All citizen science projects like Australasian Fishes thrive only through the passion and dedication of numerous talented people.
Over the life of the project we hope to highlight the rich diversity of expertise, various backgrounds and deep passions of some of the 500 plus citizen scientists who are contributing to the knowledge of our region’s fishes by their dedication, time and tenacity.
Sascha Schulz was an early contributor and supporter of Australasian Fishes who personifies this non-professional dedication to advancing knowledge of our fishes. His name would be familiar to anyone accessing the
Australian Museum’s website as his photographs are featured on many species fact sheets.
Most viewers might not recognise the dedication to citizen science which underlies Sascha's work on the project. At the time of this writing Sascha was ranked third in total observations, with almost 1,400 observations, which covers an impressive 438 different species!
Sascha tops the leader board in identifications, a generous and key component of the project. He has assisted in the identification of almost 7,800 individual observations. His skill in identification goes back to the days when he worked at the Australian Museum, leaving him with an eye for detail and an ability to pick out features, often from less than perfect photos. Many observers have found his efforts rewarding and he’s often one of the fist identifiers to recognise that a fish was photographed outside its range. He has over 1,000 books and papers on fish in his home, and keeps current with scientific papers on fish distributions and their taxonomy.
Sascha is one the project’s polymaths, with degrees in marine biology and electrical engineering. His skills are supported through very traditional underwater methods. All his photos are taken on mask and snorkel, holding his breath, as he explores marine and estuarine areas, looking for unusual species or a taxonomic challenge. He has been freediving since 1996, and feels a great connection with the marine environment. Employing this more intimate diving approach has made him also a student of fish psychology, because after diving down over 20 meters, it is important to make even the most skittish of fish as comfortable as possible, to get the desired and often unique photograph. Sascha freely shares his tips and advice. Feel free to ask him!
For photography, Sascha has been fan of Olympus cameras starting his early digital work with several Olympus 5050Zs but has recently upgraded an Olympus Tough 5 (with housing). He only uses the camera’s internal flash rather than strobes, as they get in the way during freediving. At night, he uses a canister light, but knowing these photos were made by a free diver, dragging equipment around at night, in rough seas, you can appreciate his artistry as well as scientific approach.
Thank you Sascha for your huge contribution to Australasian Fishes!
This journal post was written by Australasian Fishes member,
Harry Rosenthal.