The Faces of REEF: Member Spotlight, Georgia Arrow

REEF members are at the heart of our grassroots marine conservation programs. Over 43,000 divers, snorkelers, students, and armchair naturalists stand behind our mission.

This month we highlight Georgia Arrow (REEF member since 2002). Georgia lives in Portland, Oregon, has conducted 686 REEF surveys in four different regions, and is a Level 5 Expert surveyor in the Pacific. She has the most surveys of anyone in the west coast Pacific region. Here's what Georgia had to say about REEF:

When and how did you first volunteer with REEF?

Outstanding in their Field: Featured REEF Field Station, Marker Buoy Dive Club

REEF is proud to partner with over 130 dive shops, dive clubs, individuals, and other organizations as REEF Field Stations.

REEF Releases Lionfish Cookbook

The Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF) announces the release of “The Lionfish Cookbook”, a collection of 45 delicious recipes designed to encourage the removal and consumption of invasive lionfish in the Atlantic. Lionfish have a delicate, mild-flavored, white meat and are considered a delicacy. 

PNW Survey Dive

Join PNW Advanced Assessment Team Member Heidi Wilken on an early 2011 REEF Survey Dive

In support of the REEF program, REEF Fieldstation Seattle Scuba - www.seattlescuba.com - will be offering 1/2 price rentals to anyone joining this dive!

Location: Alki Junkpile/Junkyard - meeting between the last set of stairs and the start of the condos.

Date/Time: Be there January 9th, ready to get in the water by 11:00am.

PNW Fish ID Class

Join REEF Fieldstation Seattle Scuba for a REEF Pacific Northwest region basic Fish ID class!

Making It Count - November 2010

The Blue Heron Bridge -- A Dive Site to be Thankful For

Some of the best dive sites for fishwatching are in the least obvious places. The Blue Heron Bridge in Palm Beach, Florida, is one such biological hotspot. This is a top dive destination for sighting unusual species that can be added to your lifelist. Mike Phelan, REEF Expert surveyor, and two other REEF members, often dive this site. The day before Thanksgiving, they were treated to quite a sight – a large school of Cownose Rays!

REEF Data Document Declines in Yellow Stingray

World-wide declines in shark and ray populations have prompted the need for a better understanding of their patterns of distribution and abundance. While much of the focus has been on the larger species of sharks, little attention had been paid to the most frequently sighted elasmobranch species in the greater-Caribbean, the yellow stingray (Urobatis jamaicensis). Despite being relatively common and listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, little was known about the status of this species. Unfortunately, it has been quietly declining. Dr.

Spatial and temporal trends in yellow stingray abundance: evidence from diver surveys

Recent concerns about changing elasmobranch populations have prompted the need to understand their patterns of distribution and abundance through non-destructive sampling methods. Since scientific divers represent a small portion of the total number of divers worldwide, the use of non-scientific divers could drastically increase the number of observations needed to monitor broad-scale, long-term trends.

Putting it to Work: Who’s Using REEF Data, November 2010

Every month, scientists, government agencies, and other groups request raw data from REEF’s Fish Survey Project database. Here is a sampling of who has asked for REEF data recently and what they are using it for:

- Researchers at the World Resources Institute are using western Atlantic REEF data in an analysis of threats to the world’s coral reefs called Reefs at Risk Revisited.

- A scientist from Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife is evaluating population trends of rock scallop in preparation for harvest rule updates.

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