Join SMILE

Turn your underwater camera into a fish measuring tool! 

Divers and snorkelers can be the eyes of scientists. Help us collect essential fisheries data!

On this page: About | Get involved | Data | Partners

What is SMILE?

Size matters, especially for fisheries! Fish size tells managers how healthy a population is and how fishing is affecting it, but it is hard to measure underwater. SMILE (Size Matters: Innovative Length Estimates) combines citizen science with innovative laser calipers and image technology so trained divers and snorkelers can measure fish without catching them.

SMILE builds on REEF's Volunteer Fish Survey Project (VFSP), where divers and snorkelers have reported fish sightings for more than 30 years. The goal is to bring new data into fisheries stock assessments and ecosystem-based management, and to strengthen communication between scientists, managers, and the dive community.

A stakeholder panel guides survey methods, species of interest, and where images are collected. All SMILE video, images, and fish abundance and length data will be publicly available to support research, fisheries management, and future machine learning tools.

How SMILE Works

  1. Film. Divers receive brieft traning to record fish with a SMILE kit: an action camera with an affordable, diver-friendly laser caliper developed with Backscatter Underwater Video & Photo. The laser dots on a fish appear at a known distance apart to provide a built-in scale.
  2. Measure. Image-analysis software finds each fish and the laser dots in the video and estimates the fish's length.
  3. Review. Trained reviewers check the measurements and species IDs before the data are shared.
  4. Share. Results go to the public SMILE Data Portal and to fisheries scientists and managers. Participants will receive a summary of their dive data at least twice a year.

Watch SMILE in Action

Where SMILE Is Working

SMILE began with a pilot study in the Florida Keys (2021 to 2025). From January to September 2026, 19 SMILE divers logged 52 camera dives at 31 sites in Key Largo and Jupiter, Florida; Little Cayman and Cayman Brac; and Jardines de la Reina, Cuba. This work happens on REEF staff dives, REEF Field Survey Trips, the Grouper Moon Project, and with research partners.

SMILE focuses on economically important species such as groupers, snappers, and hogfish, along with ecologically vital parrotfish.

Get Involved

Join SMILE

Divers, snorkelers, dive operators, researchers, teachers, and organizations can sign up to take part.
Teachers can also ask about classroom activities or a REEF Ocean Explorers program.

SMILE Interest Form

Use a SMILE Camera on a REEF Field Trip

SMILE cameras are available on select REEF Field Survey Trips in 2026 and 2027. 

Already Collected SMILE Data?

SMILE participants receive a summary of their dive data twice a year. Questions about your data? Email smile@REEF.org.

Support SMILE

Interested in supporting SMILE or partnering on a grant for the project? Contact smile@REEF.org.

Explore SMILE Data

The SMILE Data Portal, hosted by SECOORA, has two map layers you can filter by species, time, and depth:

  • SMILE fish lengths: minimum, maximum, and average lengths of SMILE target species.
  • REEF fish surveys (VFSP): how often target species are sighted, from more than 30 years of surveys across the Tropical Western Atlantic.

SMILE Data Portal

Fish length data and metadata from the 2021 to 2025 pilot study are available on DataONE.

SMILE Pilot Data (2021 to 2025)

Watch and Learn

Training

Videos and Talks

Articles and News

Project Partners and Support

The SMILE project is funded by NOAA's Coral Reef Conservation Program, Award #NA22NMF4410182 and NA25NMFX441C0015, with additional support from:

We also thank Backscatter Underwater Video and Photo for laser development collaboration and in-kind equipment support.

Learn more about information collection authorization at NOAA's Citizen Science & Crowdsourcing Information Collection page.

Questions about SMILE? Email smile@REEF.org