REEF Collaborators

REEF's success is partly attributed to its many collaborations with a variety of groups, resource agencies, and organizations. Below is a listing of past and ongoing collaborations.

Past and Current Collaborations

Atlantic and Gulf Rapid Reef Assessment, International

In 1998, REEF staff were involved in an international scientific effort to develop a new rapid assessment protocol for the inter-American seas. The protocol was termed the Atlantic and Gulf Rapid Reef Assessment (AGRRA). The standardized protocol is used to measure the health of the reef using fish, corals, and algae. REEF's survey methodology and database were included in the fish component. In 1999, REEF staff and Advanced Assessment Team members participated in five of the AGRRA expeditions- Andros, the Cayman Islands, the Flower Garden Banks, Saba/St. Marteen/St. Eustatia, and St. Croix.
Atlantic and Gulf Rapid Reef Assessment

Biscayne Bay Foundation, Florida

During 1999 and 2000, the Biscayne Bay Foundation (BBF) is employed REEF survey methods to quarterly monitor two key reefs within Biscayne National Park off Southeast Florida. This monitoring and subsequent data will be used by BBF to record changes over time. This is especially important because a large development project is currently be proposed for an area adjacent to both Biscayne National Park and Everglades National Park.
Biscayne Bay Foundation

Edmonds Underwater Park and Port Townsend Marine Science Center, Washington

As part of REEF's expansion to the Pacific Northwest in 1998, several local groups were identified to serve as team leaders to train divers and conduct regular REEF surveys. Edmonds, the oldest Marine Park in the United States, and the Port Townsend MSC on the Olympic Peninsula are leaders in REEF's Northwest efforts. Both areas are regularly surveyed, providing valuable baseline data on these important sites.
Edmonds Underwater Park
Port Townsend Marine Science Center

Florida Keys Community College (FKCC)

The Florida Keys Community College (FKCC) in Key West is now using REEF roving diver survey methods to monitor area reefs and three artificial reefs/shipwrecks (Adolphus Busch, Cayman, and Joe's Tug). This survey method is being taught to FKCC students through a number of courses offered at the college, including Marine Data Collection, Research Diving Techniques and Marine Biology. Fish identification seminars are offered monthly to the college scuba club, FKCC staff and faculty, the Key West community, and visitors. For more information, please visit www.fkcc.cc or call Tracy Hamilton at 305-296-9081, extension 242.

Great Annual Fish Count, National and International

The Great Annual Fish Count (GAFC) is an annual REEF event that serves to focus fish survey effort and provide an introduction to volunteer fish surveying to divers and snorkelers. Leading up to the event, which takes place each July, local partners organize free fish ID seminars. The NOAA National Marine Sanctuary Program provides support for the GAFC and event activities focus on eight Sanctuary sites: Channel Islands NMS, Florida Keys NMS, Flower Garden Banks NMS, Gray's Reef NMS, Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale NMS, Monterey Bay NMS, the Olympic Coast NMS, and Stellwagen Bank NMS.Great Annual Fish CountHawaii Coral Reef Network and Project S.E.A.-Link, Hawaii

As part of our expansion to the Hawaiian Islands in 2001, REEF has teamed up with two Hawaiian organizations, Project S.E.A.-LINK and the Coral Reef Network. In addition to acting as on-island coordinators for the Project's launch and the REEF program, they have enabled collaboration on survey material development with Maui Community College/Marine Options Program and the Division of Aquatic Resources at the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources.
Project S.E.A.-LINK
Hawaii Coral Reef Network

Living Oceans Society, Canada

The Living Oceans Society (LOS), based in British Columbia, has been instrumental in evolving the Pacific Northwest REEF program. This partnership, the Living REEF Project, has led to ongoing fish ID training seminars and group survey dives throughout BC. The Project is currently field testing an invertebrate survey program that is patterned after the REEF fish survey and reporting methodologies.
Living Oceans Society

National Marine Fisheries Service, Florida

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) played an important role in REEF's early years, providing guidance in developing the Roving Diver Technique survey methodology, survey materials, and reporting. Today, they continue to provide technical support and work with REEF on several research projects. The NMFS is a program under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
National Marine Fisheries Service

National Marine Sanctuary Program, National

REEF has enjoyed a cooperative partnership with the National Marine Sanctuary Program (NMSP) since REEF's first surveys, which took place in the Florida Keys NMS. Annually, REEF field projects are conducted within Sanctuary sites and REEF data are being used by Sanctuary managers and staff for a variety of applications. REEF activities currently are done in Gray's Reef NMS in Georgia, the Florida Keys NMS, the Flower Garden Banks NMS in the Gulf of Mexico, the Channel Islands NMS, Monterey Bay NMS, and the Olympic Coast NMS. Due to the amount of REEF work that occurs within the NMSP, the Program financially supports a portion of the REEF Scientific Coordinator staff position. The NMSP is a program under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
REEF and the NMSP Webpage
National Marine Sanctuary Program

The Nature Conservancy, Florida

The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is an important part of REEF's success as a valid and productive volunteer monitoring program. During the development of the REEF Fish Survey Project, the TNC's Marine Conservation Science Center at the University of Miami worked with REEF to provide guidance on methodology and reporting. They also provided the initial financial support for the survey materials and data management. Today, TNC's support of REEF is focused on applying REEF data to coral reef conservation issues such as the design of marine reserves and marine parks, particularly at sites where The Nature Conservancy is actively involved.
The Nature Conservancy

New England Aquarium, Massachusetts

REEF, the New England Aquarium, and the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary coordinated the Batfish Removal Program (BRP) in April 2000. Through the BRP, REEF and Aquarium divers captured two of the three exotic teira batfish (Platax teira) that were found on Molasses Reef in Key Largo. It is not known how the batfish, which are native to the Indo-West Pacific, got to the Florida reef but they are now residing in an exhibit on exotic and invasive species at the Aquarium. REEF is also currently working with the NE Aquarium, the Baltimore Aquarium, and the University of Rhode Island to develop survey materials to expand REEF's Fish Survey Project to the Northeast States (Maine through North Carolina).
New England Aquarium

NOAA's Biogeography Office, National

In 1999, Biogeography Program staff began to use REEF data from the Florida Keys to examine the relationships between fishes and habitats in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS). During the next two years, the project aims to define, map, and model the spatial and temporal distribution and abundance of reef fishes among benthic habitats of the FKNMS using REEF data. In addition, the map-based analyses will assist in the efforts to assess the effects of the no-take zones. This project will serve as the model for the Biogeography Team to apply REEF data to other areas, including the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. This collaboration with the Biogeography Team has provided REEF with the technical boost to begin its Reef Fish Distribution Atlas for the Tropical Western Atlantic.
NOAA's Biogeography Office

The Ocean Conservancy (formally known as the Center for Marine Conservation), International

With funding from NOAA's Coastal Zone Management Program, REEF and The Ocean Conservancy will be coordinating three Fish and Benthic Monitoring Workshops to be held on Puerto Rico, the USVI, and other Caribbean Nations. These week-long programs are targeted at local stakeholders and participation is free of charge through CZM funding sponsorship. The workshops feature classroom and field training in taxonomic identification of local fishes, corals, algae, and key invertebrates and in the survey methodologies of two volunteer monitoring programs, REEF's Fish Survey Project and The Ocean Conservancy’s Reef Ecosystem Condition Program (RECON). The purpose of the workshops are three-fold: 1) to enable a local corps of divers to provide on-going fish and benthic condition data for local reefs, 2) to collect a baseline of information on the fish populations of the area using a REEF Advanced Assessment Team, and 3) to establish and collect baseline data at RECON survey sites. A summary report of the first workshop in Puerto Rico is available for download.
The Ocean Conservancy
Workshop Website

PADI Project AWARE, International

In association with PADI Project AWARE, REEF has developed a series of Fish Identification Specialty courses. Each slide-based training module is based on a particular region and introduces students to fish identification and the REEF Fish Survey Program. Modules are currently available for the following regions: troical western Atlantic (Caribbean/Florida), South-Atlantic, Southern California, Northern California, Pacific Northwest, and the Gulf of California. Project AWARE has also provided support for a variety of GAFC products and the Gulf of California survey materials.
PADI Project AWARE

Peter Hughes Diving, International

Peter Hughes Diving (PHD) has partnered with REEF to bring our fish ID training program and surveying to guests on the four Caribbean PHD boats. Beginning in January 2000, PHD guests have found REEF materials and the opportunity to take the Introduction to Fish Identification during their week of diving on these world renowned dive boats. To encourage participation, PHD holds quarterly and annual drawings of the REEF surveys submitted for great prizes, including a free PHD trip for two.
Peter Hughes Diving, Inc.

REEF Field Station of the Northern Gulf of Mexico, New Orleans and Pensacola

This active REEF's field station is headed by Danielle Dowdy, a marine biology student at University of West Florida. They organize several fish ID seminars and survey dives each year, hold monthly REEF meetings, and coordinate the area's GAFC events. Their surveys have produced some of the first REEF data from the northern Gulf of Mexico.
REEF Field Station of the Northern Gulf of Mexico

San Diego Oceans Foundation, San Diego

In the Summer of 2001, the San Diego Oceans Foundation incorporated the REEF Fish Survey Project in their monitoring activities. The San Diego Oceans Foundation is a non-profit volunteer organization dedicated to promoting stewardship of the ocean by leading community supported research projects that enhance ocean habitat and encourage sustainable use of ocean resources. The San Diego Oceans Foundation sponsored a REEF Fish ID class and a Great American Fish Count dive in July 2001. They are planning to continue doing the REEF fish surveys year round with their artificial reef monitoring project and with project Yukon.
San Diego Oceans Foundation

Santa Monica Baykeepers, Los Angeles

Starting in 1999, this local group of the Baykeepers incorporated REEF surveys into their regular kelp forest monitoring of the Bay. This landmark area in Southern California is slowly making a comeback, and REEF fish ID training and surveys are providing valuable information to the Baykeepers and to the REEF database.
Santa Monica Baykeepers

Sonoran Sea Aquarium, Tucson

In March 2000, REEF expanded its Fish Survey Project to the Tropical Eastern Pacific (Gulf of California to the Galapagos Islands). This expansion was made possible through a partnership with the Sonoran Sea Aquarium, a new facility to be built in Tucson, AZ. With funding from PADI's Project AWARE and the National Wildlife Federation and guidance from Mexico's Instituto Nacional de la Pesca, a new set of bilingual survey materials was produced.
Sonoran Sea AquariumInstituto Nacional de la Pesca

State of Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Florida

The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWCC) is Florida's principal environmental agency. FWCC manages an artificial reef program using manmade materials to attract and replenish fish stocks and contracts with coastal counties to conduct ongoing monitoring studies of these artificial reefs. In 1999, REEF began a training program to assist these local teams to standardize their methodology and reporting scheme. Implementing the REEF survey methodology and using REEF's database will provide the state quick access to collected data and allow scientists to compare fish assemblages at the different artificial reef sites statewide.
State of Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

Sustainable Seas Expedition, National

The Sustainable Seas Expedition (SSE) is a five-year project to explore the deeper regions of the National Marine Sanctuaries by submarine. It is headed by Dr. Sylvia Earle and is a partnership between the National Geographic and NOAA that is funded by the Goldman Family Fund. The subs, called Deepworker 2000, are one-person, unteathered subs capable of diving to 2000 feet. Beginning with its first year of exploration in 1999, REEF's Executive Director, Laddie Akins, has participated in several missions at three of the Sanctuary sites and in Mexico. During his sub dives, Laddie conducts deep water fish surveys using a modified version of REEF's Roving Diver Technique.
Sustainable Seas Expedition