| PADI Project AWARE Sea Turtle Awareness Course AWARE - Aquatic World Awareness, Responsibility, and Education This specialty course guides divers or snorkelers through some of the reasons why turtle populations are declining in parts of the world – some to the point of extinction - and what individuals can do to prevent further decline. Divers learn basic turtle identification skills and how to record their sea turtle sightings. Concerted conservation efforts have seen turtle populations recover in some areas but without urgent global action the future of these animals does not look healthy. Sea turtles are slaughtered for their meat and shells, and their eggs are consumed at unsustainable levels. They also fall prey to fishing gear and loss of suitable habitat for nesting. In Malaysia for example, leatherback turtles that were once abundant are now virtually extinct, with only a few nests observed in recent years. There are not nearly enough marine scientists in the world for all of the research that needs to be done. However, there ARE millions of avid scuba divers and snorkelers, most of whom are eager to be trained to help with research projects. With this idea in mind, more and more conservation organizations are utilizing the vast pool of divers as marine researchers, recording and reporting sightings to build databases used by scientists and biologists to help manage and conserve our planet’s natural resources. Project AWARE is working with partners in countries around the world to provide sighting information to turtle conservation projects. Good information on sightings of animals can support the valuable and ongoing conservation work that is being done in the region. This Sea Turtle Awareness course was developed in conjunction with the Project AWARE Foundation. Project AWARE is the dive industry’s leading nonprofit environmental organization dedicated to conserving underwater environments through education, advocacy and action. This organization links the diving community with scientists, resource managers and conservationists through marine life data collection and related activities. Adventure Dive & Travel is a Project Aware Foundation member, which enables us to train divers in sea turtle research and survey methods. Divers and snorkelers can now contribute to sea turtle conservation through their own identifications and sightings recordings. In addition, divers and snorkelers will learn how their actions can make a difference, whether it is through responsible diving practices or being environmentally aware when travelling. The information divers and snorkelers record will help to provide useful data on where species occur at certain times of the year. What will the course teach? The course aims to teach participants about the biology, behavior and distribution of marine turtles as well as conservation status and sea turtle research worldwide. Divers will learn how to plan all aspects of a dive/snorkel with sea turtles, paying special attention to non-impact diving/snorkeling practices. The importance of sea turtle monitoring activities will be stressed and the Sea Turtle Sightings Form introduced as an example of how to get involved in marine turtle conservation. During this course, we’ll learn some fascinating facts about the 7 species of marine turtles, how to properly record information during turtle sightings, and how to utilize the internet to download our information to the research database. All of this comes together on two open water dives where we’ll (hopefully) encounter sea turtles! This is possible on any of our tropical destination trips. After the two open water dives you’ll enter the data you collected into the Project Aware Australia database for use in studies and research by scientific organizations worldwide. You’ll then be qualified to add to the international database on marine turtles after every encounter. You will also receive a PADI Project AWARE Sea Turtle Awareness Specialty Card. This specialty can be applied toward the PADI Master Diver and PADI Pro-Master programs. For more information on these prestigious ratings, please ask your instructor. Provided by Student
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