Searching for holiday gifts for the diver, snorkeler, or ocean ethusiast in your life? Check out the new merch we recently added to the REEF online store, including:
We had such a blast hosting REEF Fest 2021 last month! Thank you to everyone who joined us in Key Largo for our annual marine conservation celebration. After a long stretch apart, we enjoyed being able to reconnect with our members and the Florida Keys community. We also appreciated everyone's efforts to ensure health and safety throughout the event.
REEF's online programs are free and open to everyone! Here's what is coming up in the rest of the year:
Into the Blue Book Club Meeting
Thursday, November 11 at 8pm EST
Into the Blue Book Club brings together readers who love the ocean. At this meeting, we will be discussing our latest book selection, Ocean Outbreak by Drew Harvell. Drew is also attending the meeting for a Q&A!
Register here.
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.
We have a two-for-one for you this month! Meet our November 2021 Fishes of the Month, the Fairy Basslet (Gramma loreto) and the Golden Fairy Basslet (Gramma dejongi)!
We are saddened to share the news of the passing of one of REEF's early members, Edwin Steiner. Ed passed away earlier this year at the age of 92. Not only was he a pioneer in REEF's Volunteer Fish Survey Project, but Ed was also instrumental in the development of one of the key pieces of REEF's survey materials - the printed underwater survey paper. It was Ed's vision that brought the checklist and overall format of the underwater paper to life, and his prototypes are very similar to what we use today in all of our survey regions.
How do water temperature and overall climate changes impact marine life? Active Pacific Northwest REEF volunteer surveyor, Curtis Johnson, recently co-authored a new paper that seeks to answer this question for one species of interest, the Giant Pacific Octopus (GPO). The paper, published in the scientific journal Marine and Freshwater Research, is titled "Sea-surface Temperatures Predict Targeted Visual Surveys of Octopus Abundance".
Looking to plan your next dive trip? Join us on a REEF Field Survey Trip for a week (or longer!) of fish identification, citizen science, diving, and fun with friends. To register, email trips@REEF.org. The following upcoming trips have limited availability remaining:
We're a little over a week away from REEF Fest 2021, and if you haven't yet made plans to attend, there is still time to register to join us in Key Largo! REEF Fest will take place October 14-17 and includes ocean seminars and educational workshops, evening social events with food and drink, and opportunities for diving, snorkeling, and kayaking. Most REEF Fest events are free to attend, but pre-registration is requested. For complete event details and registration, please visit www.REEF.org/REEFfest.
During last month's REEF Florida Keys Lionfish Derby & Festival, twenty teams fished from sunrise to sunset for two days, and ultimately collected 1,215 invasive lionfish. The event concluded on Sunday, Sept. 12 at Postcard Inn Resort & Marina in Islamorada, with an outdoor festival featuring lionfish tastings, cooking and dissection demos, games, interactive booths, and live music.