Fish Identification Course
This course is for anyone who has ever been diving and wondered, "I wonder what that's called?"
WHO is up for adventure?
You'll need to be a certified Open Water Diver and at least 10 years of age, but other than that there are no special requirements for the course.
WHAT is all the fuss about?
No matter where in the world you are, you'll be able to identify
and compare characteristics of the different families of fish, adding
value to your experience every time you dive.
Learn to identify the characteristics of the main fish families and learn the strategies involved in fish surveys.
WHERE will it take me?
This course will follow you to every diving location you choose and will still apply regardless of where you are in the world.
Once you're familiar with the main fish families and what they look like, you can easily recognize similar families or different species.
WHEN will I be ready?
The course material is covered over 2 dives where you'll practice identifying the different fish you're able to see underwater.
WHY should I be excited?
The best thing about the Aware Fish Identification course is that it will positively impact every single dive you do for the rest of your life!
HOW do I do it?
Hands-on experience is the best way to learn the course material, so while your instructors will help to prepare you for things to look out for; it's all about what you see underwater and how you can identify it.
Ask about the Fish Identification course
More about AWARE Fish Identification Course
This course is for anyone who has ever surfaced and asked, "what was that?" — which, at Mabul's fish density, is everyone. The AWARE Fish Identification specialty replaces "a yellow one with stripes" with actual knowledge: family-level identification that works anywhere in the world, and turns every subsequent dive into a richer one.
Who's it for? You'll need to be a certified Open Water Diver and at least 10 years old — beyond that, no special requirements. It particularly suits divers who log carefully, photographers who want captions to match their shots, and families diving together (kids invariably become the boat's identification authority within two days).
What will I learn? The strategy that makes identification manageable: recognising fish by family characteristics — body shape, fin configuration, behaviour — rather than memorising thousands of species. You'll learn survey techniques used by Project AWARE, and put them to work on two dives where the reef is your textbook.
Why here? Few classrooms on Earth compete: the Semporna reefs concentrate an extraordinary share of the Indo-Pacific's fish families in recreational depths, so a single ID dive here covers more of the textbook than a season elsewhere. Fair warning — the habit is permanent, and so is the extra pleasure it adds.