Question PADI Shark AWARE worth the money?

[Pearlman]

So I am heading for my next dive trip and was looking up something new to learn and this caught my eye -

Enroll in an AWARE Shark Conservation Specialty course and discover the value of sharks to marine ecosystems and economies. You'll learn more about the causes of declining shark populations and the actions you can take to become a knowledgeable and passionate shark defender. By being informed, you can dispel misconceptions and act to protect sharks. Sharks need you!

It costs about $200 and the big question is what value would it bring for that kinda money when I am never going to be a research diver working in an NGO and remain a vacation diver for life? I already love sharks and can buy a few books and spend just around maybe 50 dollars to learn more and watch documentaries online to stay informed. OK a marine biologist could be taking the class with some presentations that reflect his hard work and experience in the field… what else? (I do not intend to be cynical about this - please do not misunderstand it, but I am looking at some kind of actionable value…)

Is it really worth it? What value will that $200 bring other than one more piece of plastic cert card?

Edit: Uhhh ….

At the end of your classroom session and two open water dives, you will be able to explain:

• Actions you can take to protect sharks and how joining a global movement of divers can help to protect sharks.

I would like to hear from people who have actually taken this course about what they did to make this course useful… oh wait! Am I actually asking for a cheat-sheet?

 

[yle]

So I am heading for my next dive trip and was looking up something new to learn and this caught my eye -



It costs about $200 and the big question is what value would it bring for that kinda money when I am never going to be a research diver working in an NGO and remain a vacation diver for life? I already love sharks and can buy a few books and spend just around maybe 50 dollars to learn more and watch documentaries online to stay informed. OK a marine biologist could be taking the class with some presentations that reflect his hard work and experience in the field… what else? (I do not intend to be cynical about this - please do not misunderstand it, but I am looking at some kind of actionable value…)

Is it really worth it? What value will that $200 bring other than one more piece of plastic cert card?

Edit: Uhhh ….


I would like to hear from people who have actually taken this course about what they did to make this course useful… oh wait! Am I actually asking for a cheat-sheet?

I haven't taken the course, but I did do a "shark dive" with an operator on a Caribbean island last January that was promoted in a similar way: they would tell us all about shark conservation and then take us on one dive to a location where reef sharks congregate. All the reviews for this experience insisted it was a "must do" kind of thing, definitely worth the cost.

It wasn't. The hour we spent in a classroom "learning" about sharks was a hour of my life I'll never get back. I guess for anyone that knows absolutely nothing about sharks, it would have been informative. Anyone that has been diving for a while and is aware of the basics... no news in their presentation.

Even the dive itself... there were a half dozen reef sharks. Nothing that interesting for anyone with moderate diving experience, although I could see how it would be fascinating for new divers or someone that has never seen a reef shark before.

That's my take on it: I think some of these "specialties" provide some value to very new divers who know very little about the world of diving. And if you use this to base your expectations of the course, you'll be better able to decide if it's worth your $200.

Oh, and the value of the cert card would be that you could show it to your non-diving friends, maybe impress some people. As far as I know, there is no practical use for the cert card for this course.

 

[diver257a]

Pearlman

I cannot answer your question, but did you know that the speciality course instructor quide can be downloaded from AWARE Shark Conservation Instructor Guide? A read of this may be helpful.

 

[gmerick]

The AWARE program is one of the checklist items on maintaining 5-star rating. Can't remember numbers, but a PADI doc discussing the ratings had minimum course percentages for AOW, Specialties, DM, and AWARE. The LDS I frequent offers an annual Dive Against Debris AWARE program, and while I don't attend specifically for AWARE, I will pay for and attend if it's convenient.

Edit - from 2008 "PADI® Retailer Association Membership Standards"

Have issued at least 150 PADI certifications that meet the following requirements:
􀂐 minimum fifty Advanced Open Water Diver (or higher) certifications.
􀂐 ten Rescue Diver certifications.
􀂐 five Master Scuba Diver certifications (each component is to have been completed at the business).
􀂐 five Divemaster or Assistant Instructor certifications.
􀂐 five percent, or a minimum of 10, Project AWARE certifications.

 

[Pearlman]

I haven't taken the course, but I did do a "shark dive" with an operator on a Caribbean island last January that was promoted in a similar way:

It wasn't. The hour we spent in a classroom "learning" about sharks was a hour of my life I'll never get back

Heh ok.. but that wasn’t the actual course… I can understand how that would have happened on a tourist trap/trip…

I cannot answer your question, but did you know that the speciality course instructor quide can be downloaded from AWARE Shark Conservation Instructor Guide? A read of this may be helpful.

Thank you for that! I quite like the course material. However it does not look like something that can be covered in just a few hours for vacationers. I would say totally worth it If the knowledge portion of the course was spread over at least 5 days with one hour or more each day (again even that looks minimal considering the breath of the topics covered in the course content).

The course material however does not specify the length of the knowledge portion (classroom presentation) of the course except for the number of dives required. Let me check with the dive shop I am visiting about that…

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

I am never going to be a research diver working in an NGO and remain a vacation diver for life? I already love sharks and can buy a few books and spend just around maybe 50 dollars to learn more and watch documentaries online to stay informed. OK a marine biologist could be taking the class with some presentations that reflect his hard work and experience in the field… what else? (I do not intend to be cynical about this - please do not misunderstand it, but I am looking at some kind of actionable value…)

Well, I am the head of an NGO for underwater research (via new technology). The archaeologists I work with couldn't care less about any dive agency courses. If you were to be volunteering for something, they'd likely prefer to just teach you what you need to know. This is like the PADI Scuba Magician Certification – The Scuba Magician course here your money simply disappears.

 

[Pearlman]

Well, I am the head of an NGO for underwater research (via new technology). The archaeologists I work with couldn't care less about any dive agency courses. If you were to be volunteering for something, they'd likely prefer to just teach you what you need to know. This is like the PADI Scuba Magician Certification – The Scuba Magician course here your money simply disappears.

LOL the cert may not be useful at all, but the contents of the syllabus for AWARE is something I would still like to cover in a pseudo-academic setting if anything… just for its own sake…

PS: The video was fun But they stole my (what I thought was my unique) interview tagline towards the end - “…perform best under pressure…”

 

[happy-diver]

Geographicaly, I used to be able to choose to dive with grey nurses

Even rode a few

Yeeeehaaawwww!!!

Now I've moved and it's white pointers that choose to dive with me

Where a guy was taken a couple of years ago and a woman chomped a couple of weeks ago

So now I am probably the most aware guy on here and it only costs me a fill, that I do myself

Maybe one day I will be able to post a Paralenz photo or even a video maybe one day I won't


About to build a lithium battery for a Gavin, should give me 3 or 4 or 5 hours to outrun them

Ha ha ha ha ha ah ha bzzzzzzzzzzz wrrrrrrrrrrrrr dum dum dum dum EEEK chomp thrash chomp ha ha ha ha ha