Our online programs are free and open to all! Check out what's coming up, and view the entire schedule of Fishinars and other online programs here.
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.
Our partners at the Cayman Islands Department of Environment (DoE) recently used REEF data to evaluate Scalloped Hammerhead shark populations in the Cayman Islands, and their findings could mean good news for the future of hammerhead sharks in the area! The Scalloped Hammerhead is a critically endangered shark species with a decreasing global population. They are normally seen in large schools in the Pacific Ocean, but this is a rare sighting in the Atlantic Ocean, and schools of Scalloped Hammerheads have not been observed in the Cayman Islands for decades.
The Scalloped Hammerhead shark (Sphyrna lewini), a critically endangered species with a decreasing global population, is characterised by its occurrence in large schools. Such schools are still observed today in the Pacific Ocean, but this is generally not the case in the Atlantic Ocean, and in the Cayman Islands not since the 1970s. The authors of this paper report a recent record of a school of S.
Welcome to Citizen Science Corner, our quarterly feature to celebrate those who recently reached a milestone in our Volunteer Fish Survey Project. Here are achievements from January, February and March, 2024.
Juvenile Hamlet Award
The Juvenile Hamlet Award is for individuals who have conducted 500+ REEF surveys. Congratulations to our latest Juvenile Hamlet Club member, Naomi Wooten! Read more about the Juvenile Hamlet award and others who have achieved it.
This Great Annual Fish Count, join REEF and Amoray Dive Center for a free fish ID class, followed by a REEF fish survey dive/snorkel.
The educator will join the participants on the afternoon boat to provide survey supplies, answer questions about surveying, and help identify fish that you see.
This class is great for beginners! Check out this two-minute video on REEF surveys.
This Great Annual Fish Count, join REEF and Pirate's Cove Watersports for a free fish ID class, followed by a REEF fish survey dive/snorkel.
The educator will join the participants on the afternoon boat to provide survey supplies, answer questions about surveying, and help identify fish that you see.
This class is great for beginners! Check out this two-minute video on REEF surveys.
Supported by a grant from the Society of Conservation Biology, REEF Ocean Explorers Education team member Madalyn Mussey recently traveled to the southeastern Caribbean island of Grenada to teach fish ID and REEF survey methods to college students. Known as the the Aqua Rangers, these Grenadian students protect their island resources and learn career skills to boost their blue economy.
In a new study published last week in the journal Conservation Letters, researchers from Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego, and REEF demonstrate that fish population data collected by volunteer scuba divers and snorkelers (i.e. citizen scientists) provide a powerful and accurate tool to track species trends and biodiversity.