The PADI Project AWARE Fish Identification Course

Have you ever been scuba diving and asked yourself, "What was that?”

The PADI Project AWARE Fish Identification Specialty course provides you with the fish identification basics so that next time, you know the answer.

The Fun Part

You’ll find you enjoy your dives even more when you recognize the creatures that you see. The fun part about this course is you can use the skills you learn on every scuba diving vacation because once you learn the main fish families and characteristics it will help you decipher the species you see all over the world.

For example, a butterfly fish in the Caribbean has a similar shape to a butterfly fish in Southeast Asia, but their colors and markings maybe wildly different. If you know what fish family it belongs to, it becomes much easier to look up the local name or at least be able to intelligently ask the local scuba instructor what you saw. That works better than asking about a “yellow thingy with a funny tail fin.”

•How to identify characteristics of local fish families and species
•Fish survey techniques and strategies
•How to practice fish identification dive planning, organization and procedures
The Scuba Gear You Use
You use all the basic scuba gear. You may also need some scuba accessories such as a dive slate for making notes when conducting fish surveys.

The Learning Materials You Need

AWARE’s Our World Our Water includes a section on identifying reef fish based on body shape and habitat. You’ll also learn about marine life indigenous to tidal zones, polar regions, kelp forests, and wetlands. Our World Our Water also includes a five page glossary of terminology used by marine biologists.

Visit Project AWARE Foundation to download your copy today

Prerequisites To take this course, you must be A PADI Open Water Diver or Junior Open Water Diver (or qualifying certification from another organization)

Your Next Adventure While you’re learning about fish, you’ll probably also be curious about the different types of coral and want to check out the Coral Reef Conservationist course. As you learn about fish survey techniques you may also want to work on a conservation project as part of your PADI National Geographic Diver certification. You may also want to brush up on your underwater photography skills so that you can document and capture images of the species you’re encountering.