engleski

Engaging SCUBA divers in monitoring of fish assemblages using the FAST method

1. INTRODUCTION Marine Protected Areas and other managed marine sites are designated to improve the status of coastal fish assemblages and protect valuable habitats. The implementation of management practices relies on data collected through monitoring activities. Monitoring fish assemblages using the standard non- destructive methods requires significant financial resources and time. A new approach to monitoring fish assemblages in the coastal waters was recently implemented in the Mediterranean – Fish Assemblage Survey Technique (FAST). 2. METHODS This study, performed in Mid Adriatic Archipelago, Croatia, is based on the Citizen Science initiative where trained volunteer SCUBA divers collected the data following a pre-established protocol. The protocol is based on recording the presence and relative size of 23 main fish species and four ‘joker’ species, along the six 15-minutes long randomly placed transects, between 0 and 20 meters of depth. Volunteer divers were educated and trained for doing the FAST method. The divers were swimming in pairs (2x3 transects) or triplets (3x2 transects) across all habitats present at the selected locations, trying to detect as many different fish species as possible (from a pre-selected list) and estimate their size class. During the training activities, volunteers were accompanied by scientists to evaluate the effectiveness of the method. Following the training, volunteers continued to collect data regularly, and reported to the PI. 3. RESULTS Preliminary results show that collected data can detect changes in the fish community at selected locations over time. The observed changes in the fish community structure could be seasonal (June-August), but in the long run can also serve as a prompt alert for site managers on some environmental factors causing the disturbance. With the continuing degradation of habitats worldwide, the use of a fast and cost-effective monitoring approach presents a priceless tool for evaluating the effectiveness of managed marine areas. At the same time, the increasing need for ocean literate society enables us to engage citizens in scientific activities that bring long term benefits to society, attract divers to become active guardians of the marine environment, and help them understand and promote science. The simplicity of FAST is making it a prospective method used in providing information about marine areas and monitoring the effectiveness of protection in the MPAs.

Fish ; Monitoring ; FAST ; Citizen Science ; Visual census

nije evidentirano