An End of the Line Special

Key Largo, Florida

December 2025

Fly Fishers in saltwater have a vested interest in helping in the task of keeping our oceans and seas in good shape. That’s obviously because the healthy of that ecosystem is vital to the fish we want to continue to pursue.

Based on that premise, on your next visit to the Florida Keys, you undoubtedly would find a stop at the new REEF Ocean Exploration Center for Marine Conservation located on Key Largo. This new facility is designed to better provide information and encourage involvement in the programs of the parent Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF).

Photo Courtesy of Reef Environmental Education Foundation.

REEF was established in 1990 to provide the SCUBA community a way of aiding in research involving the health of the marine environment. The groups mission is to conserve the marine environment, protect biodiversity and ocean life by actively engaging and inspiring the public through citizen science, education and partnerships with the scientific community.

One of several dioramas in the center lobby. Photo by Jimmy Jacobs.

One of the major projects of REEF is collecting still and video photography from SCUBA divers through their Volunteer fish Survey Project and an Invasive Species Program that includes removal of invasive lionfish from the ecosystem

The REEF interactive display room. Photo by Jimmy Jacobs.

The exploration center provides a way for the public to see the results of that research in an interactive venue. For more details, visit the REEF Ocean Exploration Center website at reef.org.