REEF's online programs are free and open to everyone! Here's what is coming up in the next several weeks:
Lionfish hunters, mark your calendars and plan to join us for the 2022 REEF Florida Keys Lionfish Derby & Festival on Sept. 8-11. Registration is now open, and teams of 2-4 people can register online here. The 13th annual event includes two full days of fishing and a public festival at Postcard Inn Beach Resort & Marina in Islamorada.
Last Friday, April 29, the REEF community came together in an amazing show of support for marine conservation. More than 100 REEF members donated during our second-annual Give BIG for the Oceans celebration, helping us to not only meet, but exceed our fundraising goal. We want to say a BIG thank you to everyone who supported REEF during Give BIG for the Oceans. Your gift, no matter how large or small, powers our citizen science, research, and education programs.
First sighted in Lebanon in 2012, invasive lionfish have since become well-established in the Mediterranean Sea. In an effort to provide policy recommendations for the lionfish invasion within the Mediterranean Sea, REEF joined in a global collaborative effort with researchers from Europe, Asia, Africa, North America, and the Caribbean to share successes and failures from two decades of lionfish management in the Western Atlantic.
Introducing our May Fish of the Month, the Pajama Cardinalfish (Sphaeramia nematoptera)!
We are excited to welcome our Summer 2022 Marine Conservation Interns to REEF! As a part of our team, they will assist with Ocean Explorers Education programs, outreach events, and daily operations around the REEF Campus. They are:
We recently released the 2023 REEF Field Survey Trips schedule, and spaces are filling up fast! You can view the full schedule of upcoming trips here. This month, we're highlighting Belize and Roatan, two Caribbean destinations on every diver's must-see list.
Home to hundreds of fish species, the Salish Sea in Washington and British Columbia is one of the most biologically diverse inland seas in the world. According to a recent study pubished in the journal Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, REEF citizen scientists play an important role in documenting and monitoring the health of fish populations in the Salish Sea. In fact, citizen scientists who conducted surveys as part of the REEF Volunteer Fish Survey Project helped monitor more than half of the total fish species known to occur in the Salish Sea.
The third annual Fish Out of Water Virtual 5K is coming up on June 6-12. If you haven't registered yet, visit www.REEF.org/5K to sign up today! Be sure to register before April 30 to receive the early bird registration rate. When you sign up for the 5K, you will choose to join one of five Fish Teams. Read on to learn more about our 2022 Fish Teams, and you can check out each fish's "race personality" here.
Held annually on the last Friday in April, Give BIG for the Oceans is a way for the REEF community to come together and celebrate our collective impact on ocean conservation. Our second annual Give BIG for the Oceans event is coming up on April 29. Thanks to the Pelton Charitable Foundation and an anonymous supporter, all donations made during Give BIG for the Oceans 2022 will be MATCHED up to $15,000! Be sure to mark April 29 on your calendar because you don't want to miss this amazing match opportunity.