• Marine Conservation

Pez Maya Dive Courses and Data Collecting Techniques

Posted: May 12, 2017

A large part of your time on base at Pez Maya will be spent diving to achieve dive courses or data collecting techniques, therefore we decided to give you the low-down on how these work, and some first-hand accounts as well!

Science Training!!!!

Here at Pez Maya, we monitor juvenile fish (juvis), adult fish, and coral. These each have their own separate scientific training processes to prepare you for monitoring their population/health. If you are considering joining GVI at Pez Maya (which you should) then here are some of the things you can expect to do on your dives along with some comments on what the training is like from people who are doing it right now:

Coral:

To monitor for Coral Watch, pass three coral spots, one coral exam and two coral watch practice dives.

If you are doing Coral Communities or Point Intercept, you will have to pass three coral spots, a coral ID exam, pass the CC or PI exam, pass three PI/CC spots and pass three practice monitor dives.

Roxy and Annaik:

Did you research the coral much before you arrived on base?

R: No, I only signed up a week before I arrived and only found out that I was doing coral when I arrived, but it wasn’t too much of a problem.

Was there an aspect of the training which you struggled with the most?

R: Remembering all 60 types of coral and their names in Latin is quite difficult especially as some of them look so similar.

Do you have any cool comments about being a coral monitor?

R: Coral are very interesting, I was a little disappointed when I first found out I was doing coral but they are so complex and you learn so much about them that I’m really glad that I ended up doing coral.

Favourite coral?

R: Dendrogyra Cylindrus

Cool coral anecdote:

A: It’s so cool to see coral that wash up on the beach and be able to identify them. A few years ago I got a piece of coral from the beach and took it back home, when I got to Pez Maya I got my mom to send me a picture of it and I could identify it.

Adult Fish:

To monitor you need to pass three fish spots, two fish sizing, a fish exam and 5 practice monitors.

Namate:

Did you research the adult fish much before you arrived on base?

I looked through the links GVI sent through to me before I arrived, I would really suggest you do this as it makes things so much easier

What was the most difficult part of your training?

The fish sizing part of training is really difficult. It can be hard to measure the fish when you’re underwater because it is moving. It took me a really long time to pass that section of the training, but it’s really good that the staff would rather do the training as many times as it takes for you to get it right, than just pass you and risk the data being incorrect.

Favourite adult fish?

Queen Angelfish

Juvi Fish:

To monitor you need to pass three fish spots, two fish sizing, a fish exam and 5 practice monitors

Immy:

Did you research the juvi fish much before you arrived on base?

No I didn’t really research them before I arrived, but for juvis there aren’t too many to learn. But it’s so cool once you know them to recognize them on your dives.

What was the most difficult part of your training?

The juvis are incredibly small so trying to see them underwater can be difficult, especially since they easily disappear into the reef, so it’s easy to confuse the similar looking juvis during fish spots.

Favourite Juvi?

Longfin Damselfish

Cool anecdote:

I saw so many cool fish underwater while doing my fish training on the reef, like a 2m Grouper and a huge Barracuda.

Diving Training!!!!

To obtain some feedback from a few volunteers, the following questions were asked:

Open Water:

Romain:

What made you choose the Open Water (OW) training?

I wanted to learn to dive as I didn’t have any experience.

What were the best and worst parts of your training?

The best was discovering the colourful fish and coral species in the ocean; the worst (hardest) was starting to use the diving equipment (removing mask, breathing without a mask, etc.) in the swimming pool. After the first time in the ocean, I had no energy; very exhausted!

If you completed your Open Water training elsewhere, how did doing your Advanced course at Pez Maya compare?

Not applicable, as I started my OW at Pez Maya.

What was the funniest/coolest moment?

I forgot to rub toothpaste on the inside lens surfaces of my mask (used to remove the film applied to the lenses during manufacture) and everything was super foggy, as well as swimming through a hoop!

Advanced Open Water:

Stephan:

What made you choose the Advanced Open Water training?

For adventure, so that I can dive deeper in the future.

What were the best and worst parts of your training?

The best was the deep dive – a blast! The worst (hardest) was catching up on my diving knowledge!

If you completed your Open Water training elsewhere, how did doing your Advanced course compare?

Way better! My OW was completed in Playa del Carmen. The training at Pez Maya was a lot better; more technical. The staff were really thorough and I feel like I learned a lot and will remember it in the future.

What was the funniest/coolest moment?

The coolest moment was the deep dive!

Rescue Diver Course:

Gaia:

What made you choose the Open Water (OW) training?

I had heard good comments from other divers. I wanted to learn what to do when something goes wrong.

What were the best and worst parts of your training?

The best (favourite) moment was towing the diver back to the boat; the worst (hardest) was lifting the diver into the boat!

What was the funniest/coolest moment?

My funniest (although serious) moment was the Panic and Tired Scenarios. Everyone was in the water, so there was no-one in the boat to help!

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