We just wrapped up hosting the Florida Keys Lionfish Derby and Arts Festival, and now our education team is ready to dive in to a busy season of Ocean Explorers Education programs. While some of the lionfish caught during the derby are immediately prepared into delicious, fresh lionfish ceviche for derby attendees, we also save some lionfish to use during REEF's invasive species-focused education programs throughout the year.
Last weekend, 13 teams of scuba divers took to the water and collected 1,618 invasive lionfish during the 2025 REEF Florida Keys Lionfish Derby & Arts Festival. Teams fished from sunrise to sunset on Friday, April 25 and Saturday, April 26. The derby weekend concluded on Sunday, April 27 at the REEF Campus in Key Largo, with a festival celebrating the intersection of art, science, and marine conservation. The festival included lionfish scoring, cooking and dissection demos, plus numerous educational activities, games, and vendor booths.
KEY LARGO, FLA. – Last weekend, 13 teams of scuba divers took to the water and collected 1,618 invasive lionfish during the 2025 Florida Keys Lionfish Derby & Arts Festival, hosted by Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF). Teams fished from sunrise to sunset on Friday, April 25 and Saturday, April 26.
If you missed our recent REEF Field Survey Trip to Fiji, you're in luck because we are headed back next year, on April 18-28, 2026. We had an incredible time this year on the lovely NAI’A liveaboard. Fiji is known as a hotspot for diving, with massive schools of pelagics such as Bigeye Trevally, Scad, and Barracuda, Gray Reef and Whitetip Reef Sharks, and unusual creatures like the Leaf Scorpionfish and Ornate Ghost Pipefish.
There's still time to register for the Fish Out of Water Virtual 5K, coming up on June 8-14! If you haven't registered yet, visit www.REEF.org/5K to sign up now! When you register, you will choose to join one of five Fish Teams.
Which Fish Team will you choose? Check out the descriptions below to learn more about each fish, and learn more about their "race personalities" at this page.
2025 Fish Out of Water 5K Fish Teams:
You're Invited to celebrate with us at the grand opening of the REEF Ocean Exploration Center on June 7-8! Join us as we unveil the brand-new Ocean Exploration Center at the REEF Campus in Key Largo, Florida. Coinciding with World Ocean Day, this milestone event marks a new chapter in marine conservation, education, and community engagement. The Ocean Exploration Center is a dynamic, interactive space where ocean enthusiasts of all ages can explore the wonders of the underwater world - no wetsuit required!
Introducing our May Fish of the Month, the Flying Gurnard, Dactylopterus volitans!
Our online programs are free and open to all! Check out what's coming up, and view the entire schedule of Fishinars and other online programs, as well as 200+ recorded Fishinars here.
Fishinar: Fishes of Micronesia Part 2
Tuesday, May 6, 8pm ET
Click here to register.
REEF staff member Amy Lee will highlight some of the amazing species found in Micronesia, part of the Central Indo-Pacific (CIP) survey region.
We want to hear from members like YOU! Help us improve exciting REEF research by taking a quick (10-15 minute), voluntary online survey to share your insights on citizen science and your motivations for potentially participating in a marine conservation project that utilizes handheld cameras to obtain fish lengths underwater. No particular experience is necessary to complete this survey and provide valuable information.