This Great Annual Fish Count, join Sea Dwellers in Key Largo, FL, for a free fish ID class, followed by a REEF survey dive.
Morning check-in for class at 9am at Sea Dwellers, break for lunch, and check-in for survey dives at 12:00pm.
Sea Dwellers Location:
105 Laguna Ave, Key Largo, FL 33037
Located on a secluded key in Roatan, Honduras, CoCo View Resort is well known among divers for its excellent house reef. Guests will enjoy two daily boat trips and unlimited shore diving at CoCo View’s front yard reef, where more than 300 fish species have been recorded. Fish enthusiasts will be delighted to search for species like the Redcheeck Goby, found in the Bay Islands. The resort is an excellent fit for non-diving companions as well, who may enjoy front yard snorkeling and access to ocean kayaks.
Attention REEF surveyors: keep an eye out for the non-native Regal Demoiselle while surveying in the Tropical Western Atlantic (TWA) region. The Regal Demoiselle, Neopomacentrus cyanomos, is a damselfish native to a wide area of the Indo-Pacific and Red Sea. First reported as an exotic species in the Gulf of Mexico in 2016, recent reports show that the Regal Demoiselle has expanded its non-native range to southeast Florida.
Let's take a bite out of invasive lionfish! Please save the date and plan to join us for our 2022 Lionfish Derby Series in the Florida Keys:
Earth Day Lionfish Derby: April 22-24 at Sharkey’s Sharkbite Grill in Key Largo
This event is our 9th annual "Keys locals" derby; fishing is allowed in Monroe County waters only. Derby team registration is now open - register your team today! Click here for more info and registration.
You’re invited to join in the third annual REEF Fish Out of Water Virtual 5K on June 6-12, 2022. You can get moving any way you like - run, walk, hike, bike, swim, or even paddle! You can complete the 5K (3.1 miles) in one day or throughout the week. It's a great way to celebrate World Oceans Day and make a difference for yourself, others, and the marine environment.
We are excited to share the 2023 REEF Field Survey Trips schedule! REEF Trips are led by marine life experts, and include diving, fish ID classes, and fun with friends. Divers, snorkelers, and families are welcome on REEF Trips. To find out more or book your space, email trips@REEF.org. We'll send you an invoice to submit a deposit to secure your space. For individual trip details and more info, please visit the links below.
The brightly colored and feisty Garibaldi (Hypsypops rubicundus) is our March Fish of the Month!
Our Grouper Moon Project team returned to the Cayman Islands around the full moon in February for another month of research on the Nassau Grouper spawning aggregation on the west end of Little Cayman. Because this year was a "split moon" year, we weren't quite sure whether the major spawning activity would happen in January or February.
We are excited to honor Dennis Bensen as 2021 REEF Volunteer of the Year. Dennis joined REEF in 2001, and quickly became an avid REEF surveyor as part of the Volunteer Fish Survey Project (VFSP). Through the years, he has earned Expert level surveyor status in both Hawaii (HAW) and the Tropical Western Atlantic (TWA) survey regions, and he is one of the few surveyors who has conducted REEF surveys in most (7) of REEF’s 10 survey regions worldwide. After living in New York for decades, Dennis moved to the Big Island of Hawaii when he retired in 2015.
