Let's see what our Sci Divers are doing. |Video

[g1138]

My friend just got a position with Fish and Game and is up North setting up Abalone Recruitment Modules.
She's a full rated scientific diver with UC Santa Cruz.

One of the usual tasks of scientific diving is staying in one place for an eternity, freezing your butt off while sampling.
Sometimes though you get to play with toys; like a pneumatic drill

[video=youtube;SUlKkNWC4U4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUlKkNWC4U4[/video]

 

[3D diver]

Abalone Recruitment Modules

Cool...had to google that.

 

[g1138]

Opps, yeah sorry. Abalone Recruitment Modules are sort of nursery for Abalone transitioning from their planktonic stage to their bottom dwelling form. Called recruitment when they settle in an area. Exactly the same term as how the juvenile rockfish have recruited to breakwater this past few months.
Abalone start off as plankton, then later attach to the bottom to grow. As you can imagine, with swell, waves, and activity, this can be tricky; so these modules just make it easier and sort of funnel recruitment into one place or several depending on how many are deployed.

Interestingly kelp's life cycle is the same.

 

[3D diver]

I wonder whether they use any hearing protection. I doubt any conventional methods would work.

 

[g1138]

Nope, unless you count Doc's pro plugs and a 7mm hood.
I haven't gotten a chance to ask her how loud it was. But I bet it was loud!

 

[the other lincoln]

Cool Video.
I guess i'm that guy.... Who did the welding on the cage? I would have been fired if I shipped something that sugared. 100% chance that is where they will rust out.

 

[g1138]

Haha, not sure actually. I'd guess the Fish and Game guys. They're not meant to last indefinitely, I'm sure.
I don't know the whole story with the modules, how their utilized, for how long etc. I'll probably ask if my friend knows, the next time I see her.

 

[3D diver]

I'm guessing the question on a lot of our minds is: how do we get that gig? (They clearly need a 3D videographer.)