Earlier this spring, we hosted our first Field Survey Trip of 2021. Sixteen REEF surveyors traveled to the remote Caribbean island of Guanaja, part of the Bay Islands of Honduras, to enjoy a week of diving and fish surveying at Villa on Dunbar Rock, an amazing resort with 360-degree views of the ocean. The results from the trip were recently processed into REEF's database, adding to the survey count for the largest marine life sightings database in the world. Altogether, the group conducted 236 surveys at 16 sites and recorded 228 different species.
One of the favorite fish finds for many Guanaja surveyors was the Ribbon Blenny (Emblemaria vitta). The male of this species has a dark body with a bright yellow (or pale) area on the front part of its dorsal fin. This fish is found on sand flats and rubble fields (they like habitats similar to that of Sailfin Blennies) and are a relatively unique sighting for surveyors due to their somewhat restricted range. Ribbon Blennies are only known to occur in the northwest Caribbean (Belize/Honduras) and parts of the eastern Caribbean including The Bahamas and Greater Antilles.
You can view the full species report for the Guanaja Field Survey here. Did you know that REEF creates "batch reports" for all of our trips as well as some other special projects? You can search for and view reports for past Field Survey Trips and other projects here.
Want to join in a fun, educational dive trip and make a difference while doing it? We still have openings on a few REEF Trips this year, including Cayman Brac on Oct. 2-9, St. Croix on Nov. 6-13, and Cozumel on Dec. 4-11. We also have a full schedule of trips coming up in 2022 and a sneak peek of 2023. Check out http://www.REEF.org/trips to see the complete schedule of upcoming trips. We hope you can join us on a future REEF Field Survey Trip!