Thank you so much to everyone that donated during our summer matching campaign! We reached our goal, as REEF members donated more than $56,100 this summer to fund our critical programs. These donations were matched dollar for dollar, up to $55,000 by the Curtis and Edith Munson Foundation, the Henry Foundation, and the Pelton Charitable Foundation. From research on Grouper Moon to controlling invasive lionfish programs and discovering new species, REEF's programs are increasing knowledge of the unknown beneath our seas!
Our Invasive Lionfish Research Program is keeping busy getting ready for the spring and summer. In addition to the tagging research in the USVI also reported in this month's E-News, we are also gearing up for a busy Lionfish Derby season. We have six derbies planned in Florida for REEF’s 2018 Lionfish Derby Series presented by Whole Foods Market®. These competitions encourage teams to collect and remove as many lionfish as possible. They are important education and outreach events, and have been shown to be quite effective in lowering local lionfish populations.
Lad Akins, a longstanding REEF staff member, who most recently served as Director of Special Projects, is no longer with REEF. Lad was instrumental in establishing REEF as an organization, was REEF’s first Executive Director, and spearheaded work on controlling invasive lionfish in the western Atlantic. The tremendous impact he has had in marine conservation through REEF’s projects leaves a lasting legacy. We wish Lad the best in his future endeavors.
For the past 11 years, REEF has organized lionfish derbies throughout Florida, and we recently kicked off another exciting derby season! During the weekend of June 29-30, thirty divers removed 417 invasive lionfish during REEF’s 8th Annual Fort Lauderdale Lionfish Derby, held at 15th Street Fisheries. Derby competitors dodged periodic thunderstorms while searching the reefs to bring in the smallest lionfish, largest lionfish, and most number of individual lionfish. Team Painkiller won first place in the most lionfish category, bringing in 180 fish.
It is an exciting time of change at REEF as we recently welcomed two new staff members to our amazing team: Madalyn Mussey as Education and Outreach Program Manager, and David Ehlert as Campus Coordinator. Madalyn and David are no strangers to the organization, having both previously served as Marine Conservation Interns and Lead Interns. They each excelled during their time as interns and we are thrilled to have them join our staff. Madalyn and David are based at REEF Headquarters in Key Largo.
We are excited to announce our new Ocean Explorers Virtual Field Trips Program! These interactive field trip simulations bring marine science to life with engaging lesson plans and activities to connect students to the ocean, without leaving the classroom.
Through REEF's Virtual Field Trips students explore what life is like as a marine scientist. They’ll perform exploration tasks, create research trials, and complete field journals as they become citizen scientists.
Following the most recent Indo-Pacific Lionfish expedition at Stuart Cove’s in Nassau, Bahamas, we kicked off the next phase of our critical research on this invasive species in Eleuthera. Supporters, Trish and David Ferguson, served as hosts for the week. Earlier this summer, REEF staff set up 11 study sites, tagging 30 fish on six different patch reef and clearing the other 5 sites of lionfish. This past week, I revisited those tagging sites and documented any movement of lionfish.
REEF staff and volunteers are attending several events in the Northwest this winter and spring to spread the word about the Volunteer Survey Project. These include scientific conferences and dive shows. REEF volunteer and instructor, Janna Nichols, represented REEF at the Puget Sound Georgia Basin (PSGB) Ecosystem Conference last month in Seattle, Washington. Over 1,000 scientists, decision-makers and others attended the PSGB and the overall conference theme was to share knowledge and commit to action to protect the region's marine environment.
REEF Staff and Board members are proud to announce the release of our 2009 Annual Report. To view a PDF of the report online, click here. In this report, you will find updates on our membership, the Volunteer Fish Survey Project, regional activities, special projects (e.g. invasive lionfish and Grouper Moon), data use and publications, our upcoming plans, and finances. We are truly grateful for all your support that made 2009 such a success!