Looking for a fun dive trip in 2025? Kick off your year by joining us in the Maldives on January 12-22 aboard the Empreror Explorer liveboard! Made up of nearly 1,200 islands, the reefs of the Maldives are a haven for wildlife like Whale Sharks, mantas, and more. In February, join us to explore the beautiful dive and snorkel sites of Belize, where our home base will be the charming SunBreeze Hotel on Ambergris Caye. Then in March, we're headed to Villa on Dunbar Rock in Guanaja, Honduras!
REEF Fest is nearly here, and we couldn't be more excited for our annual marine conservation celebration in Key Largo! If you're planning to attend, we look forward to seeing you soon. If you haven't yet registered, you can still make plans to join us Oct 17-20 for ocean presentations, diving, snorkeling, kayaking, and fun evening socials. Check out all the details and register for REEF Fest at www.REEF.org/REEFfest.
The votes have been counted, and we're excited to share the 2024 Discover the Sea Photography Contest results! This year's contest had an amazing turnout, with nearly 500 stunning photos submitted and over 4,500 votes cast! First, second, and third place winners were selected via popular vote for each photo category, including Fish Portrait, Macro, Invertebrate, REEF Surveyor, and Habitat/Seascape/Environment. Click here to view all the winning photos.
KEY LARGO, FLA. – All are invited to celebrate ocean conservation during REEF Fest on Oct. 17-20, 2024, in Key Largo, Fla. Hosted by Reef Environmental Education Foundation, this annual event features educational ocean seminars, social gatherings, diving, snorkeling, kayaking, and a nature tour. Most events are free and open to the public, although online pre-registration is requested. Please visit www.REEF.org/REEFfest for complete details.
We are excited to welcome our Fall 2024 Marine Education & Conservation Interns to REEF! They will assist with education, outreach, events, and daily operations around the REEF Campus in Key Largo, Florida. Marine Conservation Interns play an integral role in our daily operations, programs, events, and outreach. Since 1993, more than 150 young adults have interned with REEF and transitioned into careers all over the world, in the marine conservation field and beyond. Please join us in welcoming (from L-R) Natalee, Coryn, Kuba, and John! Here's a bit more about them:
Our October Fish of the Month is the Bat Ray, Myliobatis californica!
Survey Regions: Bat Rays are found throughout the waters of California, as well as north to Oregon and south to the Baja peninsula in Mexico. They have been reported in REEF's PAC (Pacific Coast of US and Canada) survey region. Click here to see a distribution for this species in the REEF database.
We are very excited to welcome two new staff to the REEF Team - Noa Parks as Citizen Science Coordinator (left) and Shelby Thomas as Education Coordinator! Both are based at the REEF Campus in Key Largo, Florida.
Boat: Miss Nouran
Price: 1975 Euro, per person in shared lower deck (100 Euro will charge for the upper deck and 150 Euro for the suite)
Free Courses Included:
REEF Fish IORS Experience Level 2
REEF Fish IORS Experience Level 3 (must have 25 surveys)
5 FREE Marine Programs
For more information, visit www.ecopro-eg.co/Marine-Eco-Expeditions
REEF staff and collaborators attended the 154th annual American Fisheries Society (AFS) Conference last month, held in Honolulu, Hawaii. REEF's marine life database is a valuable tool for conservation science and research on a global scale, and we were proud to represent our work at this notable conference. Nine sessions at AFS featured REEF data and/or programs.