CLUBFOCUS
Pre-dive briefing at Brixham Breakwater
Jamie unwinding after another great dive
Underwater Surveyor training, helping to expand our involvement in marine science, conservation and underwater heritage projects.
What marine science do you do?
Since 2018, our Diving Officer and Chair have led Project Baseline Midland Pools [ projectbaselineuk. org / midlandpools ], part of the global Project Baseline citizen science initiative. The project focuses on monitoring aquatic environments in former Midlands quarries and has produced significant conservation outcomes.
How have you contributed?
Club volunteers have surveyed five sites, recorded endangered native, white-clawed crayfish populations and developed partnerships with Buglife and the University of Leicester. The work has supported MSc and PhD research projects, contributed to the creation of a new
Exploring the Nautilus wreck, Stoney Cove
30 crayfish conservation‘ ark site’ and won the British Sub-Aqua Jubilee Trust Prince of Wales Scuba Award in 2022. We are now involved in other projects too.
Tell us more...
We’ ve worked on a wide range of external conservation and scientific projects through Project Baseline UK, including marine conservation surveys in the Eyemouth Marine Protected Area, microplastics research and the Dive for Antibiotics project, which collects sediment samples to be analysed for potential new antibiotic compounds that could help with the current antimicrobial resistance crisis.
Does your training focus reflect this involvement in project work?
We encourage members to develop personal diving goals rather than simply progress through qualifications. Whether that may be diving Scapa Flow, joining conservation projects, developing photography skills or progressing into technical diving, we aim to help members achieve their individual objectives.
Sports Diver remains one of our most popular courses because it significantly expands a diver’ s capabilities and opens up many more opportunities within the club. We also place strong emphasis on Skill Development Courses( SDCs) to build solid in-water skills. We have expanded our Ocean Diver and Sports Diver programmes from two to three days in open water to provide more time for buoyancy, trim and confidence-building before progressing to more advanced skills.
What does the instructor team look like?
One Advanced Instructor, three Open Water Instructors, an Assistant Instructor and two Snorkel Instructors. Snorkel training will allow us to expand our training offering and attract new participants into aquatic activities. In common with other volunteer organisations, we are experiencing some instructor fatigue and a reduction in active instructors. We continue to encourage members to progress through Sports Diver and attend Instructor Foundation Courses to build the next generation of the team.
What is the club proud of?
Our conservation work is increasingly contributing to real-world environmental protection. Data collected through Project Baseline Midland Pools has already been referenced within planning discussions on development near one of our survey sites.
One of our major achievements on our website has been creating an online interactive map documenting the dive sites visited by members, complete with photographs and site information www. marlinsac. com / dive-sites