While they’re protected under the Commonwealth Environment Protection & Biodiversity Conservation Act, evidence suggests seadragon numbers are falling. The World Conservation Group has classed the seadragon as “near threatened” on its Red List of threatened species.
Little is known about the Weedy Seadragon. To rectify this Professor Booth and his UTS team have teamed up with Abyss Scuba Diving to study the Seadragons of Botany Bay National Park.
Measuring a Weedy Seadragon
The plan is to conduct detailed surveys of weedy seadragons living along the rocky reef at Kurnell. In April the first group of “researchers” donned scuba gear and got to work, underwater cameras in hand.
The Seadragon survey day starts at 9:30am with some basic training on how to spot, sex photograph and make basic observations of the seadragons. The divers are broken up into teams of 5 and then we heat out to Captain Cook Park at Kurnell and do 2 dives. During the dive the divers record the location of the seadragons they observe and take photos of tell-tale markings on their flanks. The dorsal spots are like fingerprints, and these identification photographs are used to identify individuals and monitor them over time.
Survey Area at Captoon Cook Park Kurnell
Abyss Scuba Diving runs regular Free divemaster escorted shore dives in locations where seadragons can be seen on a regular basis. For those who would like to get more actively involved in helping to find out more about the weedy seadragon the Weedy Seadragon Survey is a perfect way to do it. If you want to get involved then check out the Sydney Diving Calendar or simply book on for the next seadragon survey. Please note, numbers are limited.
Join us on the next Seadragon Survey
Do you want to be adventurous, have you ever wanted to be an explorer?
Scuba diving enables you to satisfy my thirst for adventure as you explore an entirely new world.
Becoming a scuba diver is a about exploring the other two thirds of the world. Giving dives you the opportunity to go places and do things that other people only dream of. This exploration can be as simple as exploring some of the great scuba diving around Sydney on a Sunday afternoon. On the other hand as a diver you have the opportunity to travel to remote tropical destinations or even remote Antarctica and see an entire other another world both above and below the surface.
Scuba diving is a family activity allowing generations of the same family to enjoy nature in only a way divers can. By taking the kids diving, parents and grandparents can show then the wonders of the world first hand while doing an activity which will bring them all closer together.
Scuba Diving is a wonderful activity which enables all participants to leave their day to day lives and enter a world of exploration and adventure. So be amazed, be a diver…
The equipment we use as scuba divers is what keeps us alive while underwater. It is “life support equipment” that must be repaired, adjusted and tested only by qualified individuals with the correct training.
Even for mechanically minded people, the procedures required to keep this life support equipment in as new factory condition is not intuitive and requires explanation, and access to specialized service outlines and also custom tools to do it properly.
Abyss Scuba Diving is happy to announce that we have just released a manufacture authorized Scuba Service Technician Training Course which will provide eligible participants with formal training in the repair and maintenance of scuba diving (Open Circuit) equipment produced by 3 of the industries leading brands; Oceanic, Hollis and Aeris.
Carl Fallon, Our ‘Platinum’ PADI Course Director recently travelled to San Francisco in the USA to the HQ of American Underwater Products where he did Service Technician Instructor Training for all three of these brands.
Carl Fallon doing Service Technician Instructor Training
Who is this course for?
There are several reasons why you would benefit from doing this course.
- Dive professionals looking at increasing their career opportunities and those wanting a more thorough understanding of the workings or dive equipment and their features and functions.
- For Dive Center owners and those planning to set up in business it is a comprehensive course that will enable you to offer these services to your customers. This is part of a Dive Center Managment training course run by Abyss.
- PADI Instructors wanting to achieve their Equipment Specialist Instructor rating can combine the PADI Instructor rating with this training and easily achieve both qualifications.
Who can attend this course?
This training is designed only for dive professionals doing their traing through Abyss Scuba Diving. This is because we want every on of our candidate to have a base knowledge of dive theory and basic equipment functions prior to starting.
To attend you must be one of the following
- PADI Instructor or other Instructor who is from another agency doing a crossover with Abyss.
- PADI Divemaster’s who are currently undertaking a dive internship within our Career Development Center may also attend this program. Please note that Dive Masters are unable to attend the PADI Equipment Specialty Instructor training portion.
Regulators fro Service Technician Training
What does the training include?
This is an approved course covering all aspects of service, repair of maintenance of Oceanic, Hollis and Aeris Scuba equipment.
The course has several modules including:
Overview and History of American Underwater Products
- Consumer maintenance recommendations
- Initial product inspections and testing
- Troubleshooting and evaluation of symptoms
- Specialty tools and cleaning supplies for proper service
- Procedural steps used in cleaning components
- Use of specialized service procedures
- Testing & tuning 1st stages regulators
- Testing & tuning 2nd stage regulators
- Testing and repairing procedures for Buoyancy Compensators (BCD’s)
- Testing and repair procedures of Inflator mechanisms.
The course is designed to give as much emphasis on practical knowledge and skills with a large proportion of the course devoted to ‘hands on‘ practical work.
A highly practical course, with hands on experience in a real scuba workshop within our busy service center.
Repairing an Oceanic AirXs Octo Regulator
Costs & Special Add-ons
The cost of the manufacture authorized Scuba Service Technician Course is $500 (AUD).
To include the PADI Equipment Specialty Instructor Course it is just another $150 (AUD).
Courses run every 6 weeks all throughout the year.
For more details please contact us at Abyss Scuba Diving on (02) 9583 9662 or email us at dive@abyss.com.au for more details.
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