Mark your calendars for the 15th annual Florida Keys Lionfish Derby & Festival on August 15-18! A Lionfish Derby is a competition where teams of divers and snorkelers compete to collect as many invasive lionfish as possible. REEF Lionfish Derbies educate the public about invasive species, gather important scientific information on lionfish populations, and promote a consumer market for lionfish.
The fifth annual Fish Out of Water Virtual 5K is coming up on June 8-15. Have you registered to join us yet? It's a great way to celebrate World Ocean Day! You can participate from anywhere in the world, complete the 5K at your own pace throughout the week, and pick your favorite way to get active - run, walk, hike, bike, or swim - it's up to you! When you sign up, you will choose to join one of five Fish Teams. Read on to learn more about this year's Fish Teams, and click here to read about each fish's race personality!
REEF Field Survey Trips are eco-vacations led by marine life experts. Each trip features daily dives and fish ID classes for both beginners and experienced surveyors. Join us in July for our Field Survey Trip to Tobago! We have just added additional spaces to this previously sold out trip, and it is not to be missed! Tobago's unique location in the southern Caribbean results in rich biodiversity. Outflow from Venezuela’s Orinoco River feeds this area with an abundance of nutrients, which in turn attracts an abundance of fish.
We’re halfway through our 2024 REEF Fish & Friends monthly seminar series, and our guest speakers have shared some amazing ocean-themed talks at the REEF Campus in Key Largo. Our speakers this year have included experts from NOAA, Ocean Conservancy, Audubon’s Everglades Science Center, and Mote Marine Laboratory.
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 Matt Wilbur, a REEF member from California. He joined REEF in 2021, started conducting surveys in 2023, and has conducted more than 220 surveys in the California, Pacific Northwest and Alaska (PAC) survey region in less than a year! We are excited to feature Matt this month and are thankful that he is part of REEF!
You're invited to join us on Thursday, May 9 at 8pm ET for a special webinar, Oceans for All: Exploring Diverse Experiences in Marine Conservation. This webinar celebrates the voices and experiences of people who are making an impact in marine conservation. The webinar will feature a diverse panel of marine conservation professionals who will come together to discuss and share their unique professional journeys through the field.
We are excited to welcome the following amazing panelists:
REEF and the Semmens Lab at Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) are collaborating on an exciting new project that uses cutting-edge technology to improve our understanding of ocean ecosystems. The idea is simple: enable REEF volunteers to collect bits of environmental DNA (eDNA), the genetic material that animals shed into their surroundings. REEF surveyors, who are already in the water conducting fish surveys as part of the Volunteer Fish Survey Project (VFSP), are excellent candidates to help gather eDNA samples.
We are excited to welcome Paul Bonatz to the Golden Hamlet Club, which honors the achievements of those who have conducted and submitted 1,000 REEF surveys as part of the Volunteer Fish Survey Project. As the 47th REEF surveyor to achieve this milestone, Paul's name will be added to a special Golden Hamlet Club plaque that is displayed at the REEF Campus in Key Largo, FL.