Watch Livestream on our Facebook Page Upcoming Fish & Friends Events Calendar Sign up for Updates on Local EventsHistory & Past Speaker Archive
REEF Fish & Friends is a free seminar series held at the REEF Campus in Key Largo, Florida. Each event features engaging ocean-themed presentations from guest speakers. Snorkelers, divers, and marine life enthusiasts are invited to join informal discussions and mingle with members of our friendly, ocean-minded community. Complimentary light refreshments are provided. The evening kicks off with a social from 6:15-7pm, followed by a presentation from 7-8pm. Seminars are also live-streamed on the REEF Facebook page and YouTube channel. REEF Fish & Friends is made possible by the generous support of our members. For information on how to get involved, email mead@REEF.org.
If you want to be notified about our community events such as Fish & Friends, sign up to receive the monthly REEF Campus and Keys Community newsletter here.
2025 Schedule (see archive for full listing of speakers and links to recordings)
 |
January 14, 2025: All Hands on Deck: Collaboration for Restoration in the Florida Keys Join us as we dive into the exciting world of collaborative reef restoration in the Florida Keys and learn how renowned research institutions, local dive centers, government agencies, and nonprofits are coming together to tackle the challenges facing our local ecosystems.
|
 |
February 11, 2025: What it Means to be Reef Safe Coral reefs are among the most vibrant and biodiverse ecosystems on Earth, but they are increasingly threatened by human activity. While an large number of companies are labeling their sunscreens as "reef safe", they are doing so without thoroughly testing the ingredients for their effects on coral reefs and marine life. In this presentation, Autumn will explain why Stream2Sea has chosen the term "reef safer" and is leading the way towards a higher stander of transparency and accountability in the sunscreen and body care industries. |
 |
March 11, 2025: Galapagos Fishes, From the Shore to the Abyss & From Darwin to DNA Dr. Jack Stein Grove is a marine biologist, naturalist, and photographer with over 45 years of experience. Stanford University Press published his seminal book, Fishes of the Galapagos (Grove & Lavenberg, 1997). Jack has published numerous scientific papers and he has lectured on marine science, oceanography and biodiversity aboard ships and private yachts around the world. Dr. Grove’s home is here in the Florida Keys, where he is completing the second edition of the book, coauthored by ichthyologists Douglas J. Long, and Benjamin Victor. The new book, Galapagos Fishes From the Shore to the Abyss and From Darwin to DNA, will be released open access, within the year. |
 |
April 8, 2025: Collaborative Fisheries Science with a "SMILE" (Size Matters Innovative Length Estimates) 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. Funded through NOAA’s Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP), the SMILE project involves volunteer divers, innovative underwater camera technology, and the expansion of a citizen science approach to collect length data for reef fish in the South Atlantic. Join us to learn more about this project and how you can get involved! |
 |
May 13, 2025: Sea Turtle Nesting in South Florida: Trends & Threats 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. |
 |
June 10, 2025: Fishes We Have Known: A Love Story 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. In 1989, Ned and Paul Humann published Reef Fish Identification, Florida, Caribbean, Bahamas and co-founded REEF. Since then, Ned and his wife Anna have traveled the world, writing and capturing their view of marine life in multiple more publications. Currently, their writing and photography appears as a regular feature in Alert Diver. |
 |
July 8, 2025: Goliath Grouper & Shark Conservation: Successes & Failures Despite conservation efforts leading to signs of regional recovery for Goliath Grouper in Florida waters and localized shark population increases where strong regulations and sanctuaries exist, both Goliath Grouper and many shark species continue to face significant global declines. Dr Malinowski's research integrates population studies, behavior, ecology, health physiology, and toxicology to understand the complex factors affecting these marine predators' survival across regions and ecosystems. |
 |
August 12, 2025: Archaeology in the Florida Keys Join us for a journey through the cultural history of South Florida. 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, and also spent 10 years working as an archaeologist. |