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:
The article highlights Team Forever Young's participation in the 2022 REEF Earth Day Lionfish Derby, where they collected a record 426 invasive lionfish in one day.
KEY LARGO, FLA. – Thanks to the recent efforts of four local divers, there are several hundred less invasive lionfish wreaking havoc on Florida Keys reefs. Team Forever Young, consisting of Tony Young, Jason Vogan, Jeff Tharp, and Luke Rankin, collected 426 invasive lionfish while participating in the 2022 Earth Day “Locals” Lionfish Derby, hosted by Reef Environmental Education Foundation.
In celebration of our third annual Fish Out of Water 5K taking place June 6-12, we're teaming up with Florida Keys Brewing Company to host an ocean-themed trivia night. No running is necessary - just gather a group of friends, choose a trivia team name, and come share your knowledge! You can also pick up this year's limited-edition 5K shirt by registering in person or making a donation to support the event.
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.