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- INVASIVE
REEF Fest is just ten days away! Sponsored by Capital Bank Foundation, REEF Fest is an annual celebration of marine conservation held in Key Largo, Florida, on Oct. 17-20. The event features diving, ocean-themed seminars, and social events. REEF Fest is open to the public, and most events are free to attend. To see the complete schedule, visit www.REEF.org/REEFfest.
The REEF Volunteer Fish Survey Project operates worldwide, and REEF members are located all over the globe, but our physical location - and our home since REEF was founded in 1990 - has always been in the Florida Keys. The REEF Campus in Key Largo is a visitor center and nature center, which includes the historic REEF Headquarters building, the Interpretive Center, and an outdoor oasis including a Native Plants Trail, butterfly garden, and covered picnic and gathering area.
Last month, a team of scientists represented REEF at the 76th annual Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute (GCFI) conference, held in The Bahamas. REEF programs and data were represented by REEF Co-Executive Director, Dr. Christy Pattengill-Semmens, and Conservation Science Associate, Lex Bryant, as well as our partners from Scripps Institute of Oceanography (Dr. Brice Semmens) and Oregon State University (Dr. Scott Heppell).
We are excited to announce that applications are now open for the 2026 Educator in the Field Fellowship! This unique opportunity invites one exceptional educator to join the REEF Field Survey Trip to Bonaire on July 11–18, 2026, for an immersive week of marine conservation, citizen science, and hands-on learning. Through the Fellowship, educators gain firsthand experience in fish identification, data collection, and marine research methods. The selected Fellow may participate in the trip as a diver or snorkeler.
Introducing our April Fish of the Month, the Red Lionfish, Pterois volitans! We chose this species because April is Lionfish Derby month — REEF's 17th Annual Florida Keys Lionfish Derby & Arts Festival takes place April 23–26, 2026, right here in Key Largo!
- 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
Following the most recent Indo-Pacific Lionfish expedition at Stuart Cove’s in Nassau, Bahamas, we kicked off the next phase of our critical research on this invasive species in Eleuthera. Supporters, Trish and David Ferguson, served as hosts for the week. Earlier this summer, REEF staff set up 11 study sites, tagging 30 fish on six different patch reef and clearing the other 5 sites of lionfish. This past week, I revisited those tagging sites and documented any movement of lionfish.