSI's partnership with the German Ocean Foundation—turns personal dive experiences into meaningful citizen science.

In This Article

1. How Logging Dives Can Make You a Citizen Scientist
2. Working with the German Ocean Foundation
3. From Personal Memories to Collective Impact
4. A Smarter Dive Log: What the MySSI App Can Do
5. A Game-Changing Update: Add Your Dive Photos
6. Why Your Wildlife Sightings Matter
7. A Simple Way to Make a Difference

How Logging Dives Can Make You a Citizen Scientist

Dive logging has always been part of scuba culture. Traditionally, it helped you track experience, remember dive sites, and document certifications. But in today's connected world, digital logging unlocks something bigger.

When you log your dives in the MySSI App, you are not just recording depths and bottom times—you are creating a living record of ocean experiences that can support research, conservation, and awareness worldwide.

And now, thanks to a new partnership between Scuba Schools International and the German Ocean Foundation, those dive logs can help scientists better understand what is happening in our oceans—one dive at a time.

Working with the German Ocean Foundation

Partnering with the German Ocean Foundation is an exciting new way for SSI to support marine research and conservation through real-world diver data. When you log your dives and wildlife sightings in the MySSI App, anonymous logbook data is shared with the foundation, where it can be analyzed alongside other environmental information.

Why does this matter?

Because oceans are vast, constantly changing, and impossible for scientists to monitor alone. Divers who are already in the water every day across the globe can offer something invaluable: consistent, firsthand observations.

Your logged dives help contribute to:

• Understanding where marine species are being seen
• Identifying long-term patterns and changes
• Supporting data-driven conservation initiatives

You do not need to be a scientist. You just need to log your dives.

The MySSI App brings dive logging, training materials, and citizen science together in one place.

From Personal Memories to Collective Impact

One of the most powerful things about this project is how simple it is.

You are already diving.
You are already observing marine life.You are already logging your dives.

Now, those same habits can help build a broader picture of ocean health.

A reef shark sighting logged today might seem small.
A ray encounter recorded next month might feel personal.

But combined with thousands of other diver observations from around the world, those entries start to tell a story that matters—one that scientists, conservationists, and ocean advocates can learn from.

It is citizen science, without the pressure.

TRY SOMETHING NEW: Cold, Murky, Boring? Why Freshwater Diving Hooks You for Life

A Smarter Dive Log: What the MySSI App Can Do

With its most recent update, the MySSI App is more than just a digital logbook. It is your personal dive companion, designed to help you track, remember, and relive your underwater experiences, day in and day out.

Your MySSI App can:

• Log dives digitally from anywhere
• Track depth, time, conditions, and locations
• Record marine life sightings
• Store certifications and dive history all in one place
• Access your training materials 24/7
• And so much more!

In addition to these powerful features, the MySSI App now allows you to upload images to each logged dive!

The German Ocean Foundation campaigns to protect, preserve, and restore the planet's largest and most important ecosystem—the ocean.

A Game-Changing Update: Add Your Dive Photos

The SSI App is now the only app in the industry that allows divers to upload photos directly into their digital dive logs.

That means:

• Your dive log becomes a visual story, not just a list of numbers
• You can connect photos with specific dives and locations
• Wildlife sightings can be paired with images for better context

For many divers, photos are how memories stay alive. Now, those same images can also add value to your logbook—and potentially support research and awareness efforts connected to marine life.

It is a small change that makes logging dives feel more personal, more engaging, and more meaningful.

READ MORE: How to Find (and Choose) the Right Diving Community for You

Why Your Wildlife Sightings Matter

You do not need perfect species identification skills or professional equipment to become an SSI citizen scientist.

Logging what you see, whether it is turtles, sharks, rays, schools of fish, or even "nothing unusual," helps create a realistic picture of the underwater world. Over time, this kind of data can highlight areas rich in biodiversity, show changes in species presence, and support long-term conservation planning. Even dives without big-animal sightings are valuable. Absence can be just as informative as presence when scientists analyze patterns over time.

It is easy to think of dive logs as something you do "because you should." But logging dives can now deepen your connection to diving itself. Now, with SSI's partnership with the German Ocean Foundation, your logbook becomes part of something larger—a bridge between divers and ocean science.

iStock-richcarey-diver

Logged dives and wildlife sightings help build a clearer picture of ocean health over time.

A Simple Way to Make a Difference

One of the best parts of this initiative is that it does not require extra effort. No special forms, no additional equipment, and no complicated reporting.

Just log your dives in the MySSI App like you normally would and get a powerful return on a habit you are already building. The ocean connects us all, across countries, cultures, and dive sites. Whether you dive tropical reefs, cold-water kelp forests, or local lakes, your experiences matter.

Every logged dive helps tell the story of our oceans today.
Every wildlife sighting adds a data point for tomorrow.

With the MySSI App, SSI's new partnership with the German Ocean Foundation, and the ability to upload photos directly into your digital logbook, your dives have never been more meaningful.

So next time you surface, rinse your gear, and think about the dive you just completed—take one more step.

Log it.

Not just for you.
But for the ocean.

Get Started Today:

• Download or open the MySSI App
• Log your dives and wildlife sightings
• Upload your favorite dive photos
• Be part of something bigger—one dive at a time