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 Phil Green, a REEF member since 2005. An active surveyor who lives on Orcas Island in the San Juan Islands of Washington State. Phil has conducted almost 400 surveys to date and is a member of REEF's Advanced Assessment Team for the Pacific region. Here's what he had to say about REEF:

How did you become involved with REEF?

Joe Gaydos, director and chief scientist at SeaDoc Society, suggested I should be doing REEF surveys in the Yellow and Low Islands MPA where I live and work for The Nature Conservancy. I had never heard of REEF and hadn’t been diving in over 30 years. He told me there was a fish ID class in a month. I took Janna Nichols’ class, got hooked on REEF, and got recertified at Anacortes Diving, the best dive shop anywhere. So I took my first REEF class before I was even a certified diver.

Have you participated in any of the Advanced Assessment Team Projects?

I’ve been on the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary (OCNMS) AAT project several times. The topside scenery is amazing and there is always the chance to see marine mammals (humpback whales and Steller sea lions). The diving there is amazing, both for fish and invertebrates. But the best part is diving with other AAT members. There is always so much to learn so to be diving with other level five surveyors is the ultimate learning experience.

What motivates you to conduct REEF surveys?

Even before joining REEF, I was a firm believer in citizen science. I turn in nearly daily bird lists to Cornell’s ebird website. Having done that for over ten years, it was second nature to turn in a dive survey following each dive. Not only is it a way to justify my hobbies, it just feels really good to know I’m helping supply data that cannot be gathered in any other way.

Do you have a memorable fish sighting to share?

I was diving with the Anacortes dive club out of Rendezvous Lodge in Barkley Sound where I had previously been on a REEF trip. REEF goes there in the fall but summer is the time to see Sixgill Sharks. Our group was swimming with a Sixgill and I was at the end of a line of divers. The shark did a 180 and swam straight at me. I laid flat on my back pressed against the bottom as it swam directly over me. I clicked a photo showing nothing but mouth. All I could think was WOW, a shark just swam over me inches away.

What is your favorite fish or invertebrate to see while diving in the Pacific Northwest?

My absolute favorite critter is the Giant Pacific Octopus (GPO). A couple years ago I was a bit burned out on diving the same site where I live. Then I discovered a GPO den, then another, and another, and finally a total of five den sites between two different dive sites. Octos move around between den sites and it became a game to try to find them, the underwater version of ‘Where’s Waldo.” Last year I named my dive boat Octopi.