Seasearch Training

Whether you have taken part in marine recording project before or not you can add to your knowledge and experience by taking part in one of our training courses. Three types of Seasearch course are currently available:

Seasearch Observer - for divers new to marine recording in British and Irish waters

Seasearch Surveyor - for experienced recorders who want to increase the value of the results

Specialist Courses - a range of ID and techniques courses for people who want to expand their knowledge 

Seasearch Observer

This is a one-day course aimed at giving divers new to the project and new to marine recording a basic grounding. At the end of the course you should be able to complete the Seasearch Observation Form and take part in Seasearch Dives either on your own, with your club or on dives organised by Seasearch Partners.

During the course you'll learn about Seasearch - its aims, history and achievements, a basic introduction to the variety of marine life in British and Irish waters, recognising and classifying marine habitats, position fixing, and how to fill in the Observation Form. The day concludes with a 'video dive' and an opportunity to fill in a form without even getting wet!

The course includes a course pack and identification guides and recording slates are available to purchase giving you everythng you'll need to go ahead and get started. The tutors are all divers themselves and keen Seasearchers.

A real dive isn't a part of the course but often one is arranged locally for you to practice your techniques with a tutor on hand. Where two days are shown in the list below the course usually takes place on the first day with diving on the second.

During the course you'll get a Seasearch Qualification booklet. Once you have completed 5 forms for real (two on dives with a tutor present) you can get signed up as a Seasearch Observer.

Here is what one participant thought of the course "Most enjoyable. Wish I had done something like this years ago!" (October 2009)

Around 30 Observer Courses are held each year. The dates arranged so far for 2010 are shown below and there are others in the planning stage. If there isn't a course already organised near you we can bring one to you if you can find a hard core of people from your own area or club and a room. Contact National Coordinator Chris Wood or your nearest Seasearch contact.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Seasearch Surveyor

The Surveyor Course is aimed at experienced Seasearch Observers and others with a good background knowledge of marine life and marine recording. The aim is to enable you to complete the Seasearch Survey Form which is used on most of the expeditionary Seasearch dives and which gives much more detailed information for future conservation purposes.

The course lasts two days and includes a dive on the second day. The Course content is an expansion of the Observer Course and covers a much wider range of marine life and habitat classification. Again we use video on the first day and you fill in practice forms both from the video and from the dive itself. The course is assessed and successful participants can become Seasearch Surveyors after completing a further five forms.

There are already 5 Surveyor courses planned for 2010 and more in the pipeline for Wales, Isle of Man and Dorset. We hope many of our volunteers who qualified as Observers in 2009 will want to move on to Surveyor level this year. If you want to attend a course please contact your local coordinator or let us know at info@seasearch.org.uk and we will try to arrange courses to meet demand.

*This is a 'fastrack' course for those with previous marine survey experience in the UK but outside Seasearch. The associated ID course (see below is a compulsory element to gain the Surveyor qualification. Enquire for further information

Specialist Courses

In addition to the Observer or Surveyor Courses we arrange specialist courses including general marine life identification as well as specialist courses in things like fishes, seaweeds, anemones/corals and sea slugs. We can also run survey skills weekends for people who want to join in specialist projects. The initial programme for 2010 is below and there are more in the planning stage.

To give you an idea of the level of each course (as they do vary) each course is identified as A (Advanced), or E (Everyone): Advanced courses assume some previous knowledge of the topic and concentrate on expanding that - most suitable for those already recording at Surveyor level. Everyone courses are designed to improve knowledge for those aspiring to become Surveyors or cover techniques and surveys that any competent diver can get involved with. Most of the courses include diving but you can usually take part without diving if you wish.

*The 'fasttrack Surveyor course can be completed in conjunction with this course (see above)

Course Costs

The cost of the courses vary depending on venue, costs incurred and if there is any local subsidy or diving involved. As a rough guide one-day courses cost £30-£40 and weekend courses, including diving, £70-£90. Contact the organisers for more details.

Seasearch Contacts

Seasearch Shop