pairizarry
Guest
On Sunday (5/29), we went Downs Park, which is located in Anne Arundel County, MD on the Chesapeake Bay, to support the MRA Oyster Nursery. Our task was to place a marker 50 m from the shoreline in line with the water pump for the nursery and to locate and mark the hose used to pump the water to the nursery (the pump and hose were damaged during a hurricane). There were 4 divers to complete the task. I went with another diver to run the line 50 m and place a marker. Once we got to the end of the line we placed a stake underwater and tied the line and the surface marker to it. Once the hose was found, I went with another diver to screw an anchor in and place markers to mark the location of the end of the hose. We were in the water approx 1.5 hrs in water 5-6 ft deep. I spent 24 minutes underwater navigating to different locations via lines, since vis was 0-3 ft, tying markers and lines, and screwing the anchor into place. Dive stats: Depth 6 ft, Bottom Time: 24 min, Bottom Temp: 65 F, Outside Temp: 75 F
On Monday (5/30), we went to the Magothy River, which is located near Severna Park, MD, to take water samples and to plant oysters on the oyster reef. Once we got the three water samples from three different locations, we were ready to dive and plant the oysters. There were 4 divers to help complete the task. Two divers gathered the buckets underwater and moved them to the planting location where I and another diver would do the planting. After the briefing on what and how to do it, we went to work. My team went down the anchor line to the bottom and opened buckets and spread them throughout a meter square, which was marked by a white square PVC pipe. You would alternate left then right and then right then left moving the square along a line it was connected to. Sounds easy enough on the surface but underwater with zero vis, its another story. We ended up planting oysters in the wrong direction the dive team leader wanted because we got turned around with the zero vis. We did manage to plant 13 buckets of oysters, so hopefully they will do well. Dive stats: Depth 12 ft, Bottom Time: 62 min, Bottom Temp: 64 F, Outside Temp: 73 F
On Monday (5/30), we went to the Magothy River, which is located near Severna Park, MD, to take water samples and to plant oysters on the oyster reef. Once we got the three water samples from three different locations, we were ready to dive and plant the oysters. There were 4 divers to help complete the task. Two divers gathered the buckets underwater and moved them to the planting location where I and another diver would do the planting. After the briefing on what and how to do it, we went to work. My team went down the anchor line to the bottom and opened buckets and spread them throughout a meter square, which was marked by a white square PVC pipe. You would alternate left then right and then right then left moving the square along a line it was connected to. Sounds easy enough on the surface but underwater with zero vis, its another story. We ended up planting oysters in the wrong direction the dive team leader wanted because we got turned around with the zero vis. We did manage to plant 13 buckets of oysters, so hopefully they will do well. Dive stats: Depth 12 ft, Bottom Time: 62 min, Bottom Temp: 64 F, Outside Temp: 73 F
