A team of RMI EPA staff took on the PADI open water dive course and passed with flying colors, according to the organization. In addition to this being a useful skill to have for people living on atolls, the effort raises capacity at RMI EPA for doing more comprehensive environmental assessments and responses to pollution incidents.
Melvin Kilma, Louie Salinas, Jimson Lajkan and David Aiseia passed their final exam and were officially certified on June 10. This achievement means the EPA now has six qualified divers as Aaron Langinlur and Voneric Boktok were already certified.
The College of the Marshall Islands and the University of Hawaii Sea Grant program provided the academics of the course, led by Max Sudnovsky, while the practical water instruction was provided in-house by Karl Fellenius.