By Paige Smallman, PhD student at McGill University
I spent years learning to breathe underwater with tanks and regulators, only to discover that holding my breath might be the key to conducting my thesis research.
From SCUBA to Freediving
I started SCUBA diving in 2019. At the time, I was an undergraduate oceanography student at UBC. My open water certification opened up the underwater world to me, and seeing everything I was learning about in class underwater was addictive. I went diving most weekends and levelled up slowly with more certifications and gear. After I graduated, I started working at the Vancouver Aquarium, where I became a certified scientific diver.
SCUBA diving is an inherently risky activity; humans are just not made to be underwater. However, through extensive training, trust in my dive buddy, and years of practice, I find that I’m at my most relaxed underwater.
Freediving, however, was entirely outside my comfort zone. When you freedive, you rely 100% on your own ability to hold your breath and swim, with just a mask, fins, and a weight belt. Despite my initial reluctance, the practical advantages are compelling. Freediving involves significantly less logistical complexity than SCUBA operations. The reduced gear requirements make it particularly attractive for research projects with limited budgets, and the ability to move quickly between shallow sampling sites increases field efficiency.
As a second-year PhD student, I’m working on a project in Panama studying biodiversity in coral reefs using environmental DNA (eDNA). This technique captures genetic material that all organisms constantly shed into their environment through skin cells, scales, mucus, and waste. When we visit a coral reef, we collect bags of water and tubes of sand that contain this invisible genetic signature. Back in the lab, we extract and sequence all the DNA to reveal a comprehensive list of fish and other organisms that were recently in the area. This approach allows us to detect cryptic and rare species that traditional visual surveys often miss, providing an unprecedented window into coral reef biodiversity without disturbing the ecosystem.
With my first field season in Panama rapidly approaching and the paperwork for SCUBA still pending approval, I realized I would likely have to set aside the SCUBA gear and freedive to collect my samples. My supervisor assured me, “It will be easy! The reefs are shallow! No more than 5 metres deep!” But I wasn’t so sure, and I realized I needed some formal training.
Training and Certification
With funding from QCBS, I signed up for a freediving course at ApneaCity in Montreal for the AIDA 2 certification (Association Internationale pour le Développement de l’Apnée). The course included classroom sessions to learn about the human physiology of freediving, the theory behind the equipment, safety practices, diving techniques, and even competition rules. We took our new theoretical knowledge to the pool, where we practiced static breathholds, swimming while breathholding, and rescue. I gained some confidence and completed my 2-minute static breathhold and 40-metre dynamic dive, completing the first half of my certification training. Armed with my pool certification and newfound confidence, I was ready to put theory into practice.
Testing Skills in the Field
When I arrived in Panama, I successfully collected all 80 tubes of sand and 40 bags of water using my new freediving skills. While most of the sites were calm and shallow, some sites put my training to the test. On the last day in the Las Perlas Islands, we arrived at our final site for sampling. The current was strong, the waves bigger than they had been all week, and the sediment I had to collect was at least 10 metres down. I quickly realized that I had to swim hard just to stay in one place at the surface. The AIDA training taught me the importance of mindfulness and relaxation in freediving, so I held on to the anchorline to keep myself stable while I caught my breath. I closed my eyes, relaxed my whole body, breathed deeply, and dove down. I made it to the bottom, filled my sample tubes, got back to the surface, and repeated the process until I had all my samples.
Back in Montreal in the spring, I completed the depth training for the AIDA 2 certification. In the cold, clear waters of the Kahnawake Quarry, I made it to 17 metres deep with one breath of air!
Lessons Learned
Stepping outside my comfort zone and into the deep on a single breath, I learned that adapting our methods can open new doors for discovery and personal growth.
Although I’m not planning to start freediving competitively, I will continue training to get more comfortable being underwater on one breath. I highly recommend that anyone doing aquatic fieldwork complete AIDA training. The process made me even more aware of how difficult freediving is and how important proper training is to stay safe. I’m very grateful to QCBS for supporting this training. I’d also like to thank my lab mates, Tess Morelli, Saúl Fernando Rodríguez, Helio Quintero, Maria Chacón, Isabela Buxbaum, Yaliana Chichaco, and Jorge Reque for helping me collect my samples.
About the Author:
Paige is a PhD student in the Barrett Lab at McGill University and the Leray Lab at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. Her research is focused on marine biodiversity using environmental DNA and fish genomics. Paige loves diving, whether in warm tropical seas or icy Canadian waters.
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