Author: REEF Staff
Join us in Key Largo this fall for REEF Fest 2015, September 24 - 27. Celebrate the success and impact of REEF's marine conservation programs and education initiatives with diving, learning, and parties. Festivities begin Thursday with afternoon seminars and then a welcome party at the Caribbean Club. Friday and Saturday are full days, with diving in the mornings, seminars in the afternoons, and social events in the evenings (Friday Open House at REEFHQ and Saturday Celebration Dinner Party). The fun wraps up on Sunday with more organized dives. All REEF Fest events are open to the public. Complete details on the schedule, including the lineup of seminars, diving opportunities, and social gatherings, as well as travel logistics and hotel arrangements, are available online at www.REEF.org/REEFFest2015.
REEF Fest: Explore. Discover. Make a Difference. Celebrating Marine Conservation in the Florida Keys!
Author: Christy Pattengill-Semmens, Ph.D., REEF Director of Science
Every month, scientists, government agencies, and other groups request raw data from REEF’s Fish Survey Project database. Here is a sampling of who has asked for REEF data recently and what they are using it for:
- A research group at Palm Beach State College is using REEF data on South Florida fish assemblages to evaluate beach renourishment projects.
- Researchers from NOAA's Biogeography office are including REEF data in the development of a management plan for the marine portion of the NE Ecological Corridor Reserves in NE Puerto Rico and Culebra Island.
- Researchers at Bimini Biological Field Station are using REEF sightings of two endangered sawfish species to better understand the species' current distribution and status.
A complete list of scientific publications featuring REEF programs and data can be found at www.REEF.org/db/publications.
Author: Sasha Medlen, REEF Membership Coordinator
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.
Author: REEF Staff
We are proud to release REEF's 2014 Annual Report, reviewing accomplishments from our ocean conservation and education programs. Click here to view the Annual Report. In the report, we highlight many achievements and successes in 2014, such as:
- 12 young adults participating in the Marine Conservation Internship Program
- Launching the Explorers Program for visiting group to learn about marine science through hands-on education
- Hosting 24 online "Fishinars" serving over 1,300 members
- Collecting 10,463 surveys through the Volunteer Fish Survey Project
- Fulfilling 18 requests for data files from REEF's Survey Project database
- Developing a new Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean region for the Survey Project
- Coordinating derbies that removed 2,814 invasive lionfish and supporting 12 partner organizations to host REEF Sanctioned Derbies throughout the invaded region, with 224 participants removing an additional 6,684 lionfish
- Hosting live-from-the-field web chats with Caymanian students from 18 classrooms about the importance of Nassau Grouper
REEF was founded in 1990, out of growing concern for the health of the marine environment and the desire to provide ocean enthusiasts with ways to actively contribute to improved understanding and protection of marine environments. Looking back on more than two decades of hard work, REEF’s impact is remarkable. The most important part of this grassroots organization has always been the members who make it possible. Whether you’ve been with REEF since it was founded, joined in somewhere along the way, or just became a member this year, we are profoundly grateful the time, skills and financial resources you give to make such a significant difference in marine conservation.
Author: REEF Staff
REEF’s Summer Donation Matching Campaign is going on now. Please consider making your donation today - click here to donate online! Our supporters have pledged $60,000 to match your donations this summer dollar for dollar. We are about a third of the way to our goal, and we know we can count on the support of our members. Your support helps ensure that we can continue the critical work to protect our world oceans through education and research. Please consider donating today to help us reach our fundraising goal. Every donation, no matter how small, makes double the difference!
We also want to extend a big thank you to all of our members who have already donated this summer.
Author: Lad Akins, Director of Special Projects
We are encouraging all REEF surveyors in the Tropical Western Atlantic region to be on the lookout for a new non-native fish! Researchers from the University of Veracruz have documented a new non-native species in the southwestern Gulf of Mexico with the potential to spread throughout the region. Sightings of the Regal Demoiselle (Neopomacentrus cyanamos) have recently come from the nearshore reef systems south of Veracruz, Mexico. The species is native to a broad region of the Indo-Pacific and Red Sea. The damselfish was documented at depths from 2-21 meters, though it was more common on deeper reefs. Similar in appearance to the native Brown Chromis, the Regal Damsel can reach sizes of up to 9 cm (3.5 inches) in length and is distinguished by a yellow or white spot at the rear base of the dorsal fin, a dark spot behind the gill, and yellow rear margins of the tail, dorsal and anal fins. In contrast, the native Brown Chromis is identified by dark margins on the tail and a dark spot at the base of the pectoral fin. Observations from Dr. Ross Robertson indicate the Regal Demoiselle can be a bit more cryptic than the native Chromis, tending to hide under ledges and in crevices between corals, rather than swimming in the open. Experts in Mexico believe that this damsel has the potential to disrupt natural systems around Caribbean reefs, as they have witnessed displacement of the native Brown Chromis on heavily-invaded sites.
If you see this fish while doing a REEF survey, be sure to report it on your form in the unlisted fish section. Please also report detailed information on the sighting to REEF through the invasive species reporting page.
Author: Janna Nichols, REEF Outreach Coordinator
We have a SIX great Fishinars planned for July. These hour-long sessions enable you to learn and have fun from the comfort of your living room. We hope you will join us - it's free for REEF members. Check out the full schedule and links to register at www.REEF.org/fishinars.
- July 8, Rock On! California Rockfishes and Scorpionfish, Taught by Jonathan Lavan
- July 14, Invertebrates of New England, Taught by Janna Nichols
- July 16, Fishes of New England, Taught by Janna Nichols
- July 21, Puffers and Porcupines of the Caribbean, Taught by Carlos and Allison Estapé
- July 23, Pacific Coast Young of the Year (YOY) Rockfish ID, Taught by Janna Nichols
- July 28, Fishes of Bonaire Shore Diving, Taught by Dr. Christy Pattengill-Semmens
