REEF Week

Protecting What Connects Us

Every year, we celebrate REEF Week from June 1-8, which is our ongoing commitment to the oceans and coastlines that inspire everything we do. Ending on World Oceans Day, REEF Week brings together exploration, community, and ocean stewardship to help care for the places we love most.

Over the years, REEF has partnered with organizations advancing reef mapping, ocean research, and conservation efforts around the world.

Exploring Iconic Places

For REEF Week 2026, we continued our partnership with The MEGA Lab and Dr. Cliff Kapono by mapping the Hawaiian reef of Honolua Bay on Maui.

Known around the world for its iconic surf break, Honolua Bay is more than a destination. It's a place deeply connected to Hawaiian culture, local communities, and the rhythms of the ocean itself.

Mapping The Reef

With high-resolution reef mapping, researchers can now better understand the underwater features that help shape a wave. Reef shelves, coral density, rubble zones, depth changes, cracks, and crevices all influence how water moves across the reef. Surfers often feel these differences instinctively in the water. Mapping allows those experiences to be connected to a deeper understanding of how reef structure influences wave behavior above the surface.

Reading The Wave

At Honolua Bay, researchers identified a series of reef formations and depth transitions that appear to influence how the wave compresses, steepens, and barrels across different sections of the break. Some areas create flatter, slower-moving sections, while others help generate more hollow and cylindrical wave formations. The findings suggest the unique character of the wave is closely connected to the complexity of the reef beneath it.

Join The
Movement

Through MEGA Lab, anyone can contribute to reef mapping and ocean research. Enter the water. Capture reef imagery. Submit photos. Help build a growing global understanding of the underwater ecosystems connected to the coastlines and waves we love.

Learn More

How you can take part and help

Get In The Water

Next time you're in the water, snorkeling on vacation, or just having fun in the sun, take a moment to observe the reef that's underneath.

Capture What You See

No fancy equipment needed, whether it's your phone in a water housing, an underwater camera, or a GoPro, take pictures of the reef.

Share Your Findings

Email [email protected] with your images, image descriptions, and GPS image coordinates (latitude, longitude).

"Science allows us to better understand the experiences we love through evidence, observation, and deeper connection to the systems that create them."
- Dr. Cliff Kapono