Class Report - Reefcheck - 12-13 May 07

[Ben V]

Reefcheck Class Report - 12-13 May 07
Monterey, CA

Day 1
This weekend I had a chance to spend some quality time with a real marine biologist... The class was a blast... with divers getting together with pretty much one goal... To learn a bit more about our local waters and be able to give back a little to the community

The class was held in the Monterey Bay Aquarium... No trip to Monterey is complete without visiting this jewel... The exhibits are outstanding and very well put together.


We gathered in a back classroom and got to work. We talked about the goals of Reefcheck and the science behind the program. The bottom line is we must gather data... if we don't know what's happening with our reefs we cannot do anything to help them....Are they healthy... are they hurting? Without the data there isn't much we can do...

Okey back to the report. The classroom was very nice... tucked in the back of the aquarium with a gorgeous view of Hopkins Marine lab... The bright sun and clear water was very distracting and it took alot to sit there and not stare out toward the water

Lecture went fast and after a quick lunch at Fish Mongers we went back and got some new toys to play with.

Don checking out survey tape


Then it was into the part I dreaded the most... Fish ID...

Mostly when I dive I see the fishies and can tell a rock fish from the others (perch, ling ect) but now trying to tell a Blue from a Black?)... That's why we have a Marine Biologist teaching us.

Oh and another thing that's great about having the Aquarium host this is that your classroom field trips rock!

[Ben V]

Day 2
Morning came all too soon and we were off to the pool at CSUMB...








The pool was an interesting exercise in how to judge size and maintain formation... Task loading is also an issue that became apparent..

The stunning 100 ft vis and warm water were welcome and it was fun just goofing around in there...

I had brought my 3 mil... haven't used it since my last warm water vacation and obviously it had shrunk a little bit

Due to a stroke of luck and an early release for lunch Turtle Bay was not yet open (thank God) and we ended up at the French Bakery...
We had a last minute cramming session before getting back from lunch



Then back to the classroom for more lecture on Algae, bottom composition and other surveys...then it was game on with the final exam...



Boy talk about pressure... All the while the Jeopardy them is playing in my head as I try to ID the fishies... a bit harder than I expected... I can now tell the difference between a Blue and a Black... I just have to have them stand still for about 10 secs while I run it thru my head...


Overall I was really glad to have taken the class and better yet after the boat checkout dives next week have a chance to give back... to be able to look at the reef and know who's who...