Reef Monitoring Project Information

So many divers see something while underwater and ask each other "Did you see that?” or “What do you think that was?" To help educate divers about our local marine life, the San Diego Oceans Foundation has teamed up with REEF (Reef Environmental Education Foundation). By serving as a REEF Field Station, SDOF trains local divers and snorkelers in the identification of a variety of fish and invertebrate species that call Southern California ‘home’.

The search begins as soon as the diver or snorkeler enters the water. And the goal? To find as many species as possible! At the end of each dive/snorkeling event, volunteers submit a survey with each species found, along with their relative abundance [Single (1), Few (2-10), Many (11-100), Abundant (>100) or ‘Present’]. The information you gain is then entered into a publicly accessible database on www.reef.org. Here, data can be used by the general public, fisheries management agencies and may even help in maintaining Marine Protected Areas in Southern California.

Information gathered through this program not only contributes to an international database used by scientists and government agencies, but also helps divers better understand their underwater world as well as find great dive spots with lots of life!