REEF Fish & Friends - Collaborative Fisheries Science with a "SMILE" (Size Matters Innovative Length Estimates)

Dr. Jennifer Loch, REEF Research Associate
4/8/2025 6:15pm to 8:00pm EDT
REEF Campus - 98300 Overseas Hwy., Key Largo, FL 33037

This month we are excited to welcome Dr. Jen Loch, REEF Research Associate, who will discuss the SMILE project. Size matters – especially when it comes to fisheries management. A new collaborative project called SMILE (Size Matters: Innovative Length Estimates) is now underway in the Florida Keys to help collect information about fish lengths. These data are critical for fisheries management and ocean conservation.

2025 Florida Keys Lionfish Derby & Arts Festival

4/27/2025 12:00pm to 4:00pm EDT
REEF Campus, 98300 Overseas Hwy. Key Largo, FL 33037

Our 16th Annual Florida Keys Lionfish Derby will culminate in a Family Friendly Conservation Science and Arts Festival.
Hands-on activities, interactive displays, educational games, and much more!

Festival is open to public; Vendor application open! Apply now!

REEF Fish & Friends - Sea Turtle Nesting in South Florida: Trends & Threats

David Anderson, Sea Turtle Conservation Coordinator, Gumbo Limbo Nature center
5/13/2025 6:15pm to 8:00pm EDT
REEF Campus - 98300 Overseas Hwy., Key Largo, FL 33037

This month we are excited to welcome David Anderson as our guest speaker. David and his team collect sea turtle nesting data and analyze trends using geographic information technology on Boca Raton’s five miles of beach. He also conducts nighttime lighting surveys and responds to sea turtle stranding events. Join us to learn more about the threats sea turtles face and how this work is important for protecting the coastal environment.

REEF Fish & Friends - Fishes We Have Known: A Love Story

Ned DeLoach, Marine Life Author, REEF Co-Founder
6/10/2025 6:15pm to 8:00pm EDT
REEF Campus - 98300 Overseas Hwy., Key Largo, FL 33037

This month we are excited to welcome REEF Co-Founder Ned DeLoach for a very special presentation! Shortly after graduating from Texas Tech University in 1967, Ned moved to Florida to dive. During his 20-year teaching career in Jacksonville, Florida, he was active in the Florida cave diving community, and wrote many articles for popular scuba diving publications. In 1979, he formed New World Publications and published the Diving Guide to Underwater Florida, in print for over 40 years.

REEF Fish & Friends - Archaeology in the Florida Keys

Sara Ayers-Rigsby, MA, RPA, Director of Southeast/Southwest Regions, Florida Public Archaeology Network
8/12/2025 6:15pm to 8:00pm EDT
REEF Campus - 98300 Overseas Hwy., Key Largo, FL 33037

This month we are excited to welcome Sara Ayers-Rigsby as our guest speaker. As Director for the Southeast/Southwest Regions of the Florida Public Archaeology Network, Sara designs educational outreach and programming for Florida’s nine southernmost counties. Before this role, she spent 10 years working as an archaeologist, focusing on the southeast and Mid-Atlantic regions. She holds an M.A. in Archaeology for Screen Media from the University of Bristol and a B.A.