Fish ID Cards

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between the standard and mini Franko fish ID cards?

The standard Franko fish ID card is a larger format — typically around 8.5 by 5.5 inches. It is the perfect size to fit into your logbook binder as a souvenir and the right choice if you plan to review it on the boat, at the hotel, or on the surface. The mini format is 4 by 6 inches — compact enough to tuck under a wetsuit sleeve or into a BCD pocket for active in-water use. Both are printed on the same rigid waterproof plastic and are equally durable underwater.

Do Franko cards cover fish only or other marine life as well?

Franko cards cover a broad range of marine life beyond fish — depending on the destination, cards may include reef fish by family, invertebrates (sea stars, urchins, sea cucumbers, nudibranchs), molluscs (octopus, squid), crustaceans (lobster, crabs, shrimp), marine mammals (dolphins, whales, manatees where relevant), reptiles (sea turtles, sea snakes), coral types, and hazardous species to avoid. Cards for some destinations focus more heavily on fish while cards for destinations like the Northwest Coast and California Kelp Forest give more coverage to invertebrates and marine mammals. Read the product description for each card to see what categories of marine life are covered for your specific destination.

Do you carry fish ID cards for Canadian diving locations?

Yes — the Franko Northwest Coast card covers marine life found along the Pacific coast of North America including British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon. The Puget Sound card covers the specific species of that area in more detail. These cards are relevant to BC coastal diving and identify the Pacific Northwest species that divers commonly encounter in Canadian ocean environments — wolf eels, giant Pacific octopus, ling cod, rockfish, nudibranchs, and Pacific marine mammals. The wreck dive cards in our range cover specific BC artificial reef wreck sites rather than freshwater locations.

What is the best fish ID card to buy for a first tropical dive trip?

The right card depends on your specific destination. For the Caribbean — including Cozumel, Roatan, Cayman Islands, Turks and Caicos, Aruba, Bonaire, and the Bahamas — the general Caribbean Franko Fish Card covers the species common across the whole region and is the best single card for a first Caribbean trip. If you are going to a specific destination with significant regional variation, a destination-specific card (Cozumel, Bonaire, Cayman Islands) covers the local species in more detail. For Hawaii, start with the Hawaiian Islands overview card. For the Indo-Pacific or Southeast Asia, check which destination-specific card we carry for your location — the Maldives, Palau, Fiji, and Galapagos all have dedicated cards with their specific species.