Skip to main content

Reef Check Eco Diver

Check availability

1. Select date
2. Select the number of people
Duration
5 Days
Location
Gili Trawangan
Departs
Manta Dive Gili T
Tour Type
Diving

From Diver to Citizen Scientist

Want your dives to make a real difference? The Reef Check Eco Diver course is the perfect way to learn the basics of the reef through its indicator species: fish, invertebrates, corals, sponges and more. Over 5 days and 9 dives on Gili Trawangan, you learn to identify the reef life that tells scientists how healthy a reef really is.
 
Founded in 1996, the Reef Check Foundation uses an internationally recognised scientific monitoring method. As a Reef Check Eco Diver, you contribute standardised data to a global coral reef health database that supports local, national and international conservation decisions.
 

What You Will Learn

  • Scientific Survey Methods: several ways of conducting scientific surveys that feed into the global coral reef health database.
  • Fish, Invertebrate & Substrate ID: a bootcamp on fish families, invertebrates and their role on the reef, and how to tell hard and soft corals from their neighbours such as sponges, ascidians, zoanthids and anemones.
  • Better Buoyancy & Control: stay in one place, take notes underwater and roll out transect tapes without touching the reef.
 

What Is Included

  • Theory Sessions & 9 Training Dives: lectures on survey methods and reef identification, followed by dives to put them into practice.
  • Full Scuba Equipment: mask, fins, BCD, regulator, wetsuit, weights and tank during training.
  • Course Materials & Survey Equipment: learning materials, data-recording slates and survey equipment.
  • Reef Check Eco Diver Certification: issued on successful completion of the course.
 

What to Expect: Your 5-Day Action Plan

This is the typical course schedule. It can be adjusted to the needs of the group.
 
Day 1: Introduction & Kick-Start (08:30 to 16:00)
  1. Introduction to Reef Check: discover Reef Check and its survey methods.
  2. Substrate ID Lecture: learn to identify the different types of reef substrate.
  3. Dive 1: work on your buoyancy and practise substrate identification.
 
Day 2: Fish ID Day (08:30 to 16:00)
  1. Fish ID Lecture: the fish families and indicator species used in Reef Check surveys.
  2. Dive 2: fish and substrate identification.
  3. Dive 3: fish and substrate identification with a training survey.
 
Day 3: Invertebrates ID Day (08:30 to 16:00)
  1. Invertebrates ID Lecture: the invertebrates monitored by Reef Check.
  2. Dive 4: invertebrate identification.
  3. Dive 5: training survey.
 
Day 4: Reef Check Survey Day (09:00 to 16:00)
  1. Survey Preparation: get ready for your first official surveys.
  2. Dive 6: your first Reef Check survey.
  3. Dive 7: your second Reef Check survey.
 
Day 5: Research Day (09:00 to 16:00)
  1. Quadrat Survey Introduction: learn another survey method used in reef research.
  2. Dives 8 & 9: research surveys and coral gardening.

Guest rating: 100% — Rating

Book now »
Loading…