We are excited to honor Dennis Bensen as 2021 REEF Volunteer of the Year. Dennis joined REEF in 2001, and quickly became an avid REEF surveyor as part of the Volunteer Fish Survey Project (VFSP). Through the years, he has earned Expert level surveyor status in both Hawaii (HAW) and the Tropical Western Atlantic (TWA) survey regions, and he is one of the few surveyors who has conducted REEF surveys in most (7) of REEF’s 10 survey regions worldwide. After living in New York for decades, Dennis moved to the Big Island of Hawaii when he retired in 2015.
REEF's online programs are free and open to everyone! Here's what is coming up in the next several weeks:
Tropical Pacific Damselfishes Pt. 2
Monday, April 4, 8pm EDT
Click here to register.
Join us for part 2 as Christy Semmens teaches us how to ID even more Tropical Pacific Damselfish, Dascyllus, and Demoiselles! You can also view the recording of Part 1 here.
Join in a REEF Field Survey Trip to experience an unforgettable fish watching adventure - and complete this month's featured Conservation Challenge! Divers, snorkelers, and surveyors of all experience levels are welcome on these educational citizen science trips, led by REEF fish ID experts. Check out the full trip schedule at www.REEF.org/trips, including our newly released 2023 (and beyond) trip schedule! You are eligible to receive this sticker if you have attended any REEF Field Survey Trip in the past, or you're registered for an upcoming trip.
If one of your resolutions for this year was to read more books, be sure to check out REEF Into the Blue Book Club, which brings together readers who are passionate about the ocean and conservation. This book club is completely virtual, so you can participate from the comfort of home. Here's how it works: each quarter, we select a book about the ocean, marine science, environmental conservation, or diving. Over the next several months, members read the book and may share their thoughts on the Into the Blue Facebook group.
Have you heard about the REEF Conservation Challenge? It's a brand new way to dive into citizen science and marine conservation, and earn exclusive, collectible stickers by completing fun challenges. This month, we’re highlighting the Fishinar challenge. Fishinars are free, marine life identification webinars, led by expert marine life surveyors. To complete this challenge, simply register for and attend a Fishinar any time this year, then fill out the form online to request your sticker!
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.
With Valentine's Day coming up, we have the perfect Fish of the Month for February. Meet the Chocolate Dip Damselfish (Pycnochromis hanui)!
REEF's online programs are free and open to everyone! Here's what is coming up in the next several weeks:
Tropical Pacific Damselfishes Pt. 1
Thursday, February 28, 8pm EST
Click here to register.
Those darn Damselfishes! Join us as we get some tips and tricks to tell them apart in the Tropical Pacific. This is part 1 of a 2-part series - catch part 2 on April 4!
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Grouper Moon Project, and we are excited to report that our team was once again able to get into the field after missing last year due to COVID-19 restrictions. For ten days around the January full moon, our team conducted research to document the Nassau Grouper spawning aggregation on the west end of Little Cayman - the largest and one of the last known aggregations of these endangered reef fish.
We are very excited to introduce the newest member of the REEF Team, Dr. Rachel Walls. Rachel began working with REEF in January 2022, and will continue ongoing research started by previous REEF Research Associate, Dr. Dan Greenberg. This body of work seeks to leverage the extensive REEF Volunteer Fish Survey Project dataset by asking fundamental and applied questions in fisheries science, marine ecology, and conservation biology.