Achievement Report September 2015

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Seychelles Achievement Report September 2015

Report Title

Completion of the PADI Open Water course for Seychelles National ParksAuthority Rangers

ObjectiveAs part of the ongoing partnership between !I Seychelles an" SeychellesNational Parks Authority #SNPA$ an arrangement was ma"e for three SNPArangers to partake in the PADI Open Water course un"er the instruction of !I%sDi&e O'cer( with the aim of strengthening the relationship between !I an"SNPA an" allowing the rangers to un"ertake future reef monitoring pro)ects*

Summary!I works &ery closely with Seychelles National Parks Authority an" a goo"relationship between the two has been in place since the inception of !ISeychelles in +,,-* SNPA manage the marine park in which !I is base" an"where our &olunteers con"uct a large amount of research( an" a long.term

ob)ecti&e of !I is to "e&elop our relationship with SNPA an" support them intheir monitoring pro)ects aroun" Northwest /ah0*

ReportSince the mass.bleaching e&ent of 1223 e4tensi&e e5orts ha&e been ma"e in theSeychelles( in particular along the coastline of northwest /ahe( to monitor thereco&ery of the coral reefs from this an" subse6uent bleachings* SeychellesNational Parks Authority ha&e been instrumental in this an" e&er since !I 7rstestablishe" a base here at Cap 8ernay in +,,- we ha&e worke" &ery closelyalongsi"e them* It is SNPA who ultimately make the "ecision on which "i&e siteswe con"uct our sur&eys an" e4actly which coral or 7sh we are sur&eying* All ofthe "ata gathere" by our &olunteers through the &arious sur&eys we con"uct is

gi&en to SNPA who then use that "ata to formulate management plans for the/arine Park an" surroun"ing areas* In"ee"( it is because of our partnership with

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SNPA that we are able to "i&e so fre6uently in the beautiful marine park at 9aie 8ernay:

As such we fre6uently liaise with SNPA in or"er to continue the "e&elopment ofour partnership with them( an" pre&ious teambuil"ing e4ercises between bothparties ha&e inclu"e" raft races( beach cleans an" barbe6ues* 8herefore( whenSNPA approache" !I re6uesting we con"uct the PADI Open Water Course forsome of their marine rangers we were more than happy to oblige:

So( on September 1-( SNPA rangers Dean William( Ste&en !ital an" ;elle Perrinecame along to the !I base at Cap 8ernay to start their course with !ISeychelles% Di&e O'cer( 9en <ughes* 8heir 7rst morning was spent in theclassroom( watching the Open Water &i"eo an" completing some of the theorywork* After a hearty lunch the four of them hoppe" aboar" SNPA%s trusty boatan" went out into the 9ay to 7n" an i"eal shallow( san"y patch in which to starttheir con7ne" water training* All three of the stu"ents instantly pro&e"themsel&es to be comfortable in the water an" mastere" skills such as regulator

reco&ery an" mask clearing in no time at all* A &ery promising start:

Day two began with more theory work in the classroom an" a 6uick brie7ng from9en about the "i&es planne" for the afternoon* After a bite to eat all four again&enture" out into the bay on the SNPA boat for a sunny afternoon on #an" un"er$the water* A short session in the shallows an" a spot of trea"ing water was inor"er before it was time for the serious business of the stu"ents% 7rst OpenWater "i&e: After mooring up in "eeper water the "i&ers )umpe" into the oceanan" en)oye" their 7rst true e4perience of the un"erwater worl"* A couple of skillswere 7rst on the agen"a before 9en le" the stu"ents on a swim aroun" thestunning 9aie 8ernay reef = the &ery reef that !I an" SNPA are working so har"to monitor an" protect: It turne" out to be a &ery successful "i&e = our threestu"ents pro&e" to be natural at "i&ing an" the sea creatures were out in force(with hawksbill turtles( whitetip reef sharks( moray eels an" stingrays paying the"i&ers a &isit*

9ack on the surface an" on the boat( the surface inter&al was spent withe&eryone en)oying the sun( only being interrupte" by the intro"uction of a packetof biscuits* After another brie7ng the "i&ers were back in the water an" rea"y tostart Open Water Di&e number two( with particular attention being focuse" onthe stu"ents% buoyancy in the water* Once again( they were more than up to thechallenge an" pro&e" themsel&es to be 6uite competent with all the skillsre6uire" of them* It seeme" to 9en like they ha" been "i&ing for years: 8his time

the highlight of the "i&e was a little green turtle that appeare" o&er the crest ofthe reef )ust as the "i&ers were starting their e4ploration of the reef* Once at thesurface again( all that was left for the "ay was a +,,.metre swim back to theshore = slow an" stea"y with a lot of giggling an" teasing but all three of thestu"ents easily manage" it* All in all( it ha" turne" out to be an en)oyable an"successful "ay for stu"ents an" instructor alike:

It was pats on the back all roun" the ne4t morning as Dean( Ste&en an" ;elle allpasse" their e4am with >ying colours an" thus successfully 7nishe" all of thetheory work for the course* 8he afternoon was spent completing the con7ne"water section before mo&ing onto the thir" Open Water "i&e( with 9en an" thegang now able to &enture a little bit "eeper an" e4plore some of the other areas

of 9aie 8ernay%s reef* ?&en at eighteen metres a combination of goo" &isibilityan" strong sunlight contribute" to another &ery pleasant "i&e with more sharks

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an" turtles passing by* 8he stu"ents were impro&ing "i&e by "i&e an"( perhapsmost impressi&ely( all three manage" to na&igate using a compass withoutgetting lost at all:

An" so it was that on September 1@ Dean( Ste&en an" ;elle all came "own to Cap 8ernay for their 7nal "ay of the course an"( 7ttingly( it was another 7ne "ay inthe 9ay* 8he stu"ents e&en ha" their own fan club for Open Water Di&e four = !I9ase /anager /ariliana an" Science Coor"inator Anna )oine" 9en an" the teamfor photographic support: After a 6uick photo.shoot on the beach it was on to theSNPA boat for the 7nal time an" a short )ourney out to sea* A "i&e plan wasestablishe" by the stu"ents( with a little assistance from 9en( before the groupwere in the water an" "escen"ing "own to the reef* 8he 7nal "i&e pro&e" to bee&ery bit as en)oyable as the pre&ious three ha" been( with the eagle.eye"stu"ents spotting yet more turtles( a rather shy octopus hi"ing along the e"ge ofthe reef an" a small group of eagle rays swimming serenely by*

So congratulations go to Dean( Ste&en an" ;elle upon successful completion oftheir course( an" we look forwar" to seeing them in the future for their A"&ance"Open Water* It is a great achie&ement for them( an" their new.foun" skills o5erSNPA further resources to make use of "uring their management of the reefs an"shoreline aroun" the Seychelles* As well as that( it was a great bon"inge4perience for the representati&es from !I an" SNPA( further strengthening ourrelationship with them* Winners all roun":

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Documents

Achievement Report September 2015