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.
Join us for a Halloween-themed marine life presentation featuring some of the spookiest creatures in the sea! This family-friendly presentation is free and open to the public. Following the presentation, certified divers have the opportunity to join a 1-tank night dive.
Free Presentation: 5pm at History of Diving Museum (82990 Overseas Hwy. in Islamorada)
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:
KEY LARGO, FLA. – Last week, 18 teams of scuba divers took to the water and collected 919 invasive lionfish during the 2022 Florida Keys Lionfish Derby & Festival, hosted by Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF). 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.