We're a little over a week away from REEF Fest 2021, and if you haven't yet made plans to attend, there is still time to register to join us in Key Largo! REEF Fest will take place October 14-17 and includes ocean seminars and educational workshops, evening social events with food and drink, and opportunities for diving, snorkeling, and kayaking. Most REEF Fest events are free to attend, but pre-registration is requested. For complete event details and registration, please visit www.REEF.org/REEFfest.
During last month's REEF Florida Keys Lionfish Derby & Festival, twenty teams fished from sunrise to sunset for two days, and ultimately collected 1,215 invasive lionfish. The event concluded on Sunday, Sept. 12 at Postcard Inn Resort & Marina in Islamorada, with an outdoor festival featuring lionfish tastings, cooking and dissection demos, games, interactive booths, and live music.
Since 1993, REEF volunteers have played an important role in collecting marine life data as part of the Volunteer Fish Survey Project. In addition to ongoing worldwide surveys, REEF also mobilizes teams to collect data for special scientific or monitoring projects. Our latest monitoring project, the Species Snapshot Project, is designed to capture information about sites along the coast of Florida. The goal of the project is to explore and gather baseline data on under-surveyed areas and alternative habitats along Florida's coastline.
Our October 2021 Fish of the Month is here to get your in the mood for Halloween. Meet the Dracula Shrimpgoby (Stonogobiops dracula)!
Survey Regions: The Dracula Shrimpgoby is resticted to the Western Indian Ocean including the Maldives, part of REEF's Indian Ocean and Red Sea (IORS) survey region. Click here to see the distribution report for this species in the REEF database.
It's that time again: our biggest REEF Lionfish Derby of the year, the Florida Keys Lionfish Derby & Festival, is taking place next weekend, on Sept. 9-12. This is our 12th annual REEF Lionfish Derby hosted in the Florida Keys. With two full days of lionfish hunting and more than $6,000 in cash prizes up for grabs, plus a family-friendly festival, this is a great way for everyone to take a bite out of lionfish!
There are still a few spaces available on the REEF Field Survey Trip to Gardens of the Queen marine park in Cuba, coming up on December 11-18, 2021. The Gardens of the Queen park is known as one of the best-preserved marine environments in the Caribbean, with frequent sightings of large predators like snapper, grouper, and sharks. It's also one of the few places where the rare Golden Fairy Basslet has been reported. Trip attendees will conduct fish surveys in this unique location and contribute valuable survey information to REEF's online database.
REEF Fest 2021 is coming up on October 14-17. Many REEF members have already registered to join us in Key Largo, Florida, for this annual marine conservation celebration. If you haven't yet made plans to attend, we hope you will consider joining us. REEF Fest includes ocean seminars and educational workshops, evening social events with plenty of food and drinks, and opportunities for diving, snorkeling, and kayaking. Most REEF Fest events are free to attend, but pre-registration is requested.
We are pleased to share the results of this year's 'Discover the Sea’ Photography Contest! Thank you to everyone who participated and a special thanks to all of the members who submitted photos. We had more than 225 entries submitted from all over the world, showcasing some incredible marine life. More than 2,220 votes were cast to choose the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners for each of our five photo categories: Fish Portrait, Macro, Invertebrate, REEF Themed, and Environment/Reefscape/Habitat.
REEF's online programs are free and open to everyone! Here's what is coming up over the next several weeks:
Fishinar: Common Fishes of the Red Sea
Tuesday, September 7 at 8pm EDT
The Red Sea is full of fascinating fishes, making it a favorite spot for many divers. Learn how to recognize some of the fishes you may encounter there, including the Exquisite Butterflyfish, our September e-News Fish of the Month!
Register here.
We recently welcomed our Fall 2021 Marine Conservation Interns to REEF. They will support the REEF team by assisting with annual events like the Florida Keys Lionfish Derby & Festival and REEF Fest, as well as education and outreach programs and daily operations around the REEF Campus. This semester’s interns bring a unique set of skills and interests to REEF. They include: