REEF Director of Science, Dr. Christy Pattengill-Semmens, and Grouper Moon Scientists, Dr. Brice Semmens (NOAA) and Dr. Scott Heppell (Oregon State University), participated in the Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute (GCFI) meeting last month in Guadeloupe. This annual meeting brings together scientists, fishermen, resource agency managers, and marine conservation organizations to present and discuss current topics and emerging findings on coral reef resources of the tropical western Atlantic waters. Christy presented preliminary results from an analysis of data from the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuaries no-take sites (Sanctuary Preservation Areas) as part of the Marine Protected Areas session. Christy also represented
REEF during the special session on Marine Invasive Species. She presented an overview of the role that REEF's outreach programs and large corps of volunteer divers have played to better understand the impact of the Indo-Pacific Lionfish on western Atlantic reefs and to help slow the invasion of this unwanted species. Christy also participated in a panel discussion that followed the session.
Both Brice and Scott presented recent Grouper Moon Project results during the Spawning Aggregation session. Thanks to funding from the Lenfest Ocean Program at the Pew Charitable Trusts, our grouper work in the Cayman Islands has greatly expanded and includes ground-breaking conservation research. Brice's presentation focused on the expansion of the work to Cayman Brac, an island where the historical aggregation was fished heavily and was assumed to be non-functional. Scott presented exciting findings from a pilot study conducted earlier this year to understand where Nassau grouper larvae go after they are released from the Little Cayman aggregation site.