Reef Check California October Update

October has been an incredible month of both challenging and stellar ocean conditions.

Reef Checkers across the state have been able to make the final push and complete the bulk of surveys for the 2008 season. We are wrapping up the final surveys now and are on track to complete 60 sites this year. This is a 25% increase in the number of survey sites from 2007. Reef Check California is able to continue the expansion of our monitoring network because of the dedication of our divers and the support of our members. Your donations directly contribute to our ability to continue expanding our monitoring network. From our humble beginnings in 2006, with 18 sites surveyed statewide, our monitoring network has grown by an incredible 230%! This ensures we are getting the critical data needed by marine resource managers for them to make informed decisions. To that end, RCCA has begun working closely with a newly created position within the California Department of Fish & Game (CDFG), the Research and Data Partnership Coordinator. This partnership will ensure that we continue to provide RCCA data in the most useable format to the CDFG and that the data is applied in all necessary areas of marine management. We also continue to interact with the MPA Monitoring Enterprise, participating in meetings in the North Central Region, discussing the monitoring plan for the soon-to-be-enacted MPAs, and in Southern California as the MLPA process gets underway in that region. You can visit the links below from our discussion forum to see some of the amazing things our divers have been up to this past month:

 

We continue to be on the front lines of improving marine management in California, and we need your continued help! Your donations to RCCA go directly to supporting the collection of critical data needed to keep the management of California’s marine resources sustainable. If you aren’t already a Reef Check member, join us, and if you are a diver, sign up for a 2009 training!