Thanks to funding from The Russell Family Foundation (TRFF) and a lot of hard work and coordination by regional REEF instructor, Janna Nichols, the Pacific Northwest is REEF's fastest growing region. The goals of the TRFF project were to enlist new divers into the REEF Volunteer Survey Project and provide incentive for existing surveyors to stay involved and increase their experience level.
As part of REEF's continuing work on non-native species, particulary the invasive Indo-Pacific lionfish, a multi-agency technical workshop was hosted by REEF, NOAA and the USGS to develop early detection and rapid response plans for Southeast Florida. Over 20 different state, federal and organizational offices were represented at the 2-day workshop, which was held June 18th and 19th in Marathon, Florida.
Please Help REEF Meet Our Summer Fundraising Goal! -- Please remember to donate online today through our secure website or call the REEF office (305-852-0030).
A segment featuring REEF's research on the invasion of the Indo-Pacific Lionfish into the western Atlantic and Caribbean was featured on NBC Nightly News June 30th. Click here to view the segment online.
With just a few days left in the REEF Summer Drive, we are almost there. Help REEF meet our goal of raising $25,000 by the Forth of July holiday. Please do your part to make sure that REEF's important marine conservation programs continue to make a difference. In appreciation, donations of $50 or more will get you a copy of the exclusive 2008 Album of the Sea Screensaver with amazing underwater photographs by Ned and Anna DeLoach.
The 17th Great Annual Fish Count (GAFC) has arrived! GAFC is a month long event coordinated by REEF Field Stations that encourages volunteer divers and snorkelers to participate in recreational trips to raise awareness regarding marine habitats and trends in fish populations. REEF partners and Field Stations have organized everything from group dives and snorkels to photo contests, BBQs, and aquarium tours.
My dive partner and I, both celebrating significant birthdays this year, decided to give ourselves the best gift of all, a dive trip to the Galapagos Islands. The Galapagos Marine Reserve, one of the world's largest, covers approximately 138,000 square kilometers (53,282 square miles). On May 8, 2008, supplied with Paul Humann's Galapagos Fish Identification book and REEF fish survey forms, we set off aboard the Aggressor II for an eleven-day adventure.
July is just around the corner. Time again for the Great Annual Fish Count. Please join FIN, the Fish Identification Network, at Kapalua Bay on July 26 at 8:30am. We could use some help here! Terri and I can get the fish to line up in a row. But we need you to come count them. Whether your are doing your first survey or your hundredth survey, don’t miss this great opportunity to participate in the Great Annual Fish Count. Survey materials and fish provided. Email msfuzz@hawaii.rr.com for more information.
This July the SeaDoc Society is sponsoring an amateur underwater photography contest for the inland marine waters of Washington and British Columbia, an area often called the Salish Sea. The contest will be coupled with the Reef Environmental Education Foundation’s (REEF) Great Annual Fish Count and entry is free. Any diver who conducts and submits a REEF survey during the month of July will be eligible to submit one photograph taken during that survey. The number of entries per photographer is only limited by the number of REEF surveys conducted – conduct 10 surveys, submit 10 images.
Taken a REEF class and want to try your hand at doing a few surveys? Done lots of surveys and want to find new fish-geek friends and have fun? Never done a survey or taken a class but just want to see what all this REEF fuss is about?
Join us on Saturday, July 26th for a day of fun diving, surveying, identifying critters and BBQ! Do as few or as many dives as you like. We won't plan your dives for you, (that's your job) but will tell you that it's a great day current-wise and slack hits about 12:30pm. (about 30 min prior to Admiralty Head is slack before ebb at Keystone)
Join us on Saturday, July 26th for a day of fun diving, surveying, identifying critters and BBQ! Do as few or as many dives as you like. We won't plan your dives for you, (that's your job) but will tell you that it's a great day current-wise and slack hits about 12:30pm. (about 30 min prior to Admiralty Head is slack before ebb at Keystone)