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The Reef Environment Education Foundation is an active organization of divers committed to the preservation of the marine environment. The REEF Fish Survey Project allows volunteer SCUBA divers and snorkelers to collect and report information on marine fish populations.
How does it work?
To collect data for the Project, REEF volunteers use the Roving Diver Technique (RDT), a visual survey method specifically designed for volunteer data. The only materials needed are an underwater slate and pencil, a scantron form available at no charge from REEF, and a good reference book.
During RDT surveys, divers swim freely throughout a dive site and record every observed fish species that can be positively identified. The search for fishes begins as soon as the diver enters the water. The goal is to find as many species as possible so divers are encouraged to look under ledges and up in the water column. Any sea turtle species seen during your dive should also be marked.
Following the dive, each surveyor records the species data along with survey time, depth, temperature, and other environmental information on the REEF scansheet specific for the region the survey was conducted in. The location of the survey is recorded using the common dive site name and the REEF Geographic Zone Code.
REEF surveys are conducted as part of a diver's regular diving activities; anytime they are in the water. REEF survey groups could be formed within dive shops on a community scale.
What happens to the data?
All data collected by REEF volunteers is returned to REEF and entered into a database. From this database, a variety of reports can be generated on species distribution and population trends, for a specific reef or large geographic regions. The data is accessible on line to all REEF members.
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