Big Rob Gordon
- Aug 6, 2015

Reef Check 2015

YOUR REEF NEEDS YOU!

SPLASH HONG KONG is looking for approximately 12 good [wo]men and true to volunteer their diving skills, time and some money to participate in the Hong Kong Reef Check 2015. This is your chance to take part in some great citizen science and be a part of the world wide coral reef monitoring and hopefully their protection.

What is Reef Check?

Reef Check International

Founded in 1996 by marine ecologist Dr. Gregor Hodgson, the Reef Check Foundation is an international non-profit organization dedicated to conservation of two ecosystems: tropical coral reefs and California rocky reefs. http://www.reefcheck.org/

Reef Check Hong Kong

In collaboration with the Reef Check Foundation, AFCD [Agriculture Fisheries and Conservation Department] has coordinated annual survey of corals in Hong Kong since 2000. Hong Kong Reef Check is part of the global programme to promote sustainable management of coral reefs. Reef Check serves 2 major functions:

To raise public awareness about the value of coral reefs, the threats to their health and the solutions to these problems
To obtain data on coral reef status in order to allow them to be managed on local and regional scales

Read more here.

Who can be a reef check diver?

You must be 16 years of age or older
Hold a PADI Advanced open water licence or higher
Be current in diving i.e. have dived within the last 6 months or so
Be medically fit for diving

What will be required of me?

You will need to

Attend an all day training session which will include a theory session and a confined water Peak Performance Buoyancy training and test session. Saturday 29 August or Tuesday 1 September
Be able to attend the reef check dive at Crescent Island on 27 September 2015.
Pay towards the boat hire, food and training

What do I get out of this?

You will get a good basic understanding of reef biology including:

What is a coral reef?
Coral reef communities of Hong Kong
Coral reef biology
Basic coral reef identification
Substrate I/D
Understanding the indicator species
Basic Fish I/D
Basic Invertebrate I/D
The course and dive will make you eligible for open water dive 1 of any one of the following specialities:
PPB
Fish I/D
Underwater Naturalist
AWARE Coral Monitor
AWARE Coral Reef Conservation
Digital U/W Photography
To complete the speciality all you have to do is notify us at registration, pay for the PADI Speciality Course in addition to the Reef check training, and complete the appropriate PADI Knowledge review and 2nd dive within 6 months of the Reef Check dive.
You will have an amazing time and be recognized as a Splash Reef Action Diver
You will get a certificate of appreciation from Reef Check and Splash.