24th Feb 2017

This last week I've been teaching an environmental course Reef Check.  The students learn about the Reef check methodology as well as to identify key indicator fish, invertebrates and substrates.  With this knowledge they can join teams and assist in underwater surveys monitoring coral reefs and take part in surveys worldwide.  It's a 4 day course and everyone who does it thoroughly enjoys it.

It's classroom from 9 - 11am every day and then we have some long dives, practicing survey methods and identification and then on the final day, we actually do a Reef Check survey which gets submitted on line.

My students  Rebekah, Warren & Julia

The girl on the right Julia, is also doing a 2 week, which might end up in a 4 week ECO internship, so after the Reef Check course, I've recently been teaching her different methods on how to transplant coral fragments.   We had a practice session on land with dead bits of coral, tying them with wire onto one of my new clam cages and then tightening them with pliers.  It's pretty tricky and took Julia quite a few goes, but she got there in the end.     That afternoon we went out to our artificial reef, Junkyard to practice underwater with bits of rubble and then when I was satisfied, I gave her 3 small bits of coral to attach which she did very well.

Rebekah & Warren need to go through this additional training as well, which means we can transplant till the cows come home :-D

Simon has been out diving everyday surveying a couple of fishing boats that were sank a few months ago to see if they are safe for other divers. They are quite deep so may be hard for regular scuba divers to access, but Simon enjoyed the exploration of somewhere new.

Then yesterday, Simon joined the Free Divers to go and complete his Advanced Freediver Course. He had started a couple of months ago, but developed a painful sinus squeeze that had halted the course midway. After that, his chest infection... so now he is fighting fit he managed to complete the requirement of diving to 20m deep with 1 breath...