Did you know that April is Citizen Science Month? Coordinated by SciStarter, Citizen Science Month helps raise awareness of opportunities for everyone to participate in science in meaningful ways. Citizen science is at the heart of REEF's work with the Volunteer Fish Survey Project (VFSP). Since its launch in 1993, the VFSP has generated one of the largest marine life databases in the world. As of April 1, 2023, the REEF VFSP database has 281,606 surveys conducted at 16,189 sites throughout the world’s oceans, by 17,030 volunteer divers and snorkelers worldwide. These data are made available to scientists, resource managers, and government agencies to better understand, study, and protect marine ecosystems.
The data are available for free on the REEF website, and are open to access by anyone. Data summary reports available online include reports on Geographic Zone, Diversity, Species Distribution, and more. VFSP volunteers can also access a variety of personalized reports if they are logged in to the website, including their Lifelist and Survey Log. We're also excited to share that a new "My Dashboard" report is now available under the "My REEF" menu on the website, just in time for Citizen Science Month! The Dashboard provides our volunteers with a snapshot of their activity, including total surveys, date of first survey, easy access to their most recent surveys, activity by year, and more. If you are a REEF surveyor, check it out!