Recreational scuba diving in the Strait of Georgia : an analysis of the distribution of diving effort and the importance of collecting marine animals / by Howard I. McElderry and Laura J. Richards.: Fs97-4/1794E-PDF

"The characteristics of recreational SCUBA diving in the Strait of Georgia were examined using a two-part survey design. Twenty-three dive shops bordering the study area logged airfills for a one-month period commencing 15 October 1983. A self-administered questionnaire survey was conducted concurrently at ten of these locations to determine the personal characteristics and diving habits of participating divers. A total of 4700 recreational dives were estimated for the study period divided among sample regions as follows: Vancouver (62%), Victoria (22%), Nanaimo (7.4%), Campbell River (4.9%) and Powell River (3.6%). … The survey was used to assess the importance of fish and shellfish collection by divers. Over 60% of the respondents collected some type of fish and over 70% collected some type of edible invertebrate in 1983. On their most recent dive, 40% collected fish and 44% collected invertebrates. These results suggest that food collection by divers is a very common and regular event although few dives seem to occur for this purpose alone. Based on the average catch rate and the estimated number of collecting dives, the numbers collected per thousand sport dives were estimated as 693 for lingcod, 487 for rockfish, 1172 for abalone, 488 for Dungeness crab and 903 for rock scallop. Because of the short study period and small sample size, survey results should be carefully interpreted"--Abstract, page iv.

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