New Fishinars continue to be added. Check out the Webinar Training page (www.REEF.org/fishinars) for the most up-to-date listing. These popular online training sessions provide fishie fun in the comfort of your own home. Fishinars are free, and open to all REEF members. You need to register for each session you want to attend. No special software is required, just a web browser. Upcoming sessions include:
Have you made your plans to join us in Key Largo this summer for REEF Fest? Come celebrate 20 years of the REEF Volunteer Survey Project with 4 days of diving, learning, and parties. REEF Fest is planned for August 8-11. The schedule is packed with free workshops, diving opportunities, organized kayaking and snorkeling expeditions, and evening socials. Make your plans soon - hotel room blocks are filling up and dive boat space blocks are expiring soon. Complete details can be found online at: www.REEF.org/REEFFest2013
Every month, scientists, government agencies, and other groups request raw data from REEF’s Fish Survey Project database. Here is a sampling of who has asked for REEF data recently and what they are using it for:
- A researcher from University of British Columbia is using REEF data to evaluate the efficacy of marine reserves in Canadian waters.
- A researcher from Florida State University has requested REEF data to study Goliath Grouper populations in Florida.
Come join us and participate in the 2013 Great Annual Fish Count. Hydrosports Dive and Travel, a REEF Field Station will host two activities as part of the annual event held during the month of July. The Great Annual Fish Count Activities are held each year to introduce divers and snorkelers to fish watching and to increase awareness of our marine resources.
FISH Survey Dives
Come join us and participate in the 2013 Great Annual Fish Count. Hydrosports Dive and Travel, a REEF Field Station will host two activities as part of the annual event held during the month of July. The Great Annual Fish Count Activities are held each year to introduce divers and snorkelers to fish watching and to increase awareness of our marine resources.
Divers and marine researchers at the Key Largo-based nonprofit Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF) are to celebrate the success and impact of marine conservation programs in the Florida Keys during REEF Fest, Thursday through Sunday, Sept. 24-27.
Activities and education initiatives include a lineup of seminars, social gatherings and diving opportunities at America’s best dive sites along fish-filled coral reefs, accompanied by some of the most prestigious names in diving and marine preservation.
Fifth Annual Green Turtle Cay Lionfish Derby set for June 22
Teams will win over $5,000 in cash prizes for removing the invasive species
By Keri Kenning, REEF Communications and Affiliate Program Manager
Whether you're diving for a cause of just because - being with good people makes for good times. Participate in REEF's 2013 Lionfish Derby Series and help reduce local lionfish populations. www.REEF.org/lionfish/derbies
Whether you're diving for a cause of just because - being with good people makes for good times. Participate in 2013 Great Annual Fish Count events. www.fishcount.org
Fisher-Mill Plain -- Maybe Janna Nichols spends more time underwater than she does up here. According to the Dive News Network, Vancouver resident Nichols is a scuba instructor, Diving Safety Officer for Washington State University Vancouver and a scientific diver for the American Academy of Underwater Sciences. As a volunteer, she has conducted more than 700 marine life surveys for the Reef Environmental Education Foundation; she has taught fish-identification classes and webinars ("fishinars"); and her underwater photography has appeared guidebooks, newspapers and websites.