REEF members are at the heart of our grassroots marine conservation programs. Over 50,000 divers, snorkelers, students, and armchair naturalists stand behind our mission.

This month we highlight Bob Weathers, a REEF member since 2002. Bob lives in Washington State, and while he was an active diver in the Pacific Northwest for a long time, he now prefers the warmer waters of the Caribbean and Hawaii! He just recently started doing REEF fish surveys, and so far he has submitted 84. He achieved Level 3 Surveyor status in the Tropical Western Atlantic (TWA) region last year. Here's what Bob had to say about REEF:

When and how did you first volunteer with REEF or become a REEF member?

I first heard about REEF when it was being launched in the early ‘90s, but I didn’t join until 2002 or start volunteering until 2012 because I had the erroneous impression that training and testing by REEF were prerequisites. I also had the mistaken impression that snorkeling surveys were not allowed.

Have you participated in a REEF Field Survey?

I’ve now been on three REEF trips (Dominica, Bonaire, Cozumel), and the highlights for me have been meeting and learning from REEF staff and volunteers.

What is your favorite part about being a REEF member?

My favorite part is being able to contribute to and access information in an incredible database on fish distribution and abundance. I appreciate that REEF projects and programs promote understanding and stewardship of marine organisms and their environments.

Where is your favorite place to dive?

I thoroughly enjoyed diving primarily on the US West Coast for 40 years, but I now dive primarily in the Caribbean and Hawaii. I love the warmth, visibility, biological diversity, and simplicity of diving in tropical waters.

If you had to explain REEF to a friend in a couple of sentences, what would you tell them?

I would say that REEF is a citizen-science organization that encourages snorkelers and SCUBA divers to submit reports about fish (and some invertebrates) that they can identify with confidence whenever they “dive” in geographic areas for which databases are maintained.

Fish! What is the most fascinating encounter, most memorable, and still on your wish list?

While snorkeling in Belize one late afternoon, a pair of Scrawled Filefish made three laps around me at a speed much faster than I would have imagined filefish to be capable of. Then they came together for a spawning rise to the surface! As for most memorable - thinking that it is so rare that I would never see one, I was recently delighted to encounter a Masked Hamlet in Cozumel. And on my list - although I’ve had reasons to anticipate sighting Whale Sharks while diving and snorkeling in Belize and the Galapagos, seeing one remains an unfulfilled dream.