Dear Valued REEF Members,

Summer is here! Throughout REEF survey regions – coastal Americas, the tropical eastern Pacific and the Caribbean and Hawaiian Islands - volunteers are diving into the Great Annual Fish Count, discovering the “wild and wooly” side of St. Vincent, helping understand the impacts of exotic invasive lionfish, and experiencing life and loss on Bonaire’s coral reefs.
  • Caribbean Livaboards Offering Fish Counts
  • Second Advisory Board Meeting and Sustainer's Social A "Fishy" Time
  • REEF Certificates of Merit Available
  • Bonaire Dive Festival
  • Monitoring Contracts
  • MPA News
  • REEF Internship
  • Volunteer of the Year 1999 - Tom Isgar
  • Great American Fish Count: Event Focused on Partnerships
  • What's Happening in Research - Bonaire Marine Park, AGRRA, Florida Keys NMS
  • NOAA's Biogeography Program Looking At REEF Data in New Ways

Happy New Year! We hope that all of our members had a joyous holiday season. In this first edition of REEF-in-Brief 2009 we bring you news that everyone knew was just a matter of time -- the invasive Indo-Pacific Lionfish has been confirmed in the Florida Keys. Thanks to her experience as a REEF fishwatcher and the numerous outreach stories that REEF has issued to our members, REEF surveyor Becky Fowler knew just what she was looking at last week while diving during her vacation off Key Largo, Florida.

Greetings REEF Members. This issue of REEF-in-Brief brings you updates on several of REEF's programs as well as announcements of upcoming events. Earlier this month, we launched a new lecture series, REEF Fish and Friends. These informative presentations will be held the second Tuesday of every month in the Florida Keys. Our invasive lionfish work has expanded to begin working with countries on the forefront of the invasion.

Caroly's Notes: Ocean Connections