The GVI Routine—Week Five

Now that we’ve passed our fish and coral tests, the real work has begun—for us volunteers that is. The staff has been working all along getting us up to point where we can do the fish and coral monitoring on the 18 to 24 sites GVI oversees. We’ve been trained to follow several procedures for the fish or coral we’ve learned. Our equipment includes fifty metre measuring tapes--to be laid down on the ocean’s floor at certain angles to the shore, SMB’s to note our location when diving (as well as snorkelling), slates and pencils. Recognizing what we’re seeing, writing it down, reeling in the measuring tape, and reeling in the SMB means we have to be really good at multi-tasking. The GVI staff make sure we are.

It’s taken a lot to get to this point, and now it’s time for some of us to leave after doing just a few research dives. Hindsight speaks loudly that five weeks is not long enough if you’re really into the research. If you stay longer, you can learn about both --fish and coral, rather than just one subject.

For now, for me, it’s goodbye to the Seychelles. Who knows, I may be back.