The votes have been counted, and we're excited to share the 2024 Discover the Sea Photography Contest results! This year's contest had an amazing turnout, with nearly 500 stunning photos submitted and over 4,500 votes cast! First, second, and third place winners were selected via popular vote for each photo category, including Fish Portrait, Macro, Invertebrate, REEF Surveyor, and Habitat/Seascape/Environment. Click here to view all the winning photos.
We are excited to welcome our Fall 2024 Marine Education & Conservation Interns to REEF! They will assist with education, outreach, events, and daily operations around the REEF Campus in Key Largo, Florida. Marine Conservation Interns play an integral role in our daily operations, programs, events, and outreach. Since 1993, more than 150 young adults have interned with REEF and transitioned into careers all over the world, in the marine conservation field and beyond. Please join us in welcoming (from L-R) Natalee, Coryn, Kuba, and John! Here's a bit more about them:
Our October Fish of the Month is the Bat Ray, Myliobatis californica!
Survey Regions: Bat Rays are found throughout the waters of California, as well as north to Oregon and south to the Baja peninsula in Mexico. They have been reported in REEF's PAC (Pacific Coast of US and Canada) survey region. Click here to see a distribution for this species in the REEF database.
We are very excited to welcome two new staff to the REEF Team - Noa Parks as Citizen Science Coordinator (left) and Shelby Thomas as Education Coordinator! Both are based at the REEF Campus in Key Largo, Florida.
REEF staff and collaborators attended the 154th annual American Fisheries Society (AFS) Conference last month, held in Honolulu, Hawaii. REEF's marine life database is a valuable tool for conservation science and research on a global scale, and we were proud to represent our work at this notable conference. Nine sessions at AFS featured REEF data and/or programs.
Welcome to the 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 and September 2024.
Ultra Golden Hamlet Award
This summer, we've been making waves in the Florida Keys and beyond, with plenty of engaging education programs and outreach events. Our team of staff and interns led 39 educational programs this summer. From teaching weekly fish ID classes at John Pennekamp State Park in Key Largo to programs for schools, clubs, dive shops, and more, it has been a jam-packed and fun season. Our summer Ocean Explorers Education Programs offered participants the chance to dive into citizen science with snorkeling and diving excursions, fish ID classes, and even lionfish jewelry making.
Our annual REEF Fest celebration is coming up on October 17-20 in Key Largo, Florida. If you haven't registered yet, there's still time to plan to join us for free, educational ocean seminars, diving, snorkeling, kayaking, nature tours, and socials! You can see all the details and register online at www.REEF.org/REEFfest. This year we're excited to welcome the following speakers:
Last month, 14 teams of scuba divers took to the water and collected 1,527 invasive lionfish during the 15th annual REEF Florida Keys Lionfish Derby & Festival. Teams fished from sunrise to sunset on Friday, Aug. 16 and Saturday, Aug. 17. On Saturday evening, derby participants and the public gathered at Florida Keys Brewing Company for Invaders on Tap, a lionfish awareness celebration and social with live music, educational activities and games, and lionfish tastings. The weekend concluded on Sunday, Aug.
Did you know that REEF is part of an international effort to determine how to best use large fish biodiversity datasets? REEF Co-Executive Director of Science & Engagement Dr. Christy Semmens is part of a working group called "CoNCENSUS: Advancing standardisation of COastal and Nearshore demersal fish visual CENSUS techniques", led by Anthony Bernard from the South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity and Rick Stuart-Smith from Reef Life Survey. Christy will attend the upcoming CoNCENSUS working group meeting in South Africa this October.