NOAA/PIFSC Towed Diver Survey Centroids: Main Hawaiian Islands

Within the depth limits of safe, no-decompression SCUBA diving (generally to 90 feet depth), NOAA-certified Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC) divers conduct towed diver surveys (TDS) as a method of assessing relatively large areas of reef habitat. This method involves towing two divers (one collecting fish data, the other collecting benthic data) behind a small surface craft that is moving at a velocity of 1-2 mph. Although the driver of the surface craft attempts to follow a depth contour, the divers also actively maneuver the "towboards" they are holding onto so as to maintain a relatively constant elevation above the surface of the reef. Towed-diver surveys are typically 50 min long and cover about 2-3 km of habitat. This map layer shows the centroid location of towed diver surveys conducted throughout the main Hawaiian Islands between the years 2005-2010.