Congratulations to Fred Hartner, who recently joined the Golden Hamlet Club! This distinguished group is made up of highly dedicated volunteers who have conducted 1,000 or more REEF surveys as part of the REEF Volunteer Fish Survey Project.
Fred first learned about REEF through the owner of his local dive shop in Whitehouse, New Jersey. He conducted his first survey in 1995 in Roatan, Honduras. Fred completed his milestone 1,000th survey in Key Largo, FL in November 2024, at Molasses Reef Ball 18. Before this special dive, mooring ball 18 was not named in the REEF database. In honor of Fred’s achievement, his wife, Laura, named the site Fred's Folly. Over the years, Fred has surveyed all over the world, collecting valuable marine life data across multiple regions. He is an expert surveyor in the Tropical Western Atlantic (TWA), Central Indo-Pacific (CIP), and South Pacific (SOP) regions, and has also contributed surveys in the Indian Ocean & Red Sea (IORS) and Hawaii (HAW) regions. Some of Fred’s favorite fish include the Peppermint Basslet, Purple Reeffish, and all types of cardinalfish. He also has a fondness for (invasive) lionfish, but only when they’re on his dinner plate!
Congratulations Fred, and thank you for your contributions to REEF and citizen science! Click here to read more about the Golden Hamlet Club.