We recently welcomed our Fall 2020 Marine Conservation Interns to the REEF Campus! During the next four months, they will support the REEF team by assisting with our marine conservation programs and non-profit operations. This semester’s interns bring a unique set of skills and interests to REEF. They include:
A fish as beautiful as it is destructive; invasive lionfish have had dramatic impacts on marine ecosystems due to their high reproductive rate and voracious appetites. These visually stunning fish have characteristic red and white stripes and long, fanlike spines and fins.
Learn all about the invasive lionfish during this free, online workshop. Topics include background of the invasion, lionfish biology, ecological impacts, current research, and safe collecting and handling techniques.
REEF is working with several research partners to test the effectiveness of deep water lionfish traps. Through a grant provided by the NOAA Saltonstall-Kennedy program, REEF will work with Florida Keys lobster fishers to examine the ability of non-containment traps to target deep water populations of lionfish to understand more about lionfish densities, biology and recruitment rates in the deep reef habitats of the Florida Keys.
Keys Weekly interviewed REEF Education and Outreach Program Manager, Madalyn Mussey, about the inaugural Fish Out of Water 5K.
KEY LARGO, FLA. – Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF) will host its 11th Annual Upper Keys Lionfish Derby, Thursday Sept. 10 through Sunday, Sept. 13. During this socially-distant event, divers will compete to remove as many invasive lionfish as possible. Cash prizes will be awarded to the teams who harvest the most, largest, and smallest lionfish. The “most lionfish” category will include the competitive Apex Predators division, as well as the Reef Defenders division, intended for more casual lionfish hunters. Teams may choose to register in either division.