REEF CHECK FOUNDATION

Reef Check’s vision is one of thriving reefs, cared for by communities sustained for generations to come. We want to realize this vision by leading citizen scientists to promote stewardship of sustainable reef communities worldwide.

Reef Check performs three vital tasks necessary to promote stewardship of sustainable reef communities worldwide:
We train and organize teams of local volunteer citizen scientist divers. They collect data on reef health and assess climate change impacts on their reefs. Their work produces reliable information used by marine resource managers, scientists, and policymakers to make science-based ocean management and conservation decisions.
We promote public education about reefs and the ocean. Our goal is to develop a team of ocean ambassadors with the skills and knowledge to make a tangible difference in marine conservation in their local communities. Our immersive youth education programs train participants to understand the threats marine ecosystems face and give them the tools to become ocean stewards.
We develop ecologically sound and economically sustainable solutions for reef conservation and restoration.

Reef Check has offices in Los Angeles and Santa Cruz, California as well as chapters and volunteer teams in more than 40 countries and territories around the world. Every year, thousands of trained citizen scientist volunteers participate in Reef Check surveys and programs.

Since the first survey conducted in 1997, Reef Check's global database contains 14,568 coral reef health surveys from 102 countries and territories. 7,076 divers have been trained to monitor coral reef health. In 1997, Reef Check conducted the first-ever global survey of coral reef health that provided scientific evidence that our coral reefs were in crisis due to overfishing, illegal fishing, and pollution. The results shocked many marine biologists who had not realized the extent of human impacts on reefs. In 2002, Reef Check released its report, The Global Coral Reef Crisis – Trends and Solutions, at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, South Africa. Based on data collected by thousands of Reef Check volunteer divers in over 80 countries and territories, the report was the first scientific documentation of the dramatic worldwide decline in coral reef health over a five-year period. The report concluded that there was virtually no reef in the world that remained untouched by human impacts. Most recently, Reef Check data showed promising news that some corals are becoming more resistant to global warming than they were a decade ago. Going forward, we aim to expand our monitoring program in both existing and new locations, while also continuing to provide data critical to the conservation of coral reefs.
Reef Check’s kelp forest monitoring includes over 1,200 surveys from 120 sites throughout California. 1,754 divers have been trained to monitor California kelp forests. We monitor kelp forests inside and outside of California’s marine protected areas (MPAs), and our data is used to manage California’s network of 124 MPAs. Our climate change project tracks ocean temperature at 75 of our monitoring sites, and at six of them, we are investigating changes such as ocean acidification and hypoxia. Through our kelp forest restoration program, we seek to establish restoration sites in central and northern California. These sites will serve as refuges and seed banks for surrounding areas in hopes that kelp can reestablish where it has been lost from 100’s of miles of coast. In addition to the ecological benefits of this project, it will also provide a substantial economic benefit to the fishing community of Fort Bragg, which has been hard hit by the effective loss of its two most important fisheries. We also expect to extend our kelp forest monitoring and restoration work northward into Oregon.
Educational Marine Biological Adventures with Reef Check – EMBARC – is our interactive marine education program that gives underserved middle and high school students a chance to become marine biologists for the day and experience the ocean environment first hand. So far, 1,300 students from 32 Los Angeles-area schools have gone through the program. Through this program, we hope to open the students’ eyes to the wonders of the ocean world, and our ultimate goal is to create a new generation of young ocean ambassadors, who will start making