Marine Scientist Jack Grove to Lecture Free in Islamorada on April 10

Jack Grove graduated from the College of the Florida Keys in 1972, then spent the next five decades diving, researching, and writing his way across more than 100 countries. On April 10, the Upper Keys-based marine scientist returns to his home waters with a free public lecture at Safe Harbor Angler House Marina, 80500 Overseas Highway in Islamorada, hosted by the nonprofit Florida Bay Forever.

The lecture, titled "Anchors & Atolls, The Life and Adventures of a Naturalist in the Tropical Pacific," traces Grove's career through some of the ocean's most remote environments: the Galápagos, Antarctica, and the Pitcairn Islands chain deep in the South Pacific. His fieldwork at Ducie Atoll in 1989 produced an accidental discovery that has since become central to his storytelling: the wreck of the Acadia, a mail ship that ran aground on the uninhabited islet in 1881, found by Grove while diving the atoll more than a century after it sank.

Grove is the author of "The Fishes of the Galápagos Islands," a scientific reference work built on research that began with his first Galápagos expedition in 1975, when he was an undergraduate at the University of West Florida. He has since published across numerous scientific journals and has led natural history tours through the far Pacific.

Florida Bay Forever focuses on protecting and restoring Florida Bay and its adjacent waters. The Grove lecture is paired with a scholarship opportunity for students, connecting the evening's science storytelling to a concrete path toward careers in marine research and conservation.

Admission is free. The event begins Friday, April 10, at Safe Harbor Angler House Marina in Islamorada.