Each year, during the first two weeks of July, volunteer divers and snorkelers take part in a fish census known as the Great American Fish Count. The event began in 1992 with just 50 divers. Last year, hundreds of divers participated in California, Florida, Georgia, Texas, and the Pacific Northwest. Before conducting a survey, volunteers are strongly encouraged to attend a free training seminar to learn fish identification skills. For the Fish Count, divers use a special datasheet to record all species they can positively identify within 100 meters of where they enter the water.
Ongoing monitoring provides the most valuable data for tracking fish populations.