Fish Count Celebrates 10 Years, Changes Name, Expands, and Calls for More Volunteer Divers
Throughout the month of July, divers will survey fish for the Great Annual Fish Count. Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF) coordinates the Great Annual Fish Count along with the support from NOAA’s National Marine Sanctuaries Program and other entities such as area dive clubs and councils.

The GAFC began in 1992 when a small group of recreational divers and marine biologists conducted a visual fish count in the Channel Islands National Park. The effort was modeled after the Audubon’s Christmas Bird Count and has grown into an international event.

Due to the exponential growth the GAFC had last year, the National Marine Sanctuary Program and REEF decided to change the official name from the Great American Fish Count to the Great Annual Fish Count. The Great Annual Fish Count (GAFC) will become an international event and will invite other countries to recruit volunteers to take fish surveys in the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America, South America and Canada. Fish have no nationality and cannot distinguish between country lines or regions. Many migrate between countries and spawn in different areas. GAFC educates divers and snorkelers as stewards and protectors of the marine environment.

The GAFC serves to introduce and inspire recreational divers and snorkelers to participate in year round volunteer fish monitoring programs, raise awareness among both the diving community and the public at large regarding marine environments and trends in fish populations, and provide researchers, marine resource managers and policy makers with valuable information when making decisions regarding our marine resources. The GAFC also helps promote fish surveys within the nation’s National Marine Sanctuaries and to educate divers and snorkelers on the value the resources within each sanctuary site.

Throughout all the U.S., Caribbean, Gulf of California, and Canada, divers are invited to attend free fish ID seminars during June and July to learn how to identify local fishes and conduct surveys. After training, divers will conduct fish surveys during the month of July as part of the Great Annual Fish Count event. Fish are surveyed using the roving diver technique. The goal is to find as many fish species as possible so divers are encouraged to look under ledges, and up in the water column. Any sea turtle species seen during your dive are also recorded. The fish counts are done by assigning each recorded species an abundance category based on about how many were seen throughout the dive [single (1); few (2-10), many (11-100), and abundant (>100)].

All that is necessary to participate is an underwater slate, computer survey scan forms (available from your local GAFC organizer) and a comprehensive fish identification book. Volunteers are encouraged to attend one of REEF’s free fish ID seminars and to participate in a survey dive. Free California fish ID seminars are as follows (official dives follow some of the seminars):
• June 7, 6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m., San Diego Oceans Foundation, Marina Village Conference Center, 1875 Quivira Way, Suite C-8. Contact sdoceans.org@sdoceans.org.
• June 8, 9 a.m.-12 p.m , Aquarium of the Pacific, Long Beach, Contact Alex Score (305) 852-0030 alex@reef.org.
• June 8, 1 p.m.-4 p.m., Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, San Pedro, with Dr. Roy Houston. Contact Eric Frasco 310-379-5681 or www.glacd.org.
• June 11, 6:30 p.m. -8:30 p.m., Ventura College, Science Dept., 4667 Telegraph Road, Room SCI 116, Ventura, CA. Contact 805-966-7107 ext. 371 or e-mail kathleen.gazzaniga@noaa.gov
• June 28, 7 p.m - 8:30 p.m., Pacific Grove Natural History Museum, 165 Forest Avenue, Pacific Grove, CA. Contact Jonanne Garden at 831-372-9235 or e-mail at USGardens@aol.com.
• June 29, 10:30 a.m. -12:00 p.m., Chase Palm Park, Casa Las Palmas, 323 East Cabrillo Boulevard, Santa Barbara, CA. Contact 805-966-7107 ext. 371 or e-mail kathleen.gazzaniga@noaa.gov
• July 17, 7 p.m., Dive N’ Surf Dive Team meeting, National Sports Grill, Torrance CA. Visit GLACD website www.glacd.org.
A complete schedule of seminars and dive events are posted on the GAFC web site at www.fishcount.org.

To register for a seminar or dive, register online at www.fishcount.org, e-mail GAFC@reef.org, or call Alex Score, GAFC Coordinator at 305-852-0030.

New Baja Resort
Pioneers of the diving industry Michael and Lauren Farley have opened a new dive resort located on the shores of the Sea of Cortez, 25 miles south of Loreto. Danzante Resort is the culmination of years of planning and a dream come true for the Farley’s who built the resort and manage the seaside property full time.

Mike and Lauren have traveled extensively throughout Latin America and have led numerous diving expeditions to the Sea of Cortez introducing hundreds of people to their favorite place on earth. They are authors of guidebooks about diving the waters of Baja California and Mainland Mexico. Mike has done treasure salvage work in the Bahamas and also has been involved in underwater film work with Wild Kingdom, Howard Hall Productions and Lazi Films.

Danzante resort is a nine-room eco-friendly resort located beyond the reach of electrical and phone lines. Resort power is supplied by an efficient solar and battery system. All rooms are large with a deluxe king or two queen beds and spectacular ocean views. There are no phones or televisions at the resort but you won’t miss them with all the natural wonder and beauty of the area. Meals are served family style and add to the enjoyment of the experience as you dine and trade stories of the day’s experiences. Horseback riding and sea kayaking activities are included with the cost of your room. Diving, fishing, whale watching, island excursions and more can be arranged to keep you busy sun up to sun down.

For more information call 408-354-0042 or visit http://www.danzante.com on the web.

Chamber Day/Eve Raise Almost $72K for the Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber
The 2002 edition of Chamber Day and Chamber Evening, on May 1, raised $71,823 for the Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber. That amount was announced as the official total during the culmination of Chamber Evening, as a mock check was presented to Catalina Chamber Director, Karl Huggins.

“In terms of participation, this was a record year,” said Chamber Day/Eve Chairman Ken Kurtis. “We had just under 400 divers doing the daytime event, another 300 doing the nighttime event, another 150 contributing to the Jon Hardy Chamber Challenge, and close to 200 volunteers who helped run the event.” By Kurtis’ account, Chamber Day/Eve is the largest single-day scuba charity event in the United States.

The Chamber Challenge took on special meaning this year as it was dedicated to the memory of Jon Hardy, who had worked on the Chamber crew, and had done other research work at the Chamber over the years. Donations in Jon’s memory totaled over $22,000 (which is included in the overall total).

The daytime portion came very close to being postponed. Late-spring winds and swell made crossing over to Catalina questionable. Fortunately, the wind died down the night before, but it wasn’t until the morning of the event that it was decided by the boat captains that the crossing could be made.

Once at Catalina, divers enjoyed two dives and got a walking tour of the Chamber facilities. In addition, they received special “Chamber Day 2002” commemorative T-shirts, and were eligible to win prizes in both the overall daytime raffle (featuring about $10,000 in prizes), and special on-board drawings held on each dive boat.

For Chamber Evening, 300 divers had the run of the Aquarium off the Pacific in Long Beach, and dined in the Great Hall underneath the life-sized replica of a Blue Whale and her calf. More raffle prizes (yet another $10,000 worth) were awarded, acknowledgments were made to people like the boat captains/owners, stores, clubs, and organizations without whom the event wouldn’t be possible, and the grand total of $71,823 was announced.

The next Chamber Day and Eve (the 15th and 5th, respectively) have already been set for Wednesday, May 7, 2003, following the same general format as this year successful venture. Mark your calendars and plan to join in the fun.

Liburdi’s Scuba Moves, Expands
Liburdi’s Scuba Center has just moved to Costa Mesa to an adventure sports mall called The Camp. Other tenants include Billabong, Pantagonia, Cycleworks, Adventure 16.

The Camp Grand Opening is planned for Saturday, June 1 from 12 noon to 9 p.m. Liburdi’s Scuba Center will extend its Grand Opening Weekend Celebration through Sunday, June 2, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday will open with a ribbon cutting ceremony with the Mayor of Costa Mesa. There will be non-profit booths, such as Surfrider Foundation, Greenpeace, Newport Sea Base, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts of America, Outward Bound. Also participating will be the Aquarium of the Pacific and cross-promoters such as Coca-Cola.

The Camp has planned entertainment, celebrity appearances, prizes and giveaways, food and more. The Camp will advertise the event in the Orange County Register.

Liburdi’s has built an 11-foot deep pool with has an awesome swim-through reef that will excite and challenge all underwater photographers, novice to advanced. During the weekend, they will conduct PADI Discover Diving demonstrations and underwater photography experiences with Sea & Sea camera equipment. A fashion parade will feature dive suits by Henderson, Xcel, and Aeroskin, as well as mask, snorkel, fins from TUSA and Mares. They will host an exhibit of underwater photography from Southern California photographic societies and a film festival.

For more information on Liburdi’s Scuba Center visit their website at http://www.liburdiscuba.com or call 714-662-7230.

Volunteers Needed for SCUBA Show 2002 Seminar Rooms
Volunteers are needed monitoring the seminar rooms at SCUBA Show 2002, to take place at the Long Beach Convention Center, June 29-30. For information, call Chris Sheckler at 310-792-2333 or e-mail mail@saintbrendan.com.