Competing against thousands of books from more than 200 countries, REEF's The Lionfish Cookbook was awarded Best in the World status in two categories at the 22nd annual Gourmand World Cookbook Awards held last month in Yantai, China. The Lionfish Cookbook was recognized one of the top three books in the world in the categories of Sustainable Food Book and Fundraising/Charity Book. The book had also reached the short list in the Seafood category.

We are proud to release REEF's 2016 Annual Report, reviewing accomplishments from our ocean conservation and education programs. Click here to view the Annual Report. In the report, we highlight many achievements and successes in 2016, such as:

On April 19th, nine Whole Foods Market stores across South Florida will be supporting ocean conservation. Stores in Coral Springs, Davie, Fort Lauderdale, Pembroke Pines, Pompano Beach, Boca Raton, Palm Beach Gardens, Wellington, and West Palm Beach will donate 5% of their total sales from the day to REEF, to support our South Florida conservation efforts. Whole Foods Markets® has been working with REEF to help develop the market for invasive lionfish and is this year's derby series title sponsor.

Every month, scientists, government agencies, and other groups request raw data from REEF’s Fish Survey Project database. Recent examples of data requests include:

-       Staff from MacArthur State Beach Park in Florida are using REEF data to evaluate fish populations in the park.

-       Researchers at SeaDoc Society and Washington Department of Fish and Game are using REEF data to evaluate Northern (Pinto) Abalone in Washington State

REEF staff, board members, and project collaborators recently joined over 300 scientists, resource managers, and fishers at the Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute (GCFI) meeting in San Andres, Colombia. GCFI aims to apply fisheries and marine science to solve problems by bringing multiple users of ocean resources together to make informed and coordinated decisions for sustainable use of these resources. REEF staff regularly attend GCFI to share findings and perspectives from our various programs. This year, REEF's Director of Science, Dr.

Join one of REEF's valued Conservation Partners, CoCo View Resort in Roatan, Honduras for Wednesday Night Fishinars! This week, "2017 Lionfish Update" will start at 7:30pm in the CoCo View Clubhouse. Join this fun, informal presentation to learn about the threat of exotic and invasive speices on marine ecosytems, and what is being done to help. These viewings are free and open to all CoCo View guests.

 

On Saturday, March 30, ten teams of 34 divers removed 620 invasive lionfish during REEF’s 7th Annual Winter Lionfish Derby, held at Sharkey’s Pub and Galley Restaurant in Key Largo. Between sunrise and 6 p.m., competitors scoured Florida Keys reefs in an attempt to to bring in the smallest lionfish, largest lionfish, and most number of individual lionfish. Team Forever Young caught the most fish at 149 individual lionfish.

We are happy to share the results of our first underwater photography contest! Thank you to everyone who voted and a special thanks to all of the members who submitted photos! We had more than 120 entries from all over the world, showcasing some incredible marine life. More than 2,500 votes decided the "popular vote" winners in each of the six categories - Fish Portrait, Macro, Invertebrate, Invasive Species, REEF Surveyors, and Environment/Reefscape/Habitat. Congratulations to all of the winners and thank you to everyone for your participation.

Eyestripe Surgeonfish - photo by Jeff Haines

Who doesn't love Surgeonfish?

They're big and easy to see underwater, colorful, and plentiful in the Pacific Ocean. So consider this a pre-Thanksgiving treat from us to you - an entire Fishinar devoted to these oval-shaped beauties, taught by REEF Director of Science, Dr. Christy Semmens. Tune in on Tuesday, Nov. 19 at 8pm Eastern Time.

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