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 Donna Goodale, a REEF member who lives in Hawaii. She joined REEF in 2023 and has conducted 87 surveys. She is an Expert surveyor in the Hawaii (HAW) region and has also surveyed in the Central Indo-Pacific (CIP) region. We're so glad to have a dedicated member like Donna!
What inspires you to complete REEF surveys? What is the most interesting thing you’ve learned doing a REEF fish survey?
I love watching fish and learning their names. The REEF classes and surveys have inspired me to learn more about the fish I don’t see very often while swimming, snorkeling or diving. I have also to learned to better distinguish between very similar fish like razorfish, blennies and lizardfish. They are still hard to ID, especially while swimming overhead, but I’m getting better.
Do you dive close to where you live, and if so, what is the best part about diving there? If you don’t dive nearby, where do you most often dive? Where is your favorite place to dive and why?
I dive mostly in Hawaii along the Kona coast, where I live. It’s close to home and full of a multitude of dive sites all of which have a variety of different topography and creatures. The water is relatively warm and usually calm. Alula Beach at Honokohau Harbor has a variety of reef features, deep and shallow and there’s always a chance of seeing a Tiger Shark. I also love the sand/rock interface at Kua Bay.
What is the most fascinating fish encounter you’ve experienced?
While diving during the COVID lockdown, I watched four Giant Porcupinefish circling and following each other. It looked like a prickly ballet dance in the water column over a sandy bottom. The three smaller fish were following a very large fish as it twirled through the water.
What is your favorite fish or marine invertebrate?
It’s hard to have a favorite. I have lots of favorite fish, including Shortbodied Blennies, Lagoon Triggers, Hybrid Goldrim x Achilles Tangs, etc. I love invertebrates like Hawaiian Swimmer Crabs with their crazy eyes. I also love finding and photographing algae.
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?
My most exciting fish find happened on 7/16/2023. I was snorkeling with friends and I found a Phoenix Island Damselfish. According to Hawaiian Reef Fishes by John Hoover, this species hadn’t been seen here 2008. I looked and looked at it, and I thought I’d seen it in the book but never in the ocean. I took some photos in order to ID it and the photos agreed with the book. Phoenix Island Damsels are considered to be “waifs” that occasionally drift into Hawaiian waters but aren’t established here.