Fish Survey Strip Transect Dive Plan (Fish SST)*updated August 21, 2010

Dive Safety

  1. Follow all PADI and/or NAUI dive safety rules.
  2. If one diver’s air goes below 500 psi, the entire team will surface, even if the dive’s work is not complete.
  3. Each diver must fill out their dive log after each dive and verify their pressure group.

Dive Synopsis

  1. Teams will swim on the surface until near their assigned isobaths, and descend after all divers are ok to dive.
  2. Each team will deploy a 50m transect along its assigned isobath. *Note if possible within your assigned isobaths lay the transect line with the current going down current. This is helpful so you can swim against the current during the survey which helps maintain a slow swim rate for the survey.
  3. After the line is laid and the tape reel secured, divers will swim 10m away from the end of the transect line and wait for 5 minutes allowing the fish to return from being disturbed.
  4. Fish counts will proceed from the end of the line toward the start of the line. Two divers will simultaneously swim on each side of the transect line, each recording fishes seen within 2.5m of their side of the line and within 5m of the substrate.
  5. Record fish abundance data on the SOS Ocean Pulse data sheet. Data from the 45m mark to the 25m mark is recorded in the “Segment 2” Column on the data sheet.
  6. From the 25m to the 20m mark stop recording to leave a 5m gap to ensure independence between sampling for statistical analysis.
  7. Begin recording again from the 20m mark to 0m mark. This fish abundance data should be recorded in the “Segment 1” column on the SOS Ocean Pulse data sheet.
  8. While slowly swimming the transect line stop every 5m within the above segments and wait 1 to 3 minutes for fish to come out and record them. The survey along the 50m transect line should take30 minutes. This is a slow swim rate.
  9. The swimming rate is 1m every 36 seconds, or 8 meters every 5 minutes, which is very slow. To keep track of your swim rate write the schedule below on your dive slate and verify every 5 minutes during the dive.
  10. When finished with the 30 minute survey roll up the transect line and ascend.

Verify swim rate

5 minutes – 42 m

10 minutes – 34 m

15 minutes – 26 m

20 minutes – 18 m

25 minutes – 10 m

30 minutes – 2 m

Equipment

Transect line

Slate with SST data sheet and pencils attached

Timing watches (Preferably a separate watch than your dive watch or computer)