These counts are indeed great tools.
If conducted and then analyzed correctly that is - and the Sharks Count project by Shark Savers, Christine's e-Shark and our Great Fiji Shark Count where incidentally, both Sam and Christine play important roles are some of the very best examples of such worthwhile citizen science programs.
Talking of which, I just got this.
Hi Mike,
Here are general Shark Count stats:
- April 2012: 27 Dive operators participated, 855 dives, 3691 individual diver observations.
- November 2013: 14 Dive operators participated, 542 dives, 2342 individual diver observations
- April 2013: Incomplete as yet. I think a fair guesstimate for the final April 2013 count will be in the region of 15 Dive operators, 600 dives, 3000 individual diver observations.
I say, pretty awesome!
It's obviously still too early for detecting any trends, but the GFSC continues to be vibrant and will eventually provide for excellent scientific data - whilst being great tourism and outreach, and above all, great fun as well!
So bravo, and thank you to everyone involved!
3 comments:
Well, thanks AGAIN, to you, Mike! We're really glad that all 'citizen science' for sharks is getting the attention of the broader diving community; with special thanks to the great team at Scuba Diving Magazine!
See my reply here! :)
And I know more goodies are in the offing...
Brilliant stuff! Great to see real outreach with quantifiable results. Well done to all involved!
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