Greetings REEF Friends,
Summer is now in full swing! Thank you to everyone who donated during our Summer Fundraising Campaign last month. While we didn't quite make our goal of raising $30k in 30 days, we came close. The offer by our Board of Trustees to match incoming donations is still open so it's not too late to double your impact to help support REEF’s critical marine conservation work. Donate Today through our secure online donation form.
Happy New Year! We hope that all of our members had a joyous holiday season. In this first edition of REEF-in-Brief 2009 we bring you news that everyone knew was just a matter of time -- the invasive Indo-Pacific Lionfish has been confirmed in the Florida Keys. Thanks to her experience as a REEF fishwatcher and the numerous outreach stories that REEF has issued to our members, REEF surveyor Becky Fowler knew just what she was looking at last week while diving during her vacation off Key Largo, Florida.
Caroly’s Notes
Summer is becoming a fishy memory as we get ready for back to school and fall. Here in the Keys that could mean some trying to reason with hurricane season moments but we will still get some great survey dives in.
Greetings from REEF HQ. This month we bring you highlights from our recent trip to DEMA, the dive industry trade show, where we shared results from REEF's research on Indo-Pacific Lionfish and the urgency of the threat that the invasion of this unwanted species into the Bahamas and Caribbean poses. We are also excited to announce that two REEF member, Lad Akins and Anna DeLoach, were inducted as a Platinum Pro5000 Diver by SSI. The REEF 2009 Trip schedule offers a wide array of destinations.
Dear Valued REEF Members,
Greetings!
While fall used to be a slower time here at REEF, this year we are busier than ever. In addition to working with scientists to get them up-to-date species data and continuing to coordinate and expand the citizen science Fish Survey Project to new regions, the REEF staff is involved in a variety of marine conservation issues including the lionfish invasion in the Caribbean and associated waters and endangered species spawning aggregation research. This issue of REEF-in-Brief features updates from several of these programs.
