Great Annual Fish Count 2016 a Success
By Janna Nichols, REEF Outreach Coordinator
REEF’s 2016 Great Annual Fish Count (GAFC) brought together experienced and beginner fish watchers to count fish (and invertebrate) populations. Beginning fish ID classes were held, and then students were able to use their new skills out in the water during organized GAFC events. Participating groups and shops this year were based in several of REEF's regions, including the TWA, SAS, NE, CAL and PNW regions. The biggest GAFC events this year were held in our NE and California regions.
One group of note was a newcomer to the scene -- Lynnhaven Dive Center in Virginia Beach, Virginia. They are located in the southern part of our Northeast region, and the sites in that area have only had a handful of REEF surveys done up until now. Volunteers Kathy O’Hara and Lindsey Hillier Hotchkiss organized the event and eight women motored 14 miles off the coast to Chesapeake Light Tower, where they conducted surveys. They found Oyster Toadfish, Tautog, Great Barracuda, and Invasive Lionfish, among many other species.
Thanks to ALL groups who participated this year – here’s to continued fish counting year ‘round!
REEF by the Sea - Annual Donor Event Planned for March
By Martha Klitzkie, Director of Operations
To celebrate our sustaining donors and most active volunteer surveyors, we annually host REEF by the Sea. This year's special event will be held this March at Mango Manor, Paul Humann’s home in South Florida. This invitation-only event includes a special day of engaging presentations, socials, meals, and fun. We will celebrate pool-side and enjoy exploring Paul's award winning gardens in between exciting presentations by REEF staff and beautiful slide shows by renowned photographers. We are also organizing an opportunity to dive at the famous Blue Heron Bridge the day before. Donors who give at least $1,000 in a year are included in REEF's Sustainer's Club and are invited to REEF by the Sea and other special events and opportunities. If you are interested in finding out more, please contact Martha Klitzkie at martha@REEF.org or 305-852-0030.
Speaker Line-up For REEF Fest 2017
By Ellie Splain, REEF Education Program Manager
What will you be doing September 28-October 1 this year? Hopefully joining REEF board, staff, and members in Key Largo, Florida, for the annual REEF Fest event! This year, REEF Fest will kick off on Thursday, September 28, with a sunset picnic, including complimentary dinner and refreshments before our opening seminar. REEF Fest hosts an impressive line-up of scientists and conservation leaders during this year’s seminar series, including:
Diving Deep: Linking the Effects of Climate Change on Fishes to Future Fisheries Management and Conservation, Dr. Stephanie Green, Banting Fellow and REEF Affiliate Scientist
Ocean Conservation through the Eyes of a Whale, Natalie Barefoot, Executive Director of Cet Law
Cloudy Monster Engineering: How Red Grouper Transform their Environment, Creating Homes for Many, Dr. Scott Heppell, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University
Pelagic Marine Life, Andy Dehart, Vice President of Animal Husbandry at Frost Museum of Science, REEF Board of Trustees
Caribbean Coral: Is there Hope for the Future?, Dr. Margaret W. Miller, NOAA-NMFS, Southeast Fisheries Science Center
Diver Photos and Reef Biodiversity Changes: Citizen Science on Bahamian Coral Reefs, Dr. Kathleen Sullivan Sealey, Department of Biology, University of Miami
Conservation Successes: New Findings and Future Efforts to Enhance our Marine Environments, Lad Akins, REEF Director of Special Projects
REEF Fest days are filled with diving, snorkeling and other eco-adventures. Evening social events continue on Friday, September 29 with the REEF Open House from 6pm to 9pm. We will unveil the REEF Interpretive Center, a unique and beautiful addition to the REEF campus. Guests will also enjoy REEF’s newest exhibits, photography displays, and Native Plants Trail. And don’t forget to purchase your tickets for the Saturday banquet, For the Love of the Sea. Space is limited and you won’t want to miss out on this evening celebration that includes a three course meal, plus hors d'oeuvres, a full service liquor bar, live music, and great friends- alongside fantastic silent auction items!
Check out www.REEF.org/REEFFest for more event details or contact Events@REEF.org . See you in September!
Announcing REEF’s 2018 Fishinar Schedule!
By Ellie Place, REEF Conservation Coordinator - Volunteer Fish Survey Project
Fishinars are REEF's brand of fun, live, interactive webinars, and anyone who wants to know more about ocean life is welcome to join in. These short, free webinars will teach you the finer points of identifying fish and invertebrates underwater. In addition to marine life identification sessions for all of REEF's worldwide project areas, we also feature guest speakers who present a variety of ocean topics.
Coming up soon:
- Unique Fish of Thailand – April 2 at 8pm Eastern
- Artificial Reefs and Rigs in the Northern Gulf of Mexico – April 24 at 8pm Eastern
- Tropical Pacific Wrasse Part 2 – May 1 at 8pm Eastern
- Diving in the Florida Keys – May 10 at 8pm Eastern
- Dwarf and Pygmy Gobies of Fiji – May 21 at 8pm Eastern
To view the full list of upcoming Fishinars, and to register, please click here: www.REEF.org/fishinars.
Can’t make it to the live event? All of our Fishinars are recorded and available to watch here: www.REEF.org/fishinararchives.
REEF arranges private Fishinars and virtual meetings with school groups, dive clubs, and other organizations. If you are interested please email elliep@REEF.org.
Advanced Assessment Team (AAT) Wrap-Up for July
By Joe Cavanaugh, Director of Field Operations
REEF completed two Advanced Assessment Team (AAT) projects this past month, the Wellwood Monitoring Project and the Spiegel Grove Monitoring Project. Many of you may not know about REEF's AAT program, please check this link to learn more about this very important REEF program. Essentially, as REEF members gain more experience identifying fish and conducting surveys, they can move through our experience level testing and hopefully achieve expert status, after which time these members are invited to participate in special monitoring and assessment projects with REEF staff. To learn more about our experience level testing, please click here.
Both the Wellwood and Spiegel projects were 5-year AAT assessments. The M/V Wellwood, a 122-meter Cypriot-registered freighter, ran aground on August 4, 1984, on Molasses Reef off Key Largo, Florida. The ship impacted the reef's upper fore reef and remained aground for 12 days. The grounding destroyed 1,285 square meters of living corals and injured 644 square meters of coral reef framework. In an effort to restore habitat structure and stability to the grounding site, restoration began in May 2002. REEF was contracted by the National Marine Sanctuary Program to document recruitment of fishes onto the site as well as the subsequent changes, if any, to surrounding reefs sites. Our final assessment was completed on July 29th.
The final Spiegel Grove AAT was completed on August 8th. The Spiegel Grove is a 510' LSD that was intentionally sunk as an artificial reef structure in the waters between Molasses Reef and Elbow Reef in Key Largo, Florida, in May 2002. Previous to the May 16, 2006 sinking of the Oriskany (aircraft carrier), the Spiegel Grove was the largest ship ever intentionally scuttled to create an artificial reef. Pursuant to the permit received by the Upper Keys Artificial Reef Foundation (UKARF) to sink the ship in National Marine Sanctuary waters, a plan for pre-deployment and periodic monitoring was implemented. The UKARF contracted REEF to conduct pre-deployment and periodic monitoring of the Spiegel Grove and adjacent natural and artificial reef sites. Monitoring documented fish presence/absence and relative abundance at 8 sites during 7 monitoring events in Year 1 and then bi-annually thereafter for four years. Thank you to all the AAT members, who over the past 5 years contributed to either of these survey efforts.
I also want to send out a BIG thank you to everyone who helped out on our AAT projects the past few weeks. In addition to the Wellwood and Spiegel projects above, we completed our annual middle and upper Keys Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary assessments - 12 days straight! Specifically, I would like to thank Horizon, Paradise, and Quiescence Divers dive shops, and the following individuals, a couple of whom did all 12 days of AAT project diving- Dave Grenda, Brenda Hitt, Brian Hufford, Lillian Kenney, Wayne Manning, Ann Outlaw, Mike Phelan, and our two past interns (newest AAT members) - Marissa Nuttall and Paige Switzer.
Our next AAT project will be the Biscayne National Park AAT in early October (team already assembled). Also, the Hoyt Vandenberg will present an exciting and new AAT project for REEF beginning next year. Currently the ship is being prepared for sinking in Norfolk, VA. It's due to be brought down to the Keys in January (08) and deployed in early April, about 6 miles off the coast of Key West http://www.fla-keys.com/news/news.cfm?sid=1854 . We are currently finalizing our monitoring plan for this vessel and will be monitoring this newest artificial reef over the next 5 years, beginning in early spring with a pre-deployment event. You will hear more about this project in the coming months.
Hope to see you in the water soon.
Best "fishes,"
Joe
Welcome
By Leda A. CunninghamHappy holiday week! I hope you are looking forward to Thanksgiving and the upcoming holiday season.
REEF is pleased to bring you our monthly update on the many projects that continue to actively engage you, our valuable members, in marine conservation. Before we get there, though, I want to ask for your help in meeting an ambitious but critical goal to keep these projects going: please help REEF raise $100,000 by the end of the year. Please click here to make a secure, tax-deductible donation today.
Your support helped EEF Science Director, Dr. Christy Semmens, participate in the annual Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute meeting held earlier this month, where she presented the results of monitoring two artificial reefs in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Your support helped REEF Field Operations Director, Joe Cavanaugh, participate in multi-stakeholder training to protect coral reefs in Akumal, Mexico. Your support helped develop new online data entry for the Pacific and Hawaii REEF survey regions, allowing REEF to improve data management. Your support helped REEF promote the Volunteer Survey Project as a diver acquisition eco-activity to the dive industry at DEMA Show 2007. Your support helped to develop an innovative home study course to train divers and snorkelers in "fishwatching" and conducting marine life surveys. Your support counts for a lot at REEF! Please click here to make a secure, tax-deductible donation today.
Other items of interest this month include tips for using the new REEF.org website, a design contest for the 2008 Field Survey tshirt, important news about the REEF Store and interesting happenings at REEF HQ.
Enjoy your turkey and we'll see you next month!
Best fishes,
Leda
Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen Visits REEF HQ
By Leda A. Cunningham
On Tuesday, March 4, REEF was pleased to host Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen at its headquarters in Key Largo, Florida. Ros-Lehtinen represents Florida’s 18th district, including Monroe County and the Florida Keys. REEF Board and staff discussed the importance of training volunteers in marine conservation to preserving the long-term health of coral reefs in the Florida Keys and worldwide.
“I am thrilled to be visiting REEF and getting a look at their wonderful conservation and diving programs as this group is comprised of those who truly enjoy the beauty and serenity of the seas, divers and marine conservationists,” Ros-Lehtinen said.
The group laid out plans to train volunteers to conduct biological monitoring and assessment of key managed areas through the REEF Volunteer Survey Project. Ros-Lehtinen suggested presenting scientific findings in local schools and pledged to learn to do marine life surveys on her next visit to the Florida Keys. The potential threat posed by exotic invasive lionfish to the Florida Keys reef tract and ways to educate residents about the problem were also discussed.
“This is a great opportunity to share some of the important work REEF is doing to preserve the natural, national heritage of the Florida Keys coral reef ecosystem,” said REEF Executive Director, Leda Cunningham. “We are honored to have the Congresswoman at REEF HQ and look forward to working collaboratively on projects such as training volunteers to collect marine life data and keeping exotic invasive lionfish out of Florida Keys waters.”
Akumal Field Survey Report
By Audrey Smith, REEF HQ Volunteer
My husband and I recently joined 10 other REEF volunteers on a Field Survey to Akumal, Mexico. Akumal is located on the Mayan Riviera, quite near the Mayan ruins at Tulum, and about 60+ miles from Cancun, Mexico. Our time was filled with diving and conducting REEF surveys, fish identification seminars, exploring cenotes, and learning about sea turtle nesting research.
We stayed at Gran Bahia Principe Resorts, part of an international resort group, which is really 3 resorts in one and covers an enormous acreage on the ocean. The area was so large that one had to catch one of the resort’s trams to travel from one place to another. Sunny weather is the norm that time of year and we had no rain the entire week.
One of the interesting geographic features in this part of Mexico is the cenote, a type of sinkhole which connects to subterranean bodies of water and sometimes cave systems. The rainwater which fills the cenote is crystal-clear because it has been filtered through rock substrata and contains very little particulate matter. The REEF group had the opportunity to dive and snorkel several of these cenotes when ocean conditions turned too rough for dives on the reef, and it proved to be an amazing and unique experience! Since freshwater and salt water are both found in some cenotes, REEF divers surveyed some unusual fish, and experienced the sensation of diving through a halocline, a region below the surface of a body of water where there is a significant change in density due, in the case of cenotes, to increased salinity. Many of the divers described the experience of ascending from salt water into fresh as akin to a dream state. –“The fresh water was so clear, it was hard to believe I was still underwater!" Strange and unusual formations in the caves accentuated the dreamlike atmosphere. Illuminated only by divers’ lights, stalagmites, stalactites and columns stirred the imagination. Fish, bats and birds find a sanctuary in these caves.
Another unique element of Bahia Principe was a local environmental group, Eco-Bahia, whose members work with the resort to help preserve the stands of coral and other sealife found off the beaches. Eco Bahia’s representative, Diana Garcia Urrutia, explained to REEF members all the goals of their program, including the preservation of sea turtle nests. Many sea turtles, mostly Loggerheads and Hawksbills, return to Bahia Principe’s beaches each summer to dig their nests and deposit their eggs. Members of Eco Bahia along with community volunteers protect the turtles as they nest, then collect the eggs and rebury them in a safe, fenced environment just off the beach. When the baby turtles begin to dig out, Eco Bahia volunteers gather them up and bring in local school children who name each baby and send it safely out to sea with a kiss and a blessing. What an excellent way to assure that younger generations will have an emotional connection to the wildlife of their area!
The Akumal Field Survey was certainly a pleasurable and enlightening experience! To find out more about the REEF Field Survey Program and to book your space on a dive vacation that counts, visit the REEF Trips section of our webpage. To view photo albums from the Akumal Field Survey, click on these links: Akumal album 1, Akumal album 2, Akumal album 3, Akumal album 4. The Akumal Field Survey Data Summary is also available online.
Charter REEF Members Conduct Milestone Dives
By Christy Pattengill-Semmens, REEF Director of Science
Two of REEF's Charter Members, Douglas and Jane Rorex, recently returned from their annual dive vacation to Bonaire. Of course they conducted REEF surveys, documenting the rich fish diversity that is found on Bonaire's reef. But they also each made milestone dives during the trip. Douglas conducted his 3,000th dive and Jane conducted her 700th dive! Both were given medals from the dive resort and Ned and Anna DeLoach, who were in Bonaire for their annual Marine Life Education Program, signed their log books. Douglas and Jane have been with REEF since the beginning -- they are REEF Members 25 and 26. They participated in one of the very first Field Surveys that was held in May 1994. Douglas is a member of the REEF Advanced Assessment Team and has conducted over 350 surveys; Jane has conducted 85 surveys.
Douglas and Jane greatly enjoy their annual trip to Bonaire -- this was their 15th year! Some of their favorite fish finds include the common but always beautiful juvenile yellowtail damselfish as well as the more cryptic frillfin goby and candy basslet. Douglas also conducts surveys on deep reefs in Bonaire (140 feet+), where he finds sargassum triggerfish and striped grunt. Bonaire is also a great place to find frogfish. One of their favorite frogfish stories is about two frogfish that they found on a large coral head at the dive site Windsock. The female had been there for several weeks and was getting larger by the week (obviously ready to mate). One day as Douglas and Jane were hovering nearby, a smaller male frogfish came from underneath the coralhead, waddled over next to her and sort of nuzzled her. She responded by taking her left pectoral fin and giving him a perfect stiff arm. She really smacked him. The rejected male made a hasty somewhat dazzed retreat back to the underside of the coral head. Douglas looked up at Jane to see her practicing the stiff arm manevaure and considering adding it to her repotorie.
Congratulations Douglas and Jane!! Thank you for your enduring support of and involvement with REEF.
Tigers, Canaries and Chinas, oh my! -- Annual Olympic Coast Monitoring
By Janna Nichols and David Jennings (REEF Pacific Advanced Assessment Team Members)
REEF's Pacific Northwest Advanced Assessment Team (AAT) gathered in mid-August to survey fish and invertebrate life in the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary (OCNMS). Twelve divers conducted over 120 REEF surveys in the week-long project on Washington's northwest coastline, gathering data to add to the previous 7 year's worth that the project has generated. Twelve sites were surveyed by the divers. The Sanctuary is home to many colorful fish and invertebrates and is a popular spot for sport diving. It is also a popular spot for fishing and there is concern that biodiversity has been diminishing in the area, especially in some species of long-lived rockfish such as Tiger and China Rockfish. Data collected by the AAT will be helpful in tracking these population trends.
Members of the OCNMS REEF survey team were treated to a great week of diving and lots of exciting sights in this remote and wild part of Washington State. Whales were seen every day. Basket stars and giant pacific octopus were encountered by many. And about half the team conducted an optional night dive to remember off of Tatoosh Island in the open Pacific surrounded by Stellar Sea Lions. Projects like the annual OCNMS monitoring are a great way for active REEF volunteers to apply their skills and expertise. These projects are also just one more reason for REEF surveyors to improve their identification skills and increase their survey experience level.
A big thank you to the participating AAT members: Claude and Janna Nichols, Ron and April Theod, Jeanne Luce, David Jennings, Greg Jensen, Todd Cliff, Nick Brown, Pete Naylor, Lorne Curran and Stan Kurowski. Thanks to Mike Furguson and his great crew at Porthole Dive Charters and to Winter's Summer Inn for supporting the project. Funding for the project was provided by The Sustainable Path Foundation and The Russell Family Foundation.
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