(December 10, 2009) -- As the scuba diver climbs out of the water, junior Narek Asryan prepares himself to record the captured data brought back. “They (the divers) had underwater boards and markers so they checked off each fish they saw,” Asryan said. The students in EAST teacher Dominique Evans-Bye’s class were in charge of recording the information for an Internet database.

Asryan was one of about 30 students who went on one of the two EAST (Environmental and Spatial Technology) field trips on Nov. 19 and 20. On their trips to Pelican Rookery on Anacapa Island, the classes gathered information on the status of fish stocks in a protected area, where fishing is not allowed, and an unprotected area, where fishing is allowed. To do this, both classes used many different pieces of equipment.

One of the jobs on the trips was driving the underwater Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV). It is one the main sources of information and the only way for the students to see what was going on underwater, according to Evans-Bye. Junior Sarin Balikian found that the ROV is “hard to control in the water” because of all the directions it could go in.

Another important tool used on the trips and in the class is Geographic Information Science (GIS) mapping, which allows the users to edit and store the data they record in a database. This database is then used to create detailed maps showing the results of this data. One common application of this is in a Global Positioning System (GPS) used by many to get directions when travelling.

In EAST, students use GIS to create maps showing the fish populations in the protected and unprotected areas. This allows them to compare how effective the protected areas are at restoring the depleted fish stocks in that area.

Asryan thinks that the surveys are an important project to undertake. “If there is a species we think is endangered, we have to do the fish surveys to prove it is endangered,” Asryan said. “We can put the fish on the endangered list, and if [fishermen] catch that fish and are caught with that fish, then they can get fined.” By doing this, authorities have an easier time convincing fishermen to throw the fish back in. It is important to protect fish because between 15-20% of our food is fish, making it a major resource, according to Asryan.

Evans-Bye believes that by having the class learn and use GIS mapping, it gives them an advantage over other students. “[GIS] can be used in virtually any field, so it gives the students a leg up on other applicants going into the job workforce,” said Evans-Bye. “GIS is an important skill to have that others won’t.”