The 17th Great Annual Fish Count (GAFC) has arrived! GAFC is a month long event coordinated by REEF Field Stations that encourages volunteer divers and snorkelers to participate in recreational trips to raise awareness regarding marine habitats and trends in fish populations. REEF partners and Field Stations have organized everything from group dives and snorkels to photo contests, BBQs, and aquarium tours.
My dive partner and I, both celebrating significant birthdays this year, decided to give ourselves the best gift of all, a dive trip to the Galapagos Islands. The Galapagos Marine Reserve, one of the world's largest, covers approximately 138,000 square kilometers (53,282 square miles). On May 8, 2008, supplied with Paul Humann's Galapagos Fish Identification book and REEF fish survey forms, we set off aboard the Aggressor II for an eleven-day adventure.
July is just around the corner. Time again for the Great Annual Fish Count. Please join FIN, the Fish Identification Network, at Kapalua Bay on July 26 at 8:30am. We could use some help here! Terri and I can get the fish to line up in a row. But we need you to come count them. Whether your are doing your first survey or your hundredth survey, don’t miss this great opportunity to participate in the Great Annual Fish Count. Survey materials and fish provided. Email msfuzz@hawaii.rr.com for more information.
This July the SeaDoc Society is sponsoring an amateur underwater photography contest for the inland marine waters of Washington and British Columbia, an area often called the Salish Sea. The contest will be coupled with the Reef Environmental Education Foundation’s (REEF) Great Annual Fish Count and entry is free. Any diver who conducts and submits a REEF survey during the month of July will be eligible to submit one photograph taken during that survey. The number of entries per photographer is only limited by the number of REEF surveys conducted – conduct 10 surveys, submit 10 images.
Taken a REEF class and want to try your hand at doing a few surveys? Done lots of surveys and want to find new fish-geek friends and have fun? Never done a survey or taken a class but just want to see what all this REEF fuss is about?
Join us on Saturday, July 26th for a day of fun diving, surveying, identifying critters and BBQ! Do as few or as many dives as you like. We won't plan your dives for you, (that's your job) but will tell you that it's a great day current-wise and slack hits about 12:30pm. (about 30 min prior to Admiralty Head is slack before ebb at Keystone)
Join us on Saturday, July 26th for a day of fun diving, surveying, identifying critters and BBQ! Do as few or as many dives as you like. We won't plan your dives for you, (that's your job) but will tell you that it's a great day current-wise and slack hits about 12:30pm. (about 30 min prior to Admiralty Head is slack before ebb at Keystone)
The Dive Club of Silicon Valley is sponsoring a Fish ID Dive on Saturday, July 12 beginning at 7:30 am at Lovers Point Beach, Pacific Grove. A BBQ will start at noon.
A Basic Fish ID Seminar presented by PADI IDC Staff Instructor Mike Davis will be held Tuesday, July 1 at 7:00pm at Diver Dan's in Santa Clara, CA. The seminar is offered by the Dive Club of Silicon Valley.
NOAA scientist Dr. Steve Lonhart will be presenting a Marine Invertebrate ID Seminar on Monday, June 30 at 7:00pm. The seminar is offered by the Dive Club of Silicon Valley at Diver Dan's in Santa Clara, CA.
The Dive Club of Silicon Valley is offering a Basic Fish ID Seminar presented by PADI IDC Staff Instuctor Mike Davis on Wednesday, June 25 at 7:00pm. The seminar will take place at Diver Dan's in Santa Clara, CA.
Dive Safety Officer Gil Falcone and REEF volunteer John Wolfe will be presenting a Basic Fish ID Seminar at 3:00 pm on Saturday, June 28 at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. An aquarium tour by Gil Falcone will follow the seminar. Please meet by the members' entrance of the aquarium (guest passes are available if arranged beforehand with John Wolfe).