Specialties

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Written by Eco Dive

AWARE Coral Reef Conservation

The AWARE – Coral Reef Conservation Specialty Course informs divers and nondivers about the plight of the world’s coral reefs. The course describes how coral reefs function and why they are so important. It also reviews why many reefs are in serious trouble and what individuals can do to prevent further decline.

AWARE Fish Identification

This course introduces divers to the most common families and species of fish found in temperate and tropical waters throughout the world.

AWARE Shark Conservation

Sharks are in a global decline. Overfishing has reduced many shark populations around the world to levels that threaten their continued existence. Shark numbers have fallen by more than 80% in many cases, and the continued existence of some species is at immediate risk. This course will contribute towards the conservation of sharks by building awareness of the issues and inspiring you to speak up and act to protect sharks.

Boat Diver

Boats allow you to explore spectacular dive sites not easily accessible from shore. Imagine no entries through surf, no long surface swims, no navigational wizardry to find the site, and no air gone from your cylinder to arrive at the reef you wanted to explore. Some of the world’s best diving is accessible only from a boat, so it only makes sense to orient yourself with boats, their differences, and boat diving.

CoralWatch Coral Health Chart Distinctive Specialty

This course will show you how to turn your fun dives into productive dives; contributing to a scientific database while you are enjoying the beauty of the reef. CoralWatch uses a standardised method to evaluate the level of coral bleaching by using a Colour Health Chart. Volunteers match the intensity of the colour on the chart to the intensity of the colour of the monitored corals. Following the dive, the recorded data is submitted to a global database.

Deep Diver

It’s a rare diver who hasn’t felt the urge to dive deep. Deep diving opens the door to many new exciting dive sites like deeper wrecks, reefs and walls.. The deeper you dive the more caution you need about the way you feel, your equipment and what your instruments tell If you wish to dive deeper play it safe and do a course! And if you want to go deeper still – start thinking about technical diving.

Digital Underwater Photography

Learn how to take professional looking photographs based on today’s point-and-shoot digital cameras. The course helps your to develop the knowledge, skills and practical techniques necessary to obtain excellent photographs with a digital camera, even on your first photo dive.

Diver Propulsion Vehicle

Underwater scooters are both practical (because you travel faster and cover more ground) and fun (the DPV does much of the work for you); they reduces your exertion and air consumption. In fact, the better DPVs perform the more fun they are and the more useful they are. The only downside to DPVs is that once you start using them, you’ll want to have one all the time!

Drift Diver

Drift diving is a relaxing and enjoyable form of diving that offers an alternative to using lines and other techniques to move against current. While it is an effective way to dive, there are potential concerns including staying together as a group, maintaining contact with the boat and not missing the exit point. You will learn how to perform a controlled effortless flight underwater.

Drysuit Diver

Why dive dry? Simply to stay warm. No one said diving had to be cold or wet. More often than not, in colder waters, dry suit diving can be the difference between experiencing multiple dives in one day or making one chilly wet suit dive and listening to others tell you about what you’ve missed on the dives you were just too cold to make.

Emergency Oxygen Provider

Oxygen, water, and food are fundamentally important to all animals. Of these three basic essentials for the maintenance of life, the lack of oxygen leads to death most rapidly. First aid with emergency oxygen is useful or necessary as a treatment for many injuries that interfere with oxygen reaching the blood or tissues.

Enriched Air

Enriched air can be used to extend your bottom time, add a safety margin to your diving, or reduce the "off gassing" time after you finish diving. You will learn to use enriched air (“nitrox”) for recreational diving with an enriched air (EANx) compatible dive computer. The course addresses computer-assisted diving while using enriched air with 22 percent to 40 percent oxygen to monitor no stop limits and oxygen exposure.

Equipment Specialist

Ever had an equipment failure that stopped you from diving? Only to find out later that it is an easy fix if you have the knowledge, tools and spares. This course is intended to familiarize divers with the operation and maintenance of equipment. This is not an equipment servicing course, but you will learn how to diagnose and fix some simple problems.

Night Diver

At night you will find a completely different set of fish inhabit the reef. Spots you have dived your whole life become unfamiliar, even eerie. In some circumstances you can even cover your light, and then you become part of the living reef. It's important to know the rules and guidelines for this type of diving. Learn the rules for night diving, and dive responsibly.

Peak Performance Buoyancy Diver

Correct trim and position in the water; efficient finn kicks; neutral buoyancy; they all add up to more relaxed, controlled, enjoyable diving. It also goes a long way to protecting sensitive marine ecosystems. After completing this course you will use less weight, glide through the water effortlessly, and never come into contact with the reef unnecessarily.

Project AWARE

The Project AWARE Specialty program is a nondiving program designed to familiarize divers and nondivers with the plight of aquatic ecosystems around the world. It also describes what individuals can do to help protect aquatic resources.

Sea Turtle Awareness Distinctive Specialty

The Sea Turtle Awareness Distinctive Specialty course introduces divers and snorkellers to basic sea turtle identification and conservation. 6 of the 7 species of turtle live and breed in Queensland waters. You will learn not only how to identify them, but also what threats exist to their conservation and what you can do to help raise awareness of the issues.

Search & Recovery Diver

Many factors can affect the success or failure of any search and recovery conducted underwater. Those of particular importance are surface conditions, underwater visibility, depth, bottom topography, bottom composition, vegetation, accessibility, surge, tides, currents, accuracy of bearings, water temperature, pollution, and obstacles or hazards. You will learn to deal with all of these factors when searching for and recovering lost objects. This is not a salvage course !!!

Self–Reliant Diver

The purpose of the Self-Reliant Diver specialty course is to recognize and accept the role of the buddy system and its contributions to diver safety while identifying and developing self-reliance and independence while diving. This course covers when diving alone may be applicable, and the need to compensate for those situations, including dive planning, life support system readiness, adaptive training, equipment and responsibility. To do this course you need to be experienced in a variety of dive conditions and environments with proof of at least 100 logged dives.

Sidemount Diver

Sidemount diving is not a new concept, but its application has spread from cave diving to open water recreational and technical diving. Sidemount diving presents divers with a different approach to equipment configuration, and a new set of skills to master. It also provides unparalleled freedom and flexibility.

Underwater Naturalist

You will learn to interact with the living underwater world based on objective assessments and observations. We will view the aquatic ecosystems scientifically, without biases based on misconceptions and myths. While you will learn basic organism groupings and identification, the emphasis is placed on understandings of the relationships between organisms, their environment and humans, as well as on the application of environmentally friendly dive techniques.

Underwater Navigator

Early Polynesian navigators routinely crossed thousands of miles of open ocean in outrigger canoes, using only their observations, such as the motion of specific stars, weather, wildlife species, and directions of swells on the ocean, colours of the sea and sky to navigate their way. We still use natural navigation, but the invention of the compass and other instruments makes navigation a much easier task.

Wreck Diver

If the thought of crawling around in a rusty old ship appeals to you, then this is your course. Wreck diving brings with it inherent risks, not all of them below the water. You also need to understand local preservation and archaeological laws before you go crawling through that enticing piece of submerged history.