The Fish Counting module consists of a classroom session and an open water session.  A prerequisite to fish counting is reliable fish identification.  A unit on identification of local fishes is presented and students are quizzed. Students are instructed in the use of sketching, photographing, and using field guides to identify unknown species encountered.

This module is intended to include home study of Chapter 7 in the Handbook, which provides the academic background.  The classroom session introduces the class to underwater methods used for artificial reef fish population assessment.  It covers objectives of fish surveys, methods for underwater surveys, limitations of techniques and use of the data.

Classroom Objectives

At the completion of the Fish Counting module classroom session, the students should be able to:

• State two reasons for collecting fish data by the Relative Abundance method
• Describe how data is to be recorded during the Relative Abundance method
• State the length, width and area surveyed by the Transect method described in the Methods Manual
• State the period of time spent listing species prior to counting individuals in the Point Census method, and the anticipated response of the fish to the diver during this time.
• Explain why the count begins with the last species listed in the Point Census method
• Describe how to document species seen after the count has begun in the Point Census method.
• Describe at least one limitation of each of the methods taught
• State the primary pre-requisite for fish counting
• Explain how the number of samples influences the quality of the data