REEF members are the heart of our grassroots marine conservation programs. A diverse community of divers, snorkelers, and ocean enthusiasts support our mission to conserve marine environments worldwide.

This month we highlight Ellie and Mel Briscoe, longtime REEF members from Northern Virginia. Ellie is an avid REEF surveyor, and has conducted more than 400 surveys in six different regions! She is an Expert Level surveyor in the Tropical Western Atlantic. Meanwhile, Mel loves to photograph and observe marine life, and he has conducted 58 REEF surveys in four different regions. Mel and Ellie are both wonderful advocates for REEF's marine conservation work, and we're proud to have them as REEF members!

When and how did you first volunteer with REEF or become a REEF member?
Ellie: I joined in 2004, but my first surveys were in 2003, when I took the PADI Aware Fish ID course.
Mel: I became a PADI instructor in February 2001, and joined REEF in April of that year so I could teach Fish ID as a PADI specialty and use the REEF materials. I finally reported two surveys in 2003 so I could be an official Level 2 surveyor in the TWA!

If you have been on a REEF Field Survey Trip, where and what was your trip highlight?
Ellie: We’ve been on several trips. I was thrilled to find a Black Brotula on the trip to St. Lucia, AND to be able to show it to Christy Semmens! But the highest point for me was when our luggage didn’t arrive on the Bequia trip, and the generous surveyors on the trip all banded together to lend us bathing suits, sandals, shampoo, whatever we needed. It meant I got to dive, and I saw my first ever Yellowcheek Wrasse. REEF experts are generous with their time and knowledge, too. As a Level 5 surveyor, I love “giving back” by helping my friends identify the fish they’ve photographed.
Mel: I’m more of a fish photographer. I’m intrigued by the technically difficult shots, and by those that show an interesting fish behavior. “Fish Portraits” are not as interesting to me as those pictures that capture a fleeting moment worth looking at twice. A great thing about REEF Field Survey Trips is that the people on them appreciate my pictures, and occasionally I can get to show them something that helps them do a difficult ID.

What is the most interesting thing you’ve learned doing a REEF fish survey?
Mel: I don’t send in all my surveys because I’m more interested in photography than the names and numbers. My memory for names is not so good; I will often see a fish and know I’ve seen that species before, but do not remember the name. I’m the same with people; I remember faces, not names, so I think it is the way my brain is wired, not something specific to diving and fish. Nevertheless, getting down to the detail of abundance on a survey is really interesting, for example how one site can be dominated by something like Brown Chromis and the next site they are mostly blue.

If you had to explain REEF to a friend in a couple of sentences, what would you tell them?
Ellie: I say it’s like Cornell’s Feederwatch: Citizen Science in action, and that the more you do it, the more you learn.
Mel: When you start being able to ID fish, you actually see more fish, and more interesting fish behavior. You can begin to “see through and past” the clouds of grunts and surgeonfish, and spot more things happening on the reef. Every dive becomes more interesting.

In your opinion, what is the most important aspect of REEF’s projects and programs?
Mel: REEF’s methodology makes the complexities of fish identification and behavior accessible to the average diver, and fun to do. It is citizen science at its best: allowing anyone to contribute to a useful scientific database, while implicitly generating enthusiasm for fish and marine environment protection.

Where is your favorite place to dive and why?
Ellie: I love diving in front of Buddy Dive in Bonaire. You can do the whole fish ID course right under the dock. In fact, I have taught it there. I also volunteer as a diver at the National Aquarium in Baltimore, and it’s been really helpful to already know what all the fish in the Atlantic Coral Reef habitat are. I can’t say that about the Blacktip Reef Indonesian habitat, but I’m working on it.

Do you have a favorite REEF Conservation Partner or dive shop?
Mel: I’m a big fan of Buddy Dive in Bonaire; been going there at least annually since 2000. Danny Hattink is a first-rate fish surveyor, and wonderful to dive with. Francesca Virdis is the reef restoration guru, who along with Tina and others makes it inspiring and fun.

What is the most fascinating fish encounter you’ve experienced?
Ellie: I was turning over broken coral on the bottom in front of Buddy Dive, and a Spanish Hogfish ducked under my arm and nibbled on it, then turned and looked at me as if to say, "OK, what’s my next snack?"

Do you have any surveying, fish watching, or identification tips for REEF members?
Ellie: Take pictures. Take lots of pictures.
Mel: Stop swimming around, slow down and just start looking at things. The slower you go, the more you see. Be still near a coral head and just watch - it might take a minute or two for the critters on the coral head to get used to you, but then they begin feeding and interacting. You can’t really see movement very well if you are moving and your eyes are moving, so just stop and stare and use your peripheral vision. It helps to have a “search image” of something you are looking for, if only the size.