We had such a blast last month at REEF Fest! Thank you to everyone who joined us in Key Largo for our annual marine conservation celebration. Check out the REEF Fest 2022 photo album to see all the fun we had throughout the weekend, including diving, snorkeling, kayaking, seminars, and socials. We had four amazing seminar speakers at this year's event, and thanks to the help of some amazing volunteers, we were able to livestream their presentations.
Mark your calendars because you won't want to miss our REEF Field Survey Trip to the small Caribbean island of Saba on April 22-29, 2023. Click here for all the details. Known as the "Unspoiled Queen" for its pristine natural beauty, Saba's National Marine Park was established in 1987, protecting a healthy ocean ecosystem including fish, turtles, sharks, and corals. Although Saba is only five square miles, there are more than 30 dive sites to choose from.
Fishinar: Snorkeling in Bonaire
Thursday, October 20, 8pm EDT
Click here to register.
Bonaire is home to plenty of incredible snorkeling spots. Join us to learn tips and tricks to identify some of the fishes you'd expect to see while snorkeling and exploring the shallow reefs of this diverse Caribbean destination.
Eighteen teams of scuba divers took to the water and collected 919 invasive lionfish during the 2022 REEF Florida Keys Lionfish Derby & Festival. Teams fished from sunrise to sunset on Friday, Sept. 9 and Saturday, Sept. 10. The event concluded on Sunday, Sept. 11 at Postcard Inn Resort & Marina in Islamorada, with an outdoor festival featuring lionfish tastings, cooking and dissection demos, games, interactive booths, and live music. More than 400 people attended the event, along with over 20 partner organizations who hosted booths.
We're jumping for joy because our annual REEF Fest celebration is taking place in Key Largo on October 13-16! If you haven't yet registered, you can still make plans to join us for educational ocean presentations, diving, snorkeling, kayaking, and fun evening socials. Check out all the details and register for REEF Fest at www.REEF.org/REEFfest.
REEF members are the heart of our grassroots marine conservation programs. A diverse community of divers, snorkelers, and ocean enthusiasts support our mission to conserve marine environments worldwide.
Long-term data are essential for understanding how ocean species, communities, and habitats change over time. Citizen science programs like the REEF Volunteer Fish Survey Project make it possible for us to collect data that spans a large area and/or period of time. Meanwhile, other types of scientifically-collected data tend to be project-specific and are often tied to short funding periods, and these challenges are particularly true for environments that are difficult to sample, such as nearshore ocean habitats.
Boo! Here to get you in the Halloween spirit is our spooky October Fish of the Month, the Ornate Ghost Pipefish, Solenostomus paradoxus!
This month's featured Conservation Challenge is Gear on the Go! If you have some REEF swag in your closet, this is the perfect challenge for you. Whether it's a t-shirt, hat, visor, rash guard, beanie, or even a mask strap with the REEF logo, we'd love to see how you represent REEF when you're out and about! To complete this challenge, email a photo of you in your REEF gear to conservationchallenge@REEF.org. You may even be featured on our social media in the future!
Welcome to Citizen Science Corner, our quarterly feature to celebrate those who recently reached a milestone in our Volunteer Fish Survey Project. Here are achievements from July, August or September 2022:
Juvenile Hamlet Award
The Juvenile Hamlet Award is for individuals who have conducted 500+ REEF surveys. You can read more here. Congratulations to our latest Juvenile Hamlet Club members: