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 Max Arseneault, a REEF member who lives in California. He joined REEF in 2021 and has conducted more than 140 surveys in the US/Canada Pacific Coast (PAC) region, where he is a Level 3 surveyor! We are proud to feature Max this month, and are glad that he is part of REEF.
When and how did you first volunteer with REEF or become a REEF member? How did you first hear about REEF?
I first got involved with REEF after attending one of Herb Gruenhagen’s free fish and invertebrate ID classes in San Diego. I’ve always enjoyed animals, and it’s incredibly satisfying to know and identify every fish I come across during a dive.
In your opinion, what is the most important aspect of REEF’s projects and programs?
Completing REEF surveys has given me a deep appreciation for the ocean's finiteness. You start to notice specific individuals, like that one Pacific Angel Shark or those Kelp Bass, and realize that the ocean doesn’t just infinitely spawn fish. This awareness makes you much more cognizant of your impact when interacting with these environments. Every fish that you remove is a fish that's never coming back.
What is your favorite fish or marine invertebrate? Why is it your favorite?
I have a penchant for Psychedelic Wrasse, and really all wrasse species. It's fun to search for the usual three colorations. I love how its initial phase has dense arrays of dots that form a sort of optical illusion with their spacing. The terminal phase is equally interesting. It’s like the initial phase just dunked its head into a bucket of orange honey and iridescent blue sprinkles.
What is your most memorable fish find and why? Is there a fish (or marine invertebrate) you haven’t seen yet diving, but would like to?
One of my most memorable fish finds was a Nursehound (Scyliorhinus stellaris), a type of catshark, in Napoli, Italy. It was my deepest deco dive to date, and after several days of unsuccessfully searching for it, finding it hiding in a cave at 165 feet was the highlight of the trip, which was entirely planned around this goal. My life goal is to photograph every shark species possible, and seeing deep sea species that occasionally come shallower, like the Angular Roughshark and the Bluntnose Sixgill Shark, would be incredible.