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- EIN 81-3337647
- (513) 334-9393
- 2659 Bethlehem Ln Hebron KY 41048-9714 USA
- www.reefci.com
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Nonprofit Overview
Causes: Environment, Water, Water Resources, Wetlands Conservation & Management
Mission: The ultimate goal of reefci is to utilize scientifically researched based approaches to conserve and protect fragile marine ecosystems namely coral reefs. Our ongoing conservation projects include: spearfishing for the invasive lionfish; reef check surveys; queen conch surveys; coral watch data collection; lobster surveys; sea turtle watch; whale shark watch. We gain a greater understanding of the overall health of the reef ecosystem and to devise action plans where needed.
Programs: Spearfishing for the invasive lionfish; reef check surveys; queen conch surveys; coral watch data collection; lobster surveys; sea turtle watch; whale shark watch. In 2016 we speared 7,404 lionfish within 252 dives and dissected 1,250 lionfish. Of the 1,250 dissected, 624 were males, 615 females and 11 were immature. All 615 female lionfish had eggs and it is estimated 12,300,000 eggs were diminished from hatching. The result on the dissection of the lionfish stomach shows that shrimp was the majority prey for both 2015 and 2016. In 2016, we encountered more caribbean spiny lobster during 2016 as compared to 2015. The result for 2015-2016 conch survey shows that for both years the most abundant of conch was found at shark basin. For our commercial fish survey, there were less fish recorded this year compared to last year. The most abundant fish species found at all the sites for both years were snappers and jacks. There were few large fish present in the areas such as grouper, mackerel and barracuda. The results for coral watch (coral bleaching) demonstrates that the boulder/mound coral appeared to be most affected for both 2015-2016; although we recorded less bleaching in 2016 compared to 2015.