Welcome to the Citizen Science Corner, our quarterly feature to celebrate those who recently reached a milestone in our Volunteer Fish Survey Project. Here are achievements from July, August and September 2024.
Ultra Golden Hamlet Award
This summer, we've been making waves in the Florida Keys and beyond, with plenty of engaging education programs and outreach events. Our team of staff and interns led 39 educational programs this summer. From teaching weekly fish ID classes at John Pennekamp State Park in Key Largo to programs for schools, clubs, dive shops, and more, it has been a jam-packed and fun season. Our summer Ocean Explorers Education Programs offered participants the chance to dive into citizen science with snorkeling and diving excursions, fish ID classes, and even lionfish jewelry making.
Our annual REEF Fest celebration is coming up on October 17-20 in Key Largo, Florida. If you haven't registered yet, there's still time to plan to join us for free, educational ocean seminars, diving, snorkeling, kayaking, nature tours, and socials! You can see all the details and register online at www.REEF.org/REEFfest. This year we're excited to welcome the following speakers:
Last month, 14 teams of scuba divers took to the water and collected 1,527 invasive lionfish during the 15th annual REEF Florida Keys Lionfish Derby & Festival. Teams fished from sunrise to sunset on Friday, Aug. 16 and Saturday, Aug. 17. On Saturday evening, derby participants and the public gathered at Florida Keys Brewing Company for Invaders on Tap, a lionfish awareness celebration and social with live music, educational activities and games, and lionfish tastings. The weekend concluded on Sunday, Aug.
Did you know that REEF is part of an international effort to determine how to best use large fish biodiversity datasets? REEF Co-Executive Director of Science & Engagement Dr. Christy Semmens is part of a working group called "CoNCENSUS: Advancing standardisation of COastal and Nearshore demersal fish visual CENSUS techniques", led by Anthony Bernard from the South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity and Rick Stuart-Smith from Reef Life Survey. Christy will attend the upcoming CoNCENSUS working group meeting in South Africa this October.
Submissions for the 2024 REEF Discover the Sea Underwater Photography Contest are now open! All ocean photographers are invited to submit their favorite photos. It’s free to enter, and you may submit up to three photos per person in each of the following categories:
Looking for a fun getaway? Join us on a REEF Field Survey Trip to Villa on Dunbar Rock, in Guanaja, Honduras on March 22-29, 2025! Part of a volcanic and coral mountain range, Guanaja is within the world's second-largest barrier reef, the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef. Just steps from the sandy beach, the rocks, and flats surrounding the island, this location is perfect for those who love shore diving and searching for all of the unique fish species that inhabit the shallows.
Our online programs are free and open to all! Check out what's coming up, and view the entire schedule of Fishinars (marine life ID webinars) and other online programs here.
Our September Fish of the Month is the Yellowtail Surgeonfish, Prionurus punctatus!
Survey Regions: Yellowtail Surgeonfish are common in the Gulf of California, and occasionally seen throughout the Pacific coast of Mexico and Central America, as well as the Revillagigedo Islands. Click here to see a distribution for this species in the REEF database.
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.