SCUBA technology has made participation in underwater citizen science possible for almost anyone. In British Columbia, the recreational dive community has recently driven increased protection of valuable fish habitat and important marine species. Locally, recreational divers participate in citizen science activities such as lingcod egg mass and rockfish surveys, and collecting research grade observations of marine species.
Tom will share knowledge on the accessibility of underwater exploration for the average citizen, recent and current recreational dive community citizen science activities, and marine species observed by divers in the Nanaimo region.
Biography: Tom has been a SCUBA diver since 1978. Tom has collected aquarium specimens and harvested marine species as a commercial diver prior to his career as a fishery officer during 1984 to 2017 with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO). While with DFO, Tom participated in dive activities such as underwater evidence collection, habitat protection monitoring, and stock assessment. Tom served as fisheries coordinator with INTERPOL’s Environmental Security programme during 2017 to 2020, leading INTERPOL’s Global Fisheries Enforcement team.