The Fun Part

You’ll find you enjoy your dives even more when you recognise the creatures that you see. The fun part about this course is you can use the skills you learn on every scuba diving vacation because once you learn the main fish families and characteristics it will help you decipher the species you see all over the world.

For example, a butterfly fish in the Caribbean has a similar shape to a butterfly fish in Southeast Asia, but their colors and markings maybe wildly different. If you know what fish family it belongs to, it becomes much easier to look up the local name or at least be able to intelligently ask the local scuba instructor what you saw. That works better than asking about a “yellow thingy with a funny tail fin.”

What You Learn

During two dives you gain hands-on (okay, eyes-on) experience in looking for and identifying the fascinating fish you see underwater. You’ll learn :

•     How to identify characteristics of local fish families and species
•     Fish survey techniques and strategies
•     How to practice fish identification dive planning, organization and procedures

Contact Dive Force or visit Project AWARE Foundation to download your copy today.
 
Cost & Logistics

Fish Identification dives can be carried out in freshwater and in the sea primarily on the South coast. We use a number of locations, including: Swanage, Eastbourne and Brighton. We may also provide this course on club trips to warmer climes - ask your Dive Force Instructor for more details.

Prerequisites: Due to the challenges of  diving in UK coastal waters, we require participants to be qualified to a minimum of PADI Advanced Open Water Diver. Experience of using Surface Marker Buoys and diving in dry suits or qualification as a PADI Dry Suit Diver is advisable.

Cost: £160 all equipment is included. Site fees and transportation are excluded.

Additional materials:

•     Adventures in Diving manual: £40
•     Wall certificate: £5

Your Next Adventure

As you learn about fish survey techniques with Dive Force you may also want ask the team about work on a conservation project as part of your PADI Project AWARE certification and brush up on your underwater photography skills so that you can document and capture images of the species you’re encountering.

For more information about this or other PADI courses have a chat with one of the Dive Force Instructors.

READ MORE ...

•     Get tips on volunteering for conservation
•     Learn more about Project AWARE Conservation Projects
•     Ask a Scuba Expert
•     Download a scuba medical questionnaire (PDF)