Have you booked your 2014 REEF Trip yet? If not, confirm your space now before it's too late! Many trips are sold out, or close to it. Prices and complete details can be found online at www.REEF.org/trips.
REEF members are at the heart of our grassroots marine conservation programs. Over 50,000 divers, snorkelers, students, and armchair naturalists stand behind our mission.
This month we highlight Randall Tyle. Randall has been a REEF member since 2009, and has conducted 539 surveys (many in his home state of Oregon). He is a member of the PAC Advanced Assessment Team, and has participated in several of REEF's west coast special projects. Here's what Randy had to say about REEF:
When and how did you first volunteer with REEF or become a REEF member?
Dive the Jupiter portion and BHB portion of our Five Day Florida Fling. We will spend Wednesday diving offshore Jupiter and Thursday diving the world famous Blue Heron Bridge collecting fish data on our TWA data sheets. Bring your cameras and your Fish ID brain as you will see tons of fishes. This trip is great for beginners and advanced ID people. Trip fee for this portion of the Five Day Florida Fling is $375 this includes 2 nights motel, boat charter fee, airfills, Wednesday lunch, and REEF data kits and the latest fish ID book from DeLoach and Humann.
There will be a New England fish ID course at our general meeting on July 16th. The meeting is open to everyone, more info at http://www.neadc.org
You are also invited to the club's Great Annual Fish Count event:
Steve Whitford
New England Aquarium Dive Club
Phone: 781-883-6027
email: webmaster@neadc.org
Date of event: July 26th, 2013
Location: Stage Fort Park, Gloucester, MA
Register by visiting http://www.neadc.org/gafc/
Last week, representatives from the Florida House and Senate took the first steps in banning the importation or aquaculture of invasive lionfish. Representative Holly Raschein (R-Key Largo) and Senator Greg Evers (R- Pensacola) have filed HB 1069 and SB 1336 to address the devastation being caused by lionfish in Florida’s coastal waters. The bills will prohibit importation, aquaculture and sale of illegally imported lionfish and they authorized FWC to adopt a rule to that effect.
REEF scientists and volunteers just wrapped up another season of the Grouper Moon Project, a collaborative research effort with the Cayman Islands Department of the Environment (CIDOE). Our research focuses on Little Cayman, which has one of the largest (and one of just a few) known spawning aggregations of Nassau Grouper in the Caribbean. Over 4,000 grouper amass in one location for 7-10 days following winter full moons.
REEF members are at the heart of our grassroots marine conservation programs. Over 50,000 divers, snorkelers, students, and armchair naturalists stand behind our mission.
This month we highlight Susan Hieter. Susan has been a REEF member since 2001, and has conducted 38 surveys. She recently moved to Aruba and is enjoying getting back in the water as a REEF surveyor. Here's what Susan had to say about REEF:
When and how did you first volunteer with REEF or become a REEF member? How did you first hear about REEF?
Data generated by the REEF Volunteer Fish Survey Project provide an unparalleled opportunity to examine patterns in reef fish diversity (the number and types of species) at the scales of reefs, regions, and even an entire ocean basin. Authors of one recent scientific study took advantage of the over 25,000 Expert REEF surveys conducted at 80 sites from 6 Caribbean ecoregions over 17 years.