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 feature Patricia Richardson (REEF member since 2000). Pat lives on the Big Island in Hawaii, and is a member of REEF's Hawaii Advanced Assessment Tea. Pat has conducted 778 surveys, and most of these have been done at one site. She has really enjoyed getting to know every critter that lives in her neighborhood spot. Here's what Pat had to say about REEF:

When and how did you first volunteer with REEF or become a REEF member?

Richardson Ocean Park in Hilo, Hawaii, is near my home – and by chance shares my name. In 2000, I decided I wanted to learn as much as I could about the fish life in this popular beach area with the purpose of keeping a record of species diversity and general ocean health. Not long after I began my project, Liz Foote and Donna Brown came to Hilo to conduct a REEF training session. The REEF survey methods were a perfect match with my personal project! Before I left the training session, I was signed up, tested for Level 2, and hooked! I submitted my first survey dated January, 2001.

If you have been on a REEF Field Survey, where and what was your trip highlight?

Since then I have become SCUBA certified and have participated in four REEF survey trips in Hawaii led by Christy and Brice Semmens. My favorite was the trip to Kauai in August of 2006. I saw my first pair of Tinker’s Butterflyfish, also a Hawaiian Morwong and a Whiskered Boarfish. The last two fish are more common in the remote Northwestern Hawaiian Islands than in our main islands. We were also thrilled to see Hawaiian monk seals on several dives. Another REEF adventure was a trip to American Samoa in 2010 to help REEF extend survey methods into the South Pacific. This was my first chance to do surveys out of my home waters. It was very exciting to see many new species along with familiar “faces” from Hawaii.

What inspires you to complete REEF surveys?

Keeping a close watch on the fish life at Richardson Ocean Park is still my favorite activity. I use mask, snorkel, and fins because the average depth of the area I survey is 4 to 6 feet, with occasional drops to 20 feet if the surf is down. A single survey usually takes about 2.5 hours. After ten years and about 700 surveys in this one small area, I am still amazed each time I enter the water with the constant change and constant beauty I find there. From time to time, something new pops up to keep me alert. Recently it was a Yellowhead (Banded) Moray. And a couple times it was a Hawaiian Monk Seal! Unfortunately, there’s no place on the data sheet for that! I also drive to Kona on the west side of Hawaii Island to dive and snorkel, always with my underwater survey slate in hand.

What is your favorite part about being a REEF member?

My connection with REEF gives me the satisfaction of being a “citizen scientist” and a good excuse to spend several hours each week following beautiful fish around and watching their fascinating behavior. After a decade as a REEF fish counter, I am looking forward to the next decade. It’s the greatest retirement project I can imagine!

Want to learn a few of the Hawaiian fishes that Pat loves so well? Join the upcoming Fishinar, March 21st:

Fish that Say Aloha! Hawaii's Top 15

Hawaiian REEF Fish ID: Learn tips from REEF Experts and fish geeks, Donna Brown and Liz Foote.
Essential for dive travelers heading to the Hawaiian Islands, and kama'aina alike.
Wednesday, March 21st at 4pm HST / 7pm PDT / 10pm EDT - Register

In the summer of 1993, the first REEF fish surveys were conducted by a group of pioneering volunteers. Twenty years later, REEF's Volunteer Survey Project and other REEF initiatives are leading the way as innovative and effective marine conservation programs. To celebrate, we will be hosting 4 days of diving, learning, and parties this August in Key Largo, Florida, and we hope you will join us! REEF Fest - Celebrating 20 Years of Marine Conservation Success will take place August 7-11, 2013. The weekend will include diving oportunities each day, as well as seminar offerings such as Intro and Advanced Fish ID, Lionfish Collection, Artificial Reefs in the Keys, Grouper Moon, and special talks given by REEF Co-Founders, Paul Humann and Ned DeLoach. We'll also have an open house at REEF HQ and a celebration banquet on Saturday night. More details will be coming soon, including the complete schedule, seminar registration, hotel room blocks with special rates, diving charters, and social gatherings. But in the mean time, please save the date and get ready to celebrate!

Okay, well not exactly. But now that I have your attention.  We ARE counting something in REEF HQ's backyard, not fish, but birds!  I have signed myself /REEF up for Cornell University's Lab of Ornithology Project FeederWatch, an annual survey of birds that visit bakcyard feeders in winter. I have known about this other great citizen science program for a couple of years and like many of you, my love for birds, equals my affinity for fishes.  Last week, 4 painted buntings visited REEF's feeder for a little over a week!  You can see my fuzzy picture of a couple of them at the feeder from afar in one of the attached photos. This prompted me to go online and investigate Cornell University's FeederWatch Program further.  From their homepage you will read, "FeederWatchers periodically count the highest numbers of each species they see at their feeders from November through early April. FeederWatch helps scientists track broadscale movements of winter bird populations and long-term trends in bird distribution and abundance."  Sounds a bit familiar doesn't it?  

Spend a little time on their website and you will see that FeederWatch parallels REEF programmatically in a few significant ways:  1. Anyone can participate in North America, all different levels from beginners to experts; 2. We both begin participation by purchasing a starter kit, FeederWatch calls theirs a Participant Kit and it costs $15; 3. Both organizations have online Dataentry and tracking of individual participant data; 4. Similar absence/presence data, abundances, and distribution for both groups in addition to viewing individuals' data http://watch.birds.cornell.edu/PFW/ExploreData; 5. Both of our organizations utilize citizen science data to inform and assist scientists in assessing population abundance indices of important avian and fish species, leading to peer-reviewed publications and ultimately influencing species and habitat management decistions; 6. You can check on their database to see what birds are rare in your area and if there are any other FeederWatch stations near you, just as REEF members can check for fish sighting frequencies and dive sites that have been surveyed in our areas of interest.

I'm sure there are many more parallels I could draw for you, but you get the point.  One important note and the reason I am submitting this article right now is that FeederWatch season runs from the the second Saturday in November through April and is a winter activity.  For all of our temperate REEF members who are looking for something to count when you're not underwater, this is it!  To learn more, check out their website at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/pfw/Overview/over_index.html.

With just a few days left in the REEF Summer Drive, we are almost there.   Help REEF meet our goal of raising $25,000 by the Forth of July holiday.  Please do your part to make sure that REEF's important marine conservation programs continue to make a difference.  In appreciation, donations of $50 or more will get you a copy of the exclusive 2008 Album of the Sea Screensaver with amazing underwater photographs by Ned and Anna DeLoach.  Please donate online through our secure website or call the REEF office today (305-852-0030).