Great American Fish Count - July 1-14
Volunteer divers are invited to participate in the Great American Fish Count (GAFC) the first two weeks of July. By recording their observations in a standardized method, divers and snorkelers assist resource managers in identifying trends in fish populations and distributions, as well as heightening public awareness about these issues.
Since 1992, the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary and Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary have been the primary focus areas for the event.
The GAFC is a cooperative effort between NOAA, the Channel Islands National Park and a number of non-profit organizations including REEF (Reef Environmental Educational Foundation), The Marine Conservation Network, American Oceans Campaign, and others.
Official Dives:
July 1 & 2 and July 8 & 9, 9 a.m.-noon, Monterey Breakwater
July 1 Point Lobos, Monterey
July 2 White Point, San Pedro/Palos Verdes, 8 a.m.
For complete information, call 800-8ocean0 or visit the web site www.fishcount.org.
Rocks, Reefs and Rips program (3Rs) is a half-day course designed to familiarize divers with popular beach dive sites and improve their beach diving skills.
Sessions will take place July 8 at La Jolla Caves (San Diego County); July 15 at Reef Point (Orange County); July 22 at Marine Street (San Diego County); August 12 at Point Dume (Los Angeles County); August 19 at La Jolla Cove (San Diego County); September 9 at Old Marineland (Los Angeles County); September 16 at Hospital Point (San Diego County); October 14 at White Point (Los Angeles County).
Instructors will demonstrate and supervise proper surf entry and exit procedures, explain unique aspects of the dive site, and discuss dive condition assessment techniques. Participants are then led on a snorkeling tour of the dive site. (Participants are to wear full wetsuit, mask, fins, snorkel, and a weight belt with half of the normal weight they use for diving. Tanks and regulators are not allowed.)
For each of the events, registration and briefing is at 8 a.m. A donation is suggested. The San Diego 3Rs are staged by the San Diego Council of Divers, San Diego Lifeguards, and various area dive clubs. For information on the San Diego workshops, contact John Gibbins at (619) 584-0278 or Steve Haynes at (619) 222-7866 or on the web at www.egroups.com/group/rocks-rips-reefs. For last minute changes in the San Diego schedule and/or locations, call (619) 221-8824.
The Los Angeles and Orange County workshops are organized and conducted by the L.A. County Underwater Instructors Association in cooperation with the Greater Los Angeles Council of Divers (GLACD). For more info, visit the GLACD web site at www.glacd.org or call (310) 379-5681.
Recognizing the need to provide a comprehensive continuing education and training program for the recreational scuba diver in the Southern California area, the Los Angeles County Underwater Instructors Association, in conjunction with the Los Angeles Department of Parks and Recreation, established the Advanced Diver Program in 1964.
The program objective is to provide participants with an opportunity to improve diving skills and expand their diving knowledge, with an emphasis on the Southern California diving environment.
Combining lectures from experts in their field with pool and ocean labs, the candidates are provided with a comprehensive learning environment. The main objective of the training is to increase the students' safety and enjoyment in our local ocean surroundings.
The ADP program is conducted annually with participants receiving over 100 hours of training including a minimum of 14 open water dives.
Contact the LA County Underwater Unit, Tyrone Brown, (310)
965-8258 or LA County Underwater Instructors Association President,
David Golden (714) 992-2156 or Bill Lidyoff (323) 726-2155.
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The 3rd Annual Gold Star Dive to be held on Catalina Island at the Casino Dive Park will be held on July 15. This event is sponsored by the Los Angeles Sheriff's Athletic Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs, several dive shops, and companies associated with diving. This event will be a fund-raiser for the Avalon Sheriff's Station's S.T.A.R. (Success Through Awareness & Resistance) program and the Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber. The STAR program is a successful program that assists in the education of school-age children on the dangers of substance abuse and narcotics. Scuba divers and skin divers will search for the 5 inch chocolate Gold Stars in depths between 10 feet and 50 feet. Participants who find a Gold Star will return the number included with the star to check-in table for a prize. Those numbers not found will be raffled off, along with non-diver prizes.
The first 150 persons to register will each receive a free commemorative T-shirt the day of the event at Wrigley Plaza in downtown Avalon. All scuba divers must be certified and attend a pre-dive briefing at Casino Point prior to the event. T-shirts, hot dogs, and sodas will be available for sale. For further information, call (310) 510-0174, or e-mail klclevel@lasd.org.
Manta Ray Dive Center announces Demo Day 2000. July 29 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. is your chance to try out dry suits, computers, regulators, BCs and much more. Taking place on San Carlos Beach in Monterey, major dive equipment manufacturers and their reps will be on site to answer your questions.
There will be specialty intros and certifications available, as well as a special underwater relay race with prizes.
For more info, call the Manta Ray Dive Center at (831) 375-6268.
The 6th annual Monterey Shootout will be held August 18-20, in the beautiful Monterey Bay. This year's event will include both an Underwater Photo competition as well as an Underwater Video competition. Multiple seminars will be presented on a variety of topics including underwater shooting techniques (both video and still), as well as a "What do I do with all that raw footage?" video editing seminar, presented by Digital Origin.
As this year's Presenting Sponsor, Light & Motion will be handing out over $10,000 in prizes including a Mystery Prize that will be revealed at the event. Awards to the top finishers in all categories will be provided by notable sponsors, including: Light & Motion, Sea & Sea, Backscatter, Kodak, Otter Bay Wetsuits, Adobe, Optiquatics, Digital Origin, Ikelite, DEPP, Lowepro, Ed Cooper Photo Boat, Ultra Light, Friends of the Otter, Cypress Charters, Silver Prince, Monterey Express, Cetacea, Subal, and Otter Box.
For further information contact: Backscatter Underwater Video & Photo at 831-645-1082 or visit the Monterey Shootout website at www.theshootout.org
August 11-13: Pacific Coast Underwater Photographic Championships (PCUPC), San Diego. Call 619-584-0278.
September 23: Cabrillo Chocolate Lobster Dive, Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, Cabrillo Beach. Call 310-548-7562 x9039.
September 30: Opening of lobster season. Make your boat reservations now!
November 10, 11, 12: Catalina Photo Shoot-out. Call 310-510-2350.
