Last Friday, May 15th, America celebrated Endangered Species Day. While very few marine species have technically been declared as endangered, many of the critters that REEF volunteers see while conducting marine life surveys have experienced declines in recent years. REEF programs and data provide much needed information for scientists and resource agencies charged with evaluating the status of such species. A recent example is a National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) proposal to list 5 species of rockfish in the Puget Sound under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The status review was just published on April 22 and REEF data were extensively used in the assessment. This example highlights the value of REEF data as a fisheries-independent data source; such information is critical for those species that are too rare to be targeted for harvest. A copy of the assessment is posted online.
The Nassau grouper, which is the focal species of REEF’s Grouper Moon Project, has been classified as endangered under the IUCN’s Red List. The Grouper Moon Project is a collaborative conservation program between REEF and the Cayman Islands Department of the Environment to study one of the last known large Nassau grouper spawning aggregations in the Caribbean. Grouper Moon Project lead scientist, Dr. Brice Semmens, will be presenting the ground-breaking findings of this research during a special one day session to be held in the Ocean Hall at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History this Wednesday, May 20th. "Beyond the Obituaries: Success Stories in Ocean Conservation" will feature some of the good news coming out of work being conducted in the oceans. Brice’s talk, along with all of the success stories, will be webcast online. The Grouper Moon talk is scheduled in the Coral Reef session, which is from 2-3:25.