Qualifications

Captain Hall has accumulated more than 30 years of sea time operating vessels on the B.C. coast. He has taken the Transport Canada certification for Vessel Master, and was given his captain's papers by Transport Canada in 1999.

• Captain of vessels to 60 tons with 12 passengers and unlimited crew (Master Limited 60 tons)
• Captain of fishing vessels to 100 tons and unlimited crew (Fishing Master 4)

In addition to his captain's papers, Captain Hall has the following certications:

• MED A2 (Marine Emergencies Duties, including fire-fighting, lifeboat operations, passenger and crew management during emergency situations)
• GMDSS GOC Radio Operator (Advanced Radio Operator's Certificate)
• Level 1 First Aid/Marine Advanced First Aid

Captain Hall has acquired a great deal of marine experience during his 30 years of sea time, including:

• use of marine equipment, such as radars, depth sounders, sonars, GPS, and computer charting systems
• in depth knowledge of electronics theory
• extensive and detailed knowledge of the British Columbia coast
• extensive knowledge of the marine environment, including weather, tides, currents, marine organisms and habitats

Captain Hall is an experienced diver, having carried out the following:

• abalone survey
• body recovery for the RCMP
• search and recovery work (lost equipment)
• maintanance and repair of underwater equipment and structures
• underwater photography
• diving equipment design (e.g., prototype drysuit designs, including a model which was sold by U.S. Divers).

Captain Hall has had extensive involvement in ocean research, doing personal, volunteer, and paid research work.

His research work includes:

• captain of the research vessel Moody Blue since 2005
• collection of underwater samples using experimental dredge, trawl, and trap designs
• towed camera studies of marine organisms and the benthos
• designing selective fishing gear and methods of avoiding bycatch mortality in the commercial fishing industry


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• being one of the first to use infrared lighting to film underwater organisms in order to capture natural behavior (marine organisms are not affected by the infrared light, which does not occur naturally in the ocean and thus is not visible to them)
• designing custom electronics, including hydrophones and underwater camera systems


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• research with commercial prawn and crab fisherman to find prawns and crabs acoustically using a hydrophone
• research with commercial salmon trollers to analyze sounds originating from vessels, such as bearing and propellor noise, and their effects on fishing effort
• experimentation with a vessel mounted hydrophone to detect vessel traffic
• designing survey techniques suited to the coastal environments (e.g, rockfish and eelgrass surveys)

Captain Hall spent five years working with PM Marine Diesel, where he carried out the following:

• apprenticeship as a diesel mechanic (conversions of engines to marine use, engine repair and servicing)
• electronics design and construction (e.g., engine alarm systems)
• building construction (e.g., drywalling, roofing, wiring, plumbing)
• advertising and promotional work (e.g., business card design, brochures, boat shows)

During his time spent in the marine environment, Captain Hall has worked on a number of projects, including:

• construction and maintainance of floats and float anchoring systems, piers, and docks
• pile-driving
• working as a travelling electronics repair technician along the British Columbia coast (repairing radios, radars, sonars, sounders, GPS units, and many other electrical and electronic devices)
• designing and building custom electronics (e.g, scanning sounder, marine stove heat-activated safety shut-off units, battery voltage alarms)
• designing and constructing deep-water equipment housings (e.g., housings for underwater cameras)
• rewiring boats to insurance company specifications, and manufacturing boat alarm systems (e.g., watch alarms, stove alarms)

Captain Hall has the following additional qualifications:

• computer skills (programming, internet, web-page design)
• professional photography (35 mm, 6 x 7, and digital format)