About Our Blue Oceans Mission

“Sustainable and ethical business working in partnerships to help improve our Community.”

We are a family run small business located in the coastal town of Selsey, West Sussex. The company did not start as Community Intertest Company (C.I.C) but has evolved and developed over the last 18 years. We wanted to take a little time to explain who we are, what we do and what being a C.I.C means.

Our roots are in SCUBA Diving, training, courses, excursions and offering boat services. Over the years we have added in Snorkelling, Freediving, Mermaiding and a SWIM School to our water activities then in the last 5 years developed our programme in Marine Ecology Education as part of our Blue Oceans pledge.
Selsey, located eight miles south of Chichester offers a very different feel to the beautiful cathedral city. We are one side of the Manhood Peninsula with shingle beaches located close to the Selsey Bill and Hounds Marine Conservation Zone, which is blessed with an amazing biodiversity of life and stunning natural features like the Hounds and Mixon Hole and makes up part of the Sussex Bay.

We like to state we are proud to be an SSI Blue Oceans Centre – but what does that actually mean and how does it work into our everyday practices as business? There is a philosophy that we adopt that can be summed up in the following points.

We Protect the Environment
We take every step we can to minimise our impact including small group sizes.
We teach responsibility for the environment on all our courses.
We work with charities to support their work like CHASM and Sussex Wildlife Trust
We prefer to work with local suppliers and businesses that share our ethos and reduce our overall footprint.

We use Energy Responsibly and Minimize our waste.
We research our suppliers to make ensure wherever possible we select those using packing responsibly.
We recycle everything that we can, even our containers for beach clean are recycled from old fishing crates!

We collect Ocean Waste, lost nets and debris and We participate in Clean Ups
We have organised and run beach cleans both on land and in the water. We survey and record what we remove including fishing line, weights, plastic of course and much more. Since we began beach cleans in 2006 we have surveyed and removed tons of rubbish. 

We Do Not Feed, Touch or Harass any Underwater Life
A strict policy of look but do not touch on all our events and activities. We encourage the use of cameras to take memories home.

We Monitor our Sites
We run free citizen science events to support our marine life like Shoresearch, as a partner to Sussex Wildlife Trust. No experience is needed, and all are welcome.
We organise snorkelling, freediving and diving for Seaseach recording and monitoring and egg case recording for UK skates, sharks and rays
We photograph and record kelp sightings

We Educate and Motivate Others
We have Marine Life Walks to introduce you to some of the amazing life we have here. They have been mentioned in The Guardian best top ten things to do on the UK coast and featured in The Telegraph. 
We run sponsored school clubs, providing over 150 certifications to children, who want to learn about the Marine Environment and UK sea. During 2023 we started our Sponsored Summer School Programme offering 61 places to local children, with 19 completing the SSI Snorkel Diver Course. 
We support home education groups and students, with informal and formal learning. In September 2023 we are running an IGCSE in Marine Science. 
We sponsor children in diving and snorkelling certifications.
We offer all our SSI Ecology Course with unique UK content.
We take the rock pool and other sensory experiences on the road to people who are not able to come to the sea

We became a C.I.C in January so that we can expand on the work we are already doing. In 2024 we will expand on our School Holiday programmes and offer a Summer SWIM School and water safety classes with sponsored places. For more information or to register your interest This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..  

This is the beginning of the next part of our journey and none of it is possible without you. We hope that you choose to join us, we are always happy to talk about our passion and just love sharing it with you. Whether you choose to train, play or explore we are here to help you experience the wonders of the Sussex Coast.