August is here, and for many, this means back to school season. To kick off the school year, we are hosting a virtual Educator Workshop for REEF Programs, on August 17 at 7pm EDT. All educators are invited to attend this webinar to learn more about REEF education resources including Virtual Field Trips, available for grades 3-8, and Virtual Case Studies, designed for high school students. Visit www.REEF.org/fishinars to register for the webinar. Did you know that REEF also has a special newsletter designed just for educators?
The 2023 REEF Discover the Sea Underwater Photography Contest is coming soon! Starting September 1, all photographers, regardless of skill level or experience, are invited to submit their best ocean-themed photos for this year's contest.
Each year during the full moon, more than 15,000 Camouflage Grouper, Epinephelus polyphekadion, converge in French Polynesia to spawn in the early morning hours. They are joined by hundreds of sharks, including gray reef sharks, whitetip reef sharks, oceanic blacktip sharks and lemon sharks. The sharks take advantage of this massive gathering of large-bodied grouper to feast on distracted individuals.
REEF Field Survey Trips are eco-vacations led by marine life experts. Each trip features daily dives and fish ID classes for both beginners and experienced surveyors. Divers, snorkelers, and families are all welcome. If you're looking for a trip to start the new year, there is still space on our upcoming trip to Grenada this winter, on January 27 – February 3, 2024. With its large variety of dive sites, Grenada is known as the dive capital of the Eastern Caribbean. Colorful reefs and spectacular shipwrecks filled with fish life will thrill all types of divers.
REEF online programs are free and open to everyone! Here's what's coming up this month:
Meet our August Fish of the Month, the Redspotted Hawkfish, Amblycirrhitus pinos!
Survey Regions: The Redspotted Hawkfish is found in the Tropical Western Atlantic region. Click here to view the REEF database sightings report for this species.
Size: They grow to about 4 inches.
A new paper published earier this month in the journal Marine Policy discusses the recent controversial opening of a limited fishery for Goliath Grouper in the United States, and its implications for population recovery of this iconic species. Laws protecting Goliath Grouper from fishing in US federal and state waters were implemented in 1990, after the species was identified as being severely overfished. REEF volunteers have been conducting fish surveys as part of the REEF Volunteer Fish Survey Project (VFSP) throughout the Goliath Grouper's range.
We are excited to welcome Dr. Jen Loch to the REEF Team! As a Research Associate, Jen works directly with the REEF Conservation Science program, and oversees the field implementation of the SMILE project, an initiative to incorporate fish size estimates into the REEF Volunteer Fish Survey Project using camera technologies. Jen comes to us with an extensive background in fish ecology. She holds a B.S. in biology from Florida State University and an M.S.
Be sure to join us for the Florida Keys Lionfish Derby & Festival on Sept. 7-10, 2023! The event includes two days to collect as many invasive lionfish as possible, followed by a family-friendly lionfish festival hosted at the picturesque Postcard Inn Beach Resort & Marina in Islamorada. The festival is open to the public and features lionfish tastings, drink specials, educational demonstrations, games, interactive booths from environmental vendors, live music, and more. Visit www.REEF.org/derby for all the details.
Our annual summer donation match is here! Now through August 8, all gifts are doubled, dollar for dollar, up to $70,000! Will you support our citizen science, education, and research programs by donating today? You can make a donation securely online at www.REEF.org/donate. You can also donate over the phone by calling (305) 852-0030, or mail your donation to P.O. Box 370246, Key Largo, FL 33037. Your gift this summer will ensure that we can continue all of the great work shared in this newsletter.