Seasearch Recording

Seasearch Recording

There are three tiers of Seasearch recording.

First is the Observation Form. This is a straightforward form which can be completed after any dive and provides information about the main habitat and seabed cover types you found on your dive as well as some of the main species of marine life. It takes between 15 and 30 minutes to complete and we need Observation Form data from sites all around the UK.

The more detailed level of recording is done on the Survey Form. This requires more time and effort but also provides us with much more information to use for conservation purposes. This form is used for more detailed surveys and on Seasearch expeditions.

You can download the Recording forms and Guidance Notes here:

Download the Seasearch Observation Form

Download the Seasearch Observation Form Guidance Notes

Download the Seasearch Survey Form

Download the Seasearch Survey Form Guidance Notes

You will need the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer to read and print out these files. If you don't have it already its available for free from the Adobe Website

There are also Special Projects with their own recording methodology.

Sea Fan Surveys

We are contributing to the UK Biodiversity programme by recording pink sea fans. There are a number of sea fan survey dives organised but you can also take part on any dives you carry out, especially if you are seeing sea fans in lesser known areas or are diving deep wrecks. You can find out all about how to take part by following the Sea fan survey link;

Pipefish and Seahorse Survey

One focus for surveys in 2007 and 2008 is pipefishes and seahorses

In recent years there have been big increases in populations of snake pipefish around our coasts and records of seahorses have also increased. We want to get as good a picture as we can by recording when, where and how may of each are seen by divers.

You can download the recording form from our dedicated pipefish page , fill it in and return it by email.

The two main pipefishes we see are snake pipefish (below left) and greater pipefish (below right). Both are often found in shallow waters amongst seaweeds, as are our two seahorses. If in doubt as to which species you are seeing take a photograph without disturbing them and send it to us.

Skate and Ray eggcase Recording

We are working with the Shark Trust on gathering underwater records of eggcases to add to the strandline recording already carried out by the Shark Trust. You can record eggcases wherever you see them in situ on the sea bed by downloading the Eggcase Notes for Recorders and the Eggcase Recording Form here.

Seasearch Slates

All you'll need to carry out the recording underwater is a slate. There are now two sizes of slate available which have been made up especially for Seasearch divers.

One is a pocket version you can carry in your BCD pocket and have available on every dive. The other is A4 size and essential for serious recording. Both slates have a clip to attach to your BCD, a pencil on an elasticated line, a simple aide memoire to the Seasearch recording sequence and a metric scale on the bottom so you can find out exactly how big things are underwater! The cost is a very reasonable £6.00 for the pocket slate and £9.00 for the A4 one + postage if you are buying on line.

The pencil won't last forever of course and we now have Seasearch pencils made from recycled plastic CD cases. These will last much longer underwater than a wooden pencil and are a recycled product. They are 60p each.