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 Franklin Neal (REEF member since 2000). Franklin and his wife Cassandra (also an active REEF member) spend much of their time in Bonaire these days, but they originally called New York home. Franklin has conducted 1,179 REEF surveys! and he is a member of the Advanced Assessment Team in the Tropical Western Atlantic. Here's what Franklin had to say about REEF:

When and how did you first volunteer with REEF? How did you first hear about REEF?

Cassandra wasn’t diving when I had my first encounter with a REEFer. We were on Bermuda in 2000 with several friends. I was the only diver, so I buddied with strangers on the dive boat. On the second or third day, a woman came aboard who was doing surveys. Between dives I asked her about what she was doing, and she invited me to buddy with her. That woman was Judie Clee, long time REEF member and REEF's Volunteer of the Year in 2005. Judie told me about REEF and the website, so when we returned home, I joined. The following year we signed up to be with Paul Humann on Bonaire for his first “Discovery” trip. We did that because it was advertised for inexperienced fish and critter watchers. After doing those first surveys, I was hooked. I have been on over a dozen Field Survey Trips and/or AAT projects, in locations from the Florida Keys and the Biscayne National Park to Barbados. I really like diving with other REEF members. They are very friendly, and we share a common interest. The excitement level on the boat after a dive can be very high as the previous dive and the sightings are discussed.

Do you dive close to where you live, and if so, what is the best part about diving there? If you don’t dive nearby, where do you most often dive? Where is your favorite place to dive and why?

We retired in 2006, and moved from Long Island New York to Michigan and Bonaire. We own a condo at Sand Dollar on Bari Reef, the #1 site for species diversity in the Tropical Western Atlantic. That is also the year that Cassandra started diving. With Bari in our front yard, Cassandra now has over 950 dives. Bonaire is wonderful because of the shore diving. You don’t need a boat … just a “dive truck.” Starting and ending a dive in one foot of water allows for many more habitats to explore with a greater variety of species. To prove my point, go to the ReefNet Reef Fish ID DVD and look at the video for the nineline goby.

What is your favorite fish or marine invertebrate? Why is it your favorite?

Everyone loves the queen angelfish because of its beauty. I think the male rainbow wrasse is equally beautiful. I love the combination of colors and patterns on the redspotted hawkfish. Several years ago, Cassandra discovered a redface moray eel (also known as the orange moray) just a ten minute swim from our dock. We have now seen almost 20 of these rare fish (Check them out in the REEF database if you doubt my use of the term “rare.”). Cassandra has a photo of a redface sharing the same hole as a chestnut moray. It is wonderful. I use it as my computer wallpaper.