Diving is an activity that offers many interactions with our buddies and with the environment as well. We dive to discover the aquatic fauna and flora and we often wonder what animal we are observing. It is possible to interact better with the underwater world by studying the animals and their ecosystems. After a few dive we are able to recognize more and more species and this is a rewarding feeling because we start to understand what we are watching. Also the study and observation gives us more knowledge about the behaviour of the fish and this helps us know how to act when we are meeting them underwater.

How can you become « expert » in the identification of fish?

PADI offers a special program called « Fish Identification » in which you learn different skills related to research and identification of families and species. You are taught the specific way to plan a dive in order to count and identify fish, you will also learn how to draw a fish you don’t recognize so you can try to identify it after the dive, you will get some theory about the ecosystems, habitats, some families and their peculiarities. The theory is followed by two dives during which you will put your new knowledge into practice.

The PADI Fish Identification program will allow you to identify and distinguish all kinds of species in different areas of the world and you will become an expert observer of the interactions in various ecosystems. Moreover, there are materials you can get in order to broaden your knowledge in fish: books, waterproof slates with pictures, cameras to be able to look for names of the fish later, there are also mobile applications that help you identify fish!

By using these tools and following the courses, you will soon notice that other dive buddies might come to ask you some names and information about fish they observed underwater and you will be considered as the group’s « expert » in fish identification!

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Mysterious Atlantic Ocean

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