Tacoma's dive shops offer divers a variety services. They can provide supplies and equipment as well as full training or specialty classes. Participating in local scuba diving activities such as Earth Day clean-ups is possible. If you are interested in diving and want to learn more, check out Buzzing Scuba Dive Shop, a great place to get started. Continue reading to find out more about Buzzing Scuba Dive Shop's many services.
Earth Day underwater cleanup
Volunteers from the Tacoma Scuba Community are joining forces to save the environment for Earth Day. The cleanup will take places at Point Defiance Boathouse. 810 pounds of trash were removed from the waterways last year. This cleanup is part of an ongoing effort to conserve marine life as well as preserve the environment. Participating in the cleanup is a great way for you to promote your business, and also allows you to meet people who love scuba diving.
Organizers are planning to have scuba divers and kayakers work together to remove discarded fishing gear from the Tacoma waterfront. Once the net is removed, divers will use a boat elevator to haul it out of the water. Some participants will be able to work with Wounded Warriors to remove large pieces of trash and other waste. The organizers believe the cleanup will protect our waters and offer a unique experience.
Rockfish survey
Scuba divers can participate in a Tacoma SCUBA-based rockfish survey to help save endangered species. This dive is part a citizen science collaboration between Harbor WildWatch and the NOAA. Divers of all levels are welcome to participate in the survey. There is no need for survey experience. The dive brief is where the training takes place. However, the participant should be certified to participate in night dives.
WDFW began a multi-year mark-recapture study near Westport, Washington, in 1998. This monitoring system, which includes five annual releases for black rockfish, is part of a sport fishery tag recovery monitoring system. These fish were released from pinnacles that were fished by Westport charter fishing boats. To determine the individual identity of each fish, two wire tags were attached to the opercular musculature.
Easy exit with pounds of trash
Consider the waters near Commencement Beach if you're looking to go scuba dive in the greater Tacoma vicinity. Earth Day saw 47 pounds of garbage collected by volunteer divers. Octopuses, fishing net, and glass bottles made up the majority of the garbage. Marine Science and Technology Center MaST, part Highline Community College, organized this clean-up. A MaST cleanup previously removed hundreds and thousands of pounds from the water around Des Moines.
Observation on wounded bull sea-lion
Tacoma dive group, Washington had the honor of seeing an amazing sight while they were scuba diving. Scuba divers were stunned to see a bull sea lion wounded by an arrow. The injured animal was reportedly blind and had a scar from a shark bite. Bjorn was then taken to the Marine Mammal Care Center Los Angeles, where rescuers helped him gain weight. Bjorn, the sea lion's name is after a character on "Vikings", is now his new name. The mighty sea lion, which weighs in at nearly 400 pounds, is now residing at Tacoma Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium.
The dramatic sight was witnessed by a Tacoma scuba diving team in October. It was the first sighting of a sea lion while diving. The group was so excited, they formed groups to watch the action. Observations of the sea lions reveal their playful nature. Sea lion pups tend to gather in groups of similar age, and will play with divers in the water. The pups love to interact with bubble streams and jump into the water with divers to give them toys.