As I prepare to head out to Dallas for this year’s MACNA extravaganza,  I am reminded of why I love this hobby so much.  Yes, of course, it is the tremendous pleasure and challenge of creating small, thriving marine ecosystems, but it’s also something more profound; it is the people. The hobby has a rare ability to bring together people from an incredibly diverse and divergent range of backgrounds and experiences. Locally, nationally, and internationally I have met and befriended people whom I would no doubt have never met – many of whom I have little in common with beyond this shared passion for marine life.

From the outset,  Reefs Magazine was conceived of as a vessel that would be comfortable holding divergent points of view and points of contact with all things ocean, and the Fall 2012 issue is a perfect example of this concept.  In these pages you will find in-depth articles on fish (Michael), clams (Fatherree), underwater photography (Aspinall), practical  husbandry (Whitby), critical thinking (Ross), and a most wonderful piece of fiction (Davidson).  Very different concerns, very different points of intersection with the hobby we all share in common.

If you too are heading out to Dallas,  stop by the Reefs.com booth and say hi.  I’ll be there as will many of the writers you’ve met in this and other issues of Reefs. For the rest of you, enjoy the read. Perhaps our paths will cross in the future.

Randy