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.
Join REEF and the New England Aquarium Dive Club for the 18th Great Annual Fish Count
Help count fish and win prizes!
Each year divers help researchers by surveying fish populations. Join the largest survey in North America!
Multiple dive locations and fabulous raffle prizes!
Congratulations to the following REEF members who have recently moved up an Experience Level in our Volunteer Fish Survey Project! Volunteers have the opportunity to advance through 5 levels (Novice through Expert) within each of our survey project regions. Experience Levels are obtained by a combination of fish/invertebrate ID tests and numbers of submitted surveys. More about our experience levels can be found here.
July is finally here, and that means so is the Great Annual Fish Count (GAFC)! The GAFC is an initiative to encourage the public to become engaged with marine citizen science. Each July, divers and snorkelers all over the world join to learn about marine biodiversity and conduct fish surveys as a part of REEF’s ongoing Volunteer Fish Survey Project. You can join other fish watching enthusiasts, attend or host a fish identification class, or simply complete fish surveys as part of the GAFC.
We have just added three new fish survey trips to our 2020 Field Survey Trips schedule, including St. Croix, Dominica, and Curacao. Visit the pages below for complete details. To register for a trip, email trips@REEF.org or call (305) 588-5869. We hope to see you on a REEF Trip soon!
April 18-25: St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands -- St. Croix Ultimate Bluewater Adventures and The Company House Hotel -- More details here
Registration is now open for REEF Fest 2019 sponsored by Capital Bank Foundation, on Oct. 17-20! REEF Fest is an annual four-day celebration to acknowledge the success of marine conservation and education initiatives in the Florida Keys. Events include educational ocean-themed seminars, social gatherings, diving, and eco-adventures alongside some of the most prestigious names in diving and marine conservation. All REEF Fest events are open to the public, but pre-registration is requested.
Calling all college students and recent graduates interested in ocean conservation: the application deadline for the Fall 2019 Marine Conservation Internship has been extended to July 22! This internship provides diverse experiences including non-profit operations, outreach and education, field work, data collection and management, public speaking, event planning and more. During the four month internship semester from September to December 2019, you will have opportunities to dive and volunteer with partner organizations in the Florida Keys and South Florida.
This month, REEF members worldwide are invited to participate in our first underwater photography contest! Members may submit one photo in each of six different categories including fish portrait, macro, invertebrates, REEF surveyor, lionfish/invasive species, and reefscape/habitat/environment. Submissions will be judged by three separate panels including professional photographers, REEF staff and board, and popular vote. Each judging panel will select a winning photo from each of the six categories, for a total of 18 winning photographs.
For the past 11 years, REEF has organized lionfish derbies throughout Florida, and we recently kicked off another exciting derby season! During the weekend of June 29-30, thirty divers removed 417 invasive lionfish during REEF’s 8th Annual Fort Lauderdale Lionfish Derby, held at 15th Street Fisheries. Derby competitors dodged periodic thunderstorms while searching the reefs to bring in the smallest lionfish, largest lionfish, and most number of individual lionfish. Team Painkiller won first place in the most lionfish category, bringing in 180 fish.