Citizen scientists urged to dive into the deep for Great Victorian Fish Count
Updated
Some people are put to sleep by counting sheep, but Mark Rodrigue gets excited counting fish.
Mr Rodrigue, who is program leader of marine and coasts at Parks Victoria, is hoping to encourage others to join him at this year's Great Victorian Fish Count.
The annual citizen science event sees hundreds of volunteers join local community groups in dives along the Victorian coast.
Parks Victoria manage 24 marine national parks and sanctuaries around the state's coastline.
Mr Rodrigue said the annual fish count had shown that these highly protected underwater parks provided crucial habitat for marine species.
"Within many of those parks and sanctuaries we're certainly seeing good diversity [and] increases in numbers," he told 774 ABC Melbourne's Red Symons.
Fish count to provide 'snapshot' of coastal wildlife
This year's Great Victorian Fish Count will be held over two weeks from November 21, with more than 350 people expected to dive and snorkel at 25 underwater sites across the state.
Each dive is organised by a local operator, marine care group, or university club.
Those interested in participating need to register through their local group.
Mr Rodrigue said aim of the fish count was not to count every fish, but rather provide a "snapshot" of the wildlife living along the state's coastline.
"We're really just trying to get a handle on what different types of fish we do have here in Victoria, as well as a bit of a census on how many are there," he said.
Out-of-the-ordinary sightings
This year the fish count will log any out-of-the-ordinary sightings on the Range Extension Database and Mapping (Redmap) website.
"It's essentially a program encouraging people to report sightings of unusual fish, or fish that are slightly outside of what we might consider their normal home range," Mr Rodrigue said.
In 2011, the fish count was responsible for finding a fish previously unseen in Victoria.
Volunteers diving at the Barwon Bluff Marine Sanctuary took a photograph of a fish that Museum Victoria staff eventually identified as a western blue groper.
"This is a fish that grows to about 1.4 metres long and yet had not been officially recognised in Victoria until 2011," Mr Rodrigue said.
Topics: marine-parks, fish, animals, melbourne-3000
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