REEF members are the heart of our grassroots marine conservation programs. A diverse community of divers, snorkelers, and ocean enthusiasts support our mission to conserve marine environments worldwide.

This month we highlight REEF member Tiffany Poon. She is an enthusiastic surveyor and in April 2020, she became a Level 5 Expert in the Pacific Coast (PAC) region, where she has conducted more than 200 surveys. Tiffany is also dive instructor, and loves to dive and survey in her home waters near San Diego, California. Thank you, Tiffany, for being a dedicated surveyor and part of the REEF family!

When and how did you first volunteer with REEF or become a REEF member?
I became a REEF volunteer on October 12, 2011! I remember it well, because I had just begun diving with a local group called Power Scuba, and they announced a Fish ID class with Herb Gruenhagen at Ocean Enterprises where I'd earned my PADI Advanced Open Water certification two years before. It was the perfect calling, because I'd been working on my own to identify the creatures in the new-to-me La Jolla waters, and here was someone who was going to help me do it while offering a chance to give back in the process.

Do you dive close to where you live, and if so, what is the best part about diving there?
When I'm diving, I like when it can fulfill multiple purposes at once. Whether I'm focusing on photography or guiding clients underwater, it's easy to note the species we see and submit a REEF survey. The majority of my surveys have been at La Jolla Shores because it's only two miles from my house and the most often accessible shore dive site nearby. It has been wonderful to truly get to know our canyon there and witness how it grows and changes over the years. I also enjoy diving La Jolla Cove and Scripps Canyon. I especially love La Jolla Cove in the spring when we have a chance to see my favorite Sevengill Sharks gracefully swimming through the kelp forest. They've made a great showing the past few years and I hope that will continue. Scripps Canyon is also very special because it holds such a historic place in marine sciences thanks to researchers at the neighboring Scripps Institution of Oceanography. It starts deeper than the canyon at La Jolla Shores and somehow feels a little wilder, with its colourful gorgonians, steep walls, and plethora of nudibranchs. We were very grateful that the University of California granted us beach access to survey the canyon there for some time.

What is your favorite part about being a REEF member?
There are many layers to why I love REEF. Many species still challenge me--I can never attend too many Rockfish Fishinars! As I expand the regions I visit to dive, I hope to be able to survey sites away from home, too. The more data we collect to support researchers, the more they can learn and tell us about these amazing creatures and places we merely glimpse on our dives, and I am curious about so many of them. The REEF membership has been wonderful, from the classroom, to the field, and at trade shows where I always look forward to visiting the REEF booth. And I think the most important community aspect of REEF may be properly introducing us to our underwater denizens. Once an animal has a name, you notice them more often and observe more closely. People love more what they know. For me it begins to provide a framework for seeing the underwater ecosystem we visit as a whole and deepens my understanding of what's around me.

Do you have any surveying, fishwatching, or identification tips for REEF members?
If you're wondering at all about the marine life you see on your dives, I really encourage you to attend a local REEF class. Take the plunge and you'll never regret it! Fast forward to present day, I'm now Vice President of Power Scuba, we still send our members to Herb's Fish ID classes at Ocean Enterprises, and I'm hoping to advance my survey skills. It has been an amazing journey. I can't wait to see what the future holds!