NOAA National Marine Sanctuary News

After more than a decade of community action, scientific research, political effort and public debate, NOAA has announced the expansion of Gulf of the Farallones and Cordell Bank national marine ...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/mar15/california-expansion.html

NOAA, working with private industry partners and the U.S. Navy, has confirmed the location and condition of the USS Independence, the lead ship of its class of light aircraft carriers that were c...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2015/independence-survey.html

Deep-sea corals have some things in common with trees. As their branches grow, corals document the minute details of ocean chemistry in ring patterns like those in tree trunks. And like certain t...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/dec18/tree-rings-deep-sea-corals-foster-scholar-carina-fish.html

On March 7, 2018, a large meteorite broke up and fell into the ocean about 15 miles off the coast of Washington into NOAA’s Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary. Eyewitnesses from nearby are...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/may19/seeking-space-rocks-olympic-coast-national-marine-sanctuary.html

Twenty-two miles offshore of the northern California coastline is a patch of ocean that looks ordinary to the uninformed eye. But beneath the surface of the deep blue Pacific, a towering undersea...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/may19/30th-anniversary-cordell-bank-national-marine-sanctuary.html

Dozens of deep-sea corals thrive off the California coast, but many are still unknown to science. Scientists recently described a new species of deep-sea coral found 22 miles west of Point Reyes ...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/may19/new-deep-sea-coral-species-cordell-bank-national-marine-sanctuary.html

Spring is notoriously windy along the coast of California. Strong northwest winds can cause hazardous sea states to crop up out of nowhere, especially in the Santa Barbara Channel. But as dawn br...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/may19/basking-shark-tagging-channel-islands-national-marine-sanctuary.html

Throughout 2019, Global Foundation for Ocean Exploration, Ocean Exploration Trust, and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution will conduct state-of-the-art ocean research in national marine sanctua...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/may19/join-explorations-of-national-marine-sanctuaries.html

Capitol Hill Ocean Week (CHOW), the premier ocean policy conference in the United States, brings together global stakeholders to discuss ocean and Great Lakes science, conservation, and managemen...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/apr19/capitol-hill-ocean-week-2019.html

NOAA is asking the public to comment on the possibility of designating a national marine sanctuary in eastern Lake Ontario to protect historically significant shipwrecks and related maritime heri...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/lake-ontario/

Early on brisk, sunny mornings during the first Saturday in each May, hundreds of trained volunteers gather at a Snapshot Day organizing hub. After grabbing a hot beverage and a morning snack, th...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/apr19/snapshot-day-celebrates-20-years-water-quality-monitoring.html

It's hard to resist the lure of the uniquely beautiful waters surrounding the Florida Keys. But beware: boating in the waters around these islands is like nowhere else on Earth. It is all at once...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/apr19/florida-keys-national-marine-sanctuary-boater-education-course.html

A volunteer stands on the front deck of a whale watching vessel and captures the perfect photograph of a blue whale tail fluke to send to the Cascadia Research Collective. Another volunteer stand...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/apr19/citizen-science-volunteers-in-national-marine-sanctuaries.html

Women have been instrumental in marine science, engineering, and industry. They have led expeditions into the depths of our blue planet. They have implemented tools and strategies for protecting ...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/mar19/ocean-hero-brenda-lanzendorf-womens-history-month.html

Most college students leave the beach with a few good pictures and a tan. However, since 2012, students with the University of Florida's Alpha Zeta Honors Fraternity have left Florida Keys beache...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/mar19/university-of-florida-students-clean-up-florida-keys-marine-debris.html

National Women's History Month was established in 1993 in recognition that "the role of American women in history has been consistently overlooked and undervalued." The observance has its roots i...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/mar19/unsung-ocean-heroes.html

PVC for the frame. Bilge pump motors for the thrusters. Simple switches as controls. And about a full day to build. These are the components that the Stockbridge High School InvenTeam uses to cre...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/mar19/michigan-american-samoa-students-bond-over-robotics.html

In September 2017, Hurricane Irma tore through Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, damaging the sanctuary’s coral reef and the surrounding community. The sanctuary has been assessing and re...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/feb19/noaa-volunteer-archaeologists-reveal-american-history.html

Recreational fishing and boating are enormously popular American pastimes, an economic force, and a bridge to conservation. In recognition of the importance of these activities to coastal economi...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/jan19/noaa-recreation-industry-promote-sustainable-fishing-boating.html

The National Marine Sanctuary System helps raise awareness of our ocean and Great Lakes and inspires stewardship for our beautiful blue planet among people of all ages. Education and outreach of ...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/feb19/reaching-far-wide-education-national-marine-sanctuaries.html

For six years, NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries has recognized outstanding achievement in the fields of interpretation and environmental education by presenting the Sea to Shining S...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/dec18/announcing-2018-sea-to-shining-sea-award-winner.html

Deep-sea corals have some things in common with trees. As their branches grow, corals document the minute details of ocean chemistry in ring patterns like those in tree trunks. And like certain t...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/dec18/tree-rings-deep-sea-corals-foster-scholar-carina-fish.html

This week, along with the rest of the nation, we mourn the passing of our 41st president, George H.W. Bush, on November 30, 2018. In addition to other parts of his legacy, President Bush enjoyed ...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/dec18/national-marine-sanctuary-legacy-president-george-hw-bush.html

The Outer Banks of North Carolina are a world-renowned destination for beachgoing, fishing, and more. But what many visitors to the area don’t know is that the beautiful blue waves also hide ce...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/nov18/maritime-archaeologists-document-history-graveyard-of-the-atlantic-shipwrecks.html

Not every marine scientist has the same origin story. Some are instantly enthralled by the ocean and its many inhabitants at a ripe young age. For others, a lightbulb goes off while sitting in an...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/nov18/case-of-missing-oxygen-foster-scholar-kate-hewett-studies-hypoxia.html

Paddling in Dark Water during the annual Chumash community tomol crossing this year was like paddling into the abyss as we pulled water without the benefit of moonlight. The night sky made the wa...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/nov18/dark-water-journey-chumash-tomol-crossing.html

Adorned with garden gloves and reusable water bottles, the students of Gault Elementary School have been walking the one-mile journey to Seabright State Beach in Santa Cruz, California, for the l...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/nov18/ocean-guardian-schools-protect-sanctuary-resources.html

In September of 2017, Hurricane Irma rammed through Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. High winds swirled destructive currents around reefs and through seagrass beds as strong waves battered...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/nov18/goal-clean-seas-florida-keys.html

Every year, each site across the National Marine Sanctuary System holds Get Into Your Sanctuary events. Activities across the system encourage people to experience their national marine sanctuari...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/nov18/vet-into-your-sanctuary-events-honor-veterans.html

Ignoring the sun glancing off the towers of the Golden Gate Bridge, the scientist peered into the computer, intent on the latest entries from her field team of coastal surveyors. She scanned for ...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/oct18/beach-watch-25th-anniversary.html

This summer I snorkeled in a kelp forest, went tidepooling with marine researchers, had coffee with a recreational angler, learned from a Chumash weaver, and painted. While not your typical summe...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/oct18/using-art-to-highlight-connections-to-national-marine-sanctuaries.html

It was almost an ordinary day in the field for Dr. Nancy Foster Scholar Sarah Kienle - except for the Jeff Corwin show camera crew. She was helping the crew with a routine procedure on an adult f...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/oct18/foster-scholar-sarah-kienle-tracks-elephant-seal-feeding-patterns.html

There are certain things in this life that just feel right together. The classic combination of peanut butter and jelly, the forces of yin and yang, summer weather and ice cream. Harmonious, comp...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/sep18/seariously-impressive-marine-art-leads-way-for-marine-conservation.html

Long considered an angler's paradise, the sandbars, flats, channels, and reefs in the Florida Keys provide year-round opportunities for anglers who dream of catching a "fish of a lifetime." These...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/sep18/noaa-and-guides-partner-for-sustainable-fishing.html

A lighthouse stands as a lonely sentinel on a rocky headland; stormy gray clouds scud across the sky. Sea nettles trail sinuous tentacles through Monterey Bay. A surfer observes thunderous waves,...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/earthisblue/photo-contest-winners-2018.html

This month, we celebrate the achievements and contributions of Hispanic Americans to our ocean, maritime traditions, and sanctuary communities. We also seek to reach diverse audiences with the me...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/sep18/national-hispanic-heritage-month-in-nms.html

A lighthouse stands as a lonely sentinel on a rocky headland; stormy gray clouds scud across the sky. Sea nettles trail sinuous tentacles through Monterey Bay. A surfer observes thunderous waves,...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/sep18/national-marine-sanctuaries-on-display.html

Each year, NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries hosts several undergraduate Hollings and Educational Partnership Program (EPP) scholars at sites across the National Marine Sanctuary Syste...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/sep18/2018-hollings-epp-scholars.html

In late December 2015, Ed Lyman started getting calls from whale watching companies on the island of Hawai‘i. “Ed, how are the whales off Maui?” tour operators were asking. “We’ve never...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/sep18/humpback-whales-navigating-an-ocean-of-change.html

Many Native Hawaiian fishers will tell you the same thing: there are not plenty of fish in the sea. In their childhood, they would throw nets into the ocean and catch numerous large fish. Today, ...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/sep18/foster-scholar-richard-coleman-tracks-fish-populations-in-papahanaumokuakea.html

NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries has named Peter DeCola as the new superintendent of Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. He succeeds Craig MacDonald, who retired in 2017.

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov//news/sep18/peter-decola-stellwagen-bank-national-marine-sanctuary-superintendent.html

In September 2014, researchers began noticing that certain stony corals along the Florida Reef Tract weren’t doing well. The Florida Reef Tract stretches approximately 360 miles in an arc along...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/aug18/coral-disease-mystery-florida-keys.html

In July 2016, something mysterious happened at Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary. On July 25, recreational divers were at East Flower Garden Bank, one of the three banks that make up ...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/aug18/flower-garden-banks-coral-mortality-symposium.html

Each summer, NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries holds the Get Into Your Sanctuary Photo Contest promoting the natural beauty of the National Marine Sanctuary System. Photos are accept...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/aug18/tips-to-win-the-get-into-your-sanctuary-photo-contest.html

Deep-sea corals and sponges are some of the oldest animals on Earth, living for hundreds of years at depths beyond direct human observation. Coral, sponge, and fish communities thrive in the cold...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/jul18/searching-for-deep-sea-corals-and-sponges.html

July 14-22, 2018 marks Latino Conservation Week, a time to support the Latinx community getting into the outdoors and participating in activities to protect our natural resources. To celebrate th...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/jul18/latino-conservation-week-2018.html

NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries has selected three graduate students as recipients of the Dr. Nancy Foster Scholarship, representing graduate-level areas of study such as marine biol...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/jul18/congratulations-2018-dr-nancy-foster-scholars.html

You may not know it when you dive into a sanctuary, but there are baby fish everywhere. Newly-hatched fish, or larvae, are microscopic and at the whim of ocean currents. It’s possible that via ...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/jul18/foster-scholar-alexandra-avila-researches-rockfish.html

What can we do on land to better protect marine environments and the organisms that inhabit them? This past spring, students from across the nation sought to answer this question by participating...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/jul18/students-for-zero-waste-week-2018.html

This summer and fall, NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries is teaming up with Ocean Exploration Trust to explore the marine ecosystems of the West Coast and Hawai‘i. Working aboard the ...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/science/nautilus18/

Oceanic manta rays are graceful, almost magical creatures: these relatives of sharks swim through the water as if in flight, circling in search of tiny zooplankton. They can grow to be enormous, ...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/jun18/fgbnms-identified-as-juvenile-manta-ray-nursery.html

Since May, Hawai‘i’s Kīlauea volcano has been erupting, accompanied by strong earthquakes, intense lava flows, and smoke and ash. To help support communities affected by the eruption, NOAA�...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/jun18/kilauea-brings-noaa-national-park-service-together.html

Swimming through hazy, green waters in the Gulf of Mexico in 2016, divers knew something was off at Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary. That’s when they noticed the vast quantities o...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/may18/coral-csi-foster-scholar-andrea-kealoha.html

One hundred years ago, German U-boats lurked beneath the waves off the coast of North Carolina, bringing World War I home to the United States. Few Americans believed that German Unterseeboots wo...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/may18/world-war-i-on-the-homefront.html

With thousands of people each year fishing in Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary waters, charter captains and guides play a critical role in protecting and managing fisheries within the sanct...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/may18/blue-star-fishing-guides-florida-keys.html

The birds that visit and reside in the National Marine Sanctuary System connect our country's ocean, Great Lakes, and coasts. From sea to shining sea, join us on this interactive tour of birds in...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/may18/birds-across-the-nmss.html

Throughout May, we celebrate the achievements and contributions of Pacific Islanders and Asian Americans to our ocean, maritime traditions, and sanctuary communities.

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/may18/pacific-islander-asian-american-heritage-month-in-nms.html

Dr. Nancy Foster Scholar Angela Szesciorka’s research sounds simple enough. For her Ph.D. at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego, she studies the impa...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/apr18/foster-scholar-angela-szesciorka-tracks-whales-near-ships.html

Protecting treasured places in the ocean and Great Lakes like national marine sanctuaries takes a whole network of people working together. When all communities, including underserved and diverse...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/apr18/promoting-conservation-and-stewardship-to-diverse-audiences-through-education.html

Cooperation between NOAA and the Coast Guard actually dates centuries back, not just decades. The Coast Guard, today a modern steward of resources and enforcer of maritime law, has its roots in t...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/apr18/noaa-and-coast-guard-protect-ocean-together.html

Distant islands lift craggy heights toward a blue sky. Below the water, the mixing of warm and cool currents drive a complex and rich ecosystem that supports dozens of species of fish, birds, and...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/mar18/partnerships-power-efforts-to-protect-blue-whales-blue-skies.html

This month, we remember and honor the African American men and women who helped build our sanctuary communities and our maritime nation.

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/feb18/african-american-history-month-in-nms.html

For years, North Atlantic right whales were hunted for their oil and baleen, which devastated the population. For decades now, these whales have been protected under the Endangered Species Act. D...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/feb18/finding-sanctuary-for-right-whales-qa-david-wiley.html

There’s an invasion beneath the waves at Channel Island National Marine Sanctuary. It’s not an alien invasion — although the invaders themselves are green. Sargassum horneri, an invasive se...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/feb18/underwater-landscaping-foster-scholar-lindsay-marks-removes-invasive-seaweed.html

Conducting fieldwork 100 miles offshore can be a challenging task when coordinating people, equipment, and boat operations in a remote location – but this is exactly what Flower Garden Banks Na...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/feb18/coral-reefs-of-flower-garden-banks-show-signs-of-resilience.html

Every day, our educators share the treasures of the National Marine Sanctuary System with the public. We work to engage, inspire, and connect people with these special places and spark wonder in ...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/jan18/educators-help-students-get-into-sanctuaries.html

Forty-five years ago, Congress passed legislation establishing the National Marine Sanctuary System. Today, NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries serves as the trustee for a network of Ame...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/jan18/six-victories-for-the-ocean.html

Within days of Hurricane Irma crossing the Florida Keys on Sept. 10, 2017, NOAA managers and scientists, partner agencies and local organizations launched an unprecedented effort to rapidly asses...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/jan18/noaa-and-partners-assess-reef-aid-recovery-following-irma.html

"I was struck by grace, size, and mystery." This is how Dr. Nancy Foster Scholar Joshua Stewart describes his first time seeing the subject of his dissertation work, a manta ray. Diving near a ...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/jan18/grace-size-mystery-foster-scholar-josh-stewart-studies-mantas-in-flower-garden-banks.html

Monitor National Marine Sanctuary, located 16 miles off of Cape Hatteras in the Outer Banks, was the first sanctuary to be designated in the National Marine Sanctuary System. Standing at the ed...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/dec17/uss-monitor-feat-of-naval-ingenuity-and-national-marine-sanctuary.html

It was the first time anyone had tried listening for dolphins in Massachusetts Bay. Tammy Silva scrolled through sound recordings and spectrograms for months, seeing nothing. Then, she found it. ...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/dec17/whale-watch-to-dolphin-search-foster-scholar-tammy-silva.html

NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries has selected Rebecca Holyoke, Ph.D. as deputy director, replacing Matt Brookhart, who has been serving in that position in an acting capacity. Mr. Bro...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/dec17/new-deputy-director-and-acting-regional-director.html

For five years, NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries has recognized outstanding achievement in the fields of interpretation and environmental education by presenting the Sea to Shining ...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/dec17/announcing-the-2017-sea-to-shining-sea-winner.html

Emma Hickerson knows Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary like the back of her hand. She first dove in the sanctuary as an undergraduate student, and today serves as the sanctuary’s re...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/stories/2017/emma-hickerson.html

What lies in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico? Over the next several weeks, you’ll be able to watch dives in real time to find out. From November 29 to December 21, the NOAA Ship Okeanos...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/nov17/exploring-the-deep-waters-of-gulf-of-mexico.html

What inhabits the depths of the ocean? Even the most popular sanctuaries like Monterey Bay hold mysteries offshore. Twenty-eight miles beyond the California coast lies Sur Ridge, an underwater fe...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/nov17/cataloguing-the-depths-of-monterey-bay-national-marine-sanctuary.html

Beneath the waves of Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary lies an underwater museum. In this section of Lake Huron, nestled up against the shores of northeastern Michigan, are nearly 100 known s...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/nov17/finding-history-two-lost-wrecks-discovered-in-thunder-bay-national-marine-sanctuary.html

Bird vomit is important for Anna Robuck. After a lot of practice as a wildlife rehabilitator, Robuck is now able to deftly flush the stomach contents from a bird. The bird beats a hasty retreat a...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/nov17/whats-in-your-vomit-foster-scholar-anna-robuck-explores-contaminants.html

In a 1985 column for the New York Times, indigenous author Louise Erdrich asks “f not a shared sense of place, what is it then that currently provides a cultural identity?” She was speaking o...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/nov17/celebrating-native-american-heritage-month-in-sanctuaries.html

Congratulations to all the winners of the 2017 Get Into Your Sanctuary photo contest! You can check out all the contest entries.

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/earthisblue/photo-contest-winners-2017.html

I grew up in Belgium, and while I spent all the time I was allowed playing near the water, I wanted to be a writer. My career path took a different turn with a trip to Spain when I was 16, where ...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/oct17/a-connection-and-a-calling.html

In nautical terms, brightwork is the upkeep of the metal and sometimes wood parts of a boat and is synonymous with demanding labor. The only certain thing about the future of the National Marine ...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/oct17/brightwork-the-future-of-the-sanctuary-system.html

Earlier this year, Kevin Powers was named the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation’s Volunteer of the Year for his work at Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary off the coast of Massachuset...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/oct17/seabird-steward-q-and-a-with-kevin-powers.html

For 25 days this fall, my world shrunk to 42 people on the 224-foot NOAA Ship Hiʻialakai. I was in Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument as a University of Hawai‘i Marine Option Program...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/oct17/embracing-pathways-to-the-sea-in-papahanaumokuakea.html

Forty-five years ago, Congress passed legislation establishing the National Marine Sanctuary Program. Today, NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries serves as the trustee for a network of un...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/oct17/celebrating-45-yrs-of-americas-underwater-parks.html

We arrive in 2017. The sanctuary system turns 45 this month. We've grown from words on a page to a powerful force for ocean conservation in our communities, nation, and planet. The years of the 2...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/oct17/absolute-bearing-the-sanctuary-system-at-45.html

As one millennium drew to a close and another approached, everyone was worried about Y2K and the impending collapse of our computer infrastructure. I was adulting as I approached my 35th birthday...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/oct17/full-and-by-the-emergence-of-the-sanctuary-system.html

The sounds of the ocean are an odd combination of haunting and soothing. From the crash of waves on the beach to the echo of whale songs, it’s tempting to believe putting a shell up to your ear...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/oct17/call-of-the-wild-foster-scholar-samara-haver-studies-sound.html

A bolus is the small rounded mass of food and other material coughed up by Laysan albatross chicks. Boluses are collected and dissected as a way to learn more about the diet of this wide-ranging ...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/oct17/celebrating-national-disability-employment-awareness-month.html

Twenty years ago, a conference of protected area managers would have focused almost entirely on the health of species and ecosystems in these ocean parks. Today, common sense and social science h...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/oct17/impac4-celebrates-marine-protected-areas-and-communities.html

In 1980 and 1981, with the designation of four new sanctuaries, the sanctuary program started from scratch in looking at its future, abandoning 1979’s unwieldy and loosey-goosey List of Recomme...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/oct17/underway-the-coming-of-age-of-the-sanctuary-program.html

Suck all the oxygen out of a room and it's impossible to breathe. In the ocean, reduction of oxygen can also be a major problem -- so scientists in Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary are work...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/aug17/monitoring-hypoxia-in-cordell-bank-national-marine-sanctuary.html

In traditional nautical terminology, a blue peter is the signal flag for the letter P. Flown alone, it means a ship is preparing to sail and everyone needs to hustle on board. In 1972, the United...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/sep17/blue-peter-the-sanctuary-program-in-the-1960s-and-1970s.html

Dive under the waves, and you’ll find vast communities of marine organisms. From busy kelp forests to vibrant coral reefs, marine communities rely on each other for food and shelter. Communitie...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/sep17/community-through-science-foster-scholar-nissa-kreidler.html

Over two tons of debris (approximately the weight of a car) has been successfully removed from the shores of Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary and National Park over the past six months t...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/sep17/volunteers-remove-two-tons-of-debris-from-channel-islands.html

What will the overall health of the ocean look like in the future? In response to the overwhelming presence of plastic pollutants in marine ecosystems, students are taking matters into their own ...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/sep17/students-lead-the-zero-waste-movement.html

This August, we asked you to Get Into Your Sanctuary -- and you did! Check out some of the highlights here and get some ideas for your next sanctuary adventure. In National Marine Sanctuary of ...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/sep17/celebrating-national-get-into-your-sanctuary-day.html

Like us, marine species need insurance policies. Identifying areas of ecological connectivity and creating a network of properly placed marine protected areas can provide this insurance. To ide...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/sep17/a-greater-gray-students-investigate-ecological-connectivity-in-sanctuaries.html

A Ph.D. student at the University of Washington, Seattle, Hale spends her summers traversing the Olympic Peninsula and observing otters feeding in Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary. Unlike ...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/aug17/paws-up-for-science-foster-scholar-jessica-hale.html

Located in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument protects the most remote region of the most remote archipelago on Earth. Though no one lives here, its s...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/aug17/toolkit-helps-students-and-teachers-fight-against-marine-debris.html

Each year, NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries hosts several undergraduate Hollings scholars at sites across the National Marine Sanctuary System. Working with sanctuary staff, these stu...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/aug17/2017-hollings-scholars.html

In June, the three buddies from Michigan undertook an epic paddleboarding expedition, traveling almost 90 miles across Lake Huron to raise awareness and money for Great Lakes protection and Thund...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/aug17/standing-up-for-the-great-lakes.html

For those who love nature and outdoor activities, the National Marine Sanctuary System offers exciting adventures. Whether it's paddling on the waves, reeling in salmon, exploring tide pools, or ...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/aug17/eight-fantastic-places-to-paddle-in-your-national-marine-sanctuary-system.html

How do you find a shipwreck in a 23,000-square-mile lake? For researchers, it can be like finding a needle in a haystack. This spring, researchers in Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary underto...

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/jun17/listening-for-history-exploring-tbnms-with-sound.html

Americans love to travel, whether it’s packing up the car for a classic road trip, boarding a cruise ship to tropical islands, or jetting off to exotic locales. We kick off our shoes, set aside...

Dive deep into your National Marine Sanctuary System with this year's edition of Earth Is Blue Magazine!

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/magazine/2/

Despite several coastal states, including California, implementing gear recovery programs in recent years to promote retrieval of derelict nets, tons of debris remains in our sea. Carried on ocea...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/jun17/disentangling-giants-hihwnms-combats-unintended-catch.html

In 1903, at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, the Wright brothers changed the world forever by building the world’s first airplane, a "flying machine" that flew 120 feet before falling back to Earth....

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/may17/seabird-protection-network-finds-allies-in-the-sky.html

From the Pacific Islands to the mainland, we are a maritime nation, protected, shaped, and dependent upon our ocean. We are a people that rejoice in our ocean, a nation that, while it still has m...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/may17/celebrating-asian-pacific-american-heritage.html

Off the coast of Massachusetts in Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, December is a chilly time of year. But it's also a perfect time to track seabirds, which in turn can help sanctuary re...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/may17/citizen-scientists-track-sanctuary-seabirds.html

The waters within Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary have claimed at least 200 shipwrecks over the centuries. The sanctuary protects one of our nation's best-preserved and nationally-significa...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/may17/getting-a-birds-eye-view-of-thunder-bay-national-marine-sanctuary.html

Can't get to your national marine sanctuaries? Thanks to the wonders of 360-degree photography and virtual reality, these underwater treasures now are as close as the tip your fingers. NOAA's Off...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/may17/virtual-dives.html

As a Samoan, the ocean means so many things to me. The ocean is my escape. It's where I can go to clear my mind and refocus on things. The ocean is also my provider. From it, I can ensure my fami...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/may17/we-need-the-ocean.html

Spanning from Marin to Cambria, Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary encompasses 6,094 square miles offshore of central California. Running along almost one-quarter of California's coastline, t...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/apr17/strength-in-numbers-building-community-investment.html

Located off the coast of Southern California, Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary protects remarkable biodiversity, productive ecosystems, and sensitive species and habitats. But more than ...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/apr17/exploring-deep-coral-gardens-of-cinms.html

The favorite nickname of Key West, Florida is "The Conch Republic." Alpena, Michigan hosts the annual Great Lakes Lighthouse Festival and Port Angeles, Washington, the annual Dungeness Crab & Sea...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/apr17/it-takes-a-community.html

Did you know you don't have to be a trained scientist to contribute to the understanding of our ocean and Great Lakes? Citizen science provides integral support for many national marine sanctua...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/apr17/community-engagement-in-sanctuaries-citizen-science.html

The humpback whale has long been a symbol of strength and connectedness. It is fitting, then, that an exciting project developed by Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary conne...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/apr17/for-humpback-whales-in-sanctuaries-public-involvement-counts.html

The vast stretches of cold, fresh water in the Great Lakes hide the stories of thousands of ships that wrecked in our nation’s inland seas. Historical records indicate more than a hundred shipw...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/apr17/history-meets-technology-in-shipwreck-alley.html

Capitol Hill Ocean Week (CHOW), the premier ocean policy conference in the United States, debuts at its new venue, the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, on June 13-15, 2017. ...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/apr17/join-us-for-chow-2017.html

As we look forward to celebrating our 45th anniversary this year, we're reflecting on recent events. From education programs, tourism, and recreation, to scientific investigations, incredible thi...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/apr17/eight-amazing-things-in-sanctuaries.html

A healthy ocean starts with all of us, and through the Ocean Guardian School Program, students are showing that they too, can make a big difference for the ocean. Students, parents, and teachers:...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/apr17/ocean-guardian-schools.html

As an education specialist, I talk to all different kinds of groups and they almost always want to know if I'm a marine biologist. My answer -- that my degree is in Spanish with a minor in mathem...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/mar17/hooked.html

I grew up on Long Island, where the Great South Bay, Long Island Sound, and Atlantic Ocean were my playground. The time my family spent with me there shaped my deep love for salt water. The chang...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/mar17/follow-your-bliss.html

It's a dark cold night in the early 1830s in Nantucket, Massachusetts. On one house's widow's walk, a father and daughter, bundled against the cold, are studying the night sky, stars, and seas, a...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/mar17/women-history-month-sanctuary-pioneering-female-scientists.html

How do you control a harmful invasive species before it damages reef ecosystems? NOAA and its partners have developed and released designs for new lionfish traps that could provide the first real...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/feb17/sanctuary-scientist-fights-invasive-lionfish.html

In 1838, at about 20 years of age and with two escape attempts already behind him, Frederick Douglass was working as a caulker in the Baltimore shipyards, pounding hemp into the seams of wooden s...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/feb17/for-i-knew-a-ship-from-stem-to-stern.html

It's February! And in the month of love we may hear folks wax poetic about long walks on the beach. But those strolls along the coast have a far greater impact than you might expect -- in nationa...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/feb17/how-recreation-bolsters-local-economies-along-olympic-coast.html

What lies in the deep waters of National Marine Sanctuary of American Samoa? Over the next several months, you'll be able to watch dives in these unexplored waters in real time to find out. Fro...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/feb17/exploring-the-deep-waters-american-samoa.html

National marine sanctuaries rely on volunteers like you! Volunteering is one way to explore our nation's underwater treasures while doing your part to ensure a healthy ocean and Great Lakes. Whet...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/feb17/community-engagement-in-sanctuaries.html

For the first time in two decades, NOAA is in the process of designating new national marine sanctuaries. One such site currently under consideration is the historically-significant Mallows Bay i...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/feb17/mallows-bay-potomac-river-proposed-sanctuary-study-area-profile.html

For decades, the people of Wisconsin have strived to study, preserve, and interpret their Great Lakes shipwrecks and maritime heritage. In December 2014, Governor Scott Walker took steps to bring...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/feb17/socioeconomics-of-proposed-wisconsin-lake-michigan-sanctuary.html

Since its designation in 1992, Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary has been one of the world's premier whale watching destinations. Now, scientists are learning that the reason so many whal...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/jan17/sand-lance-stellwagen-bank.html

Public invited to comment on proposals for Mallows Bay - Potomac River and Wisconsin - Lake Michigan national marine sanctuaries beginning Monday, January 9. In Wisconsin, NOAA is proposing to ...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/jan17/noaa-proposes-two-new-national-marine-sanctuaries.html

If you were asked to draw a picture of the U.S. economy, what color would you use? Perhaps green, the color of money? How about the portion of the economy that is supported by our ocean and coast...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/dec16/sanctuaries-blue-economy.html

All across the ocean, marine organisms from tiny fish to enormous whales rely on sound and hearing for their survival. But increasing human activity within our ocean over the last century has als...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/notes/2016/understanding-sanctuary-soundscapes.html

For four years, NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries has recognized outstanding achievement in the fields of interpretation and environmental education by presenting the Sea to Shining ...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/nov16/sea-to-shinging-sea-award.html

Popular recreational and commercial fishing species such as Atlantic cod, halibut, flounder and monkfish rely on sand lance as a staple of their diets. These forage fish are also on the menus for...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/nov16/birds-indicators-ecosystem-health.html

In August and September, archaeologists revisited the maritime legacy of North Carolina's Outer Banks in a successful effort to explore the remains of a World War II convoy battlefield consisting...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/nov16/exploring-wwii-battle-of-the-atlantic-part-2.html

Humans have only explored an estimated 5 percent of the world’s ocean. In fact, we know more about the surface of the moon than our own salty seas! Learn more about our sanctuaries and marine n...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/oct16/14-sanctuary-facts.html

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced today that John Armor has been selected as Director of NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries (ONMS), our nation's system of un...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/oct16/noaa-names-john-armor-director-of-office-of-national-marine-sanctuaries.html

Scientists continue to explore a broad spectrum of possible causes for July's mass mortality event at East Flower Garden Bank within Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, including envir...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/sep16/investigation-of-coral-die-off-continues-amid-bleaching-event.html

For former Nancy Foster Scholar Dr. Nyssa Silbiger and her colleagues Piper Wallingford and Savannah Todd, a camper van is the key. This summer, they’ve packed all their research gear into the ...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/sep16/biology-bus-qa-silbiger.html

Scientists from the Bishop Museum and NOAA have published a description of a new species of butterflyfish from deep reefs of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument in the remote Northwe...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2016/new-butterflyfish-species.html

A team of maritime archaeologists from Monitor National Marine Sanctuary is up to the task. Using manned submersibles and underwater robots in partnership with NOAA's Office of Exploration and Re...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/aug16/exploring-world-war-ii-battle-of-the-atlantic.html

Within the National Marine Sanctuary System, you'll find places of hope, inspiration, biodiversity and resilience. The system encompasses more than 170,000 square miles of marine and Great Lakes ...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/aug16/monuments-and-sanctuaries-whats-the-difference.html

Today, President Obama announced that Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, located in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, will expand from 139,818 square miles to 582,578 square miles. Th...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/aug16/president-announced-expansion-of-papahanaumokuakea-marine-national-monument.html

This week, we join the rest of the nation in wishing the National Park Service, America's best idea, a very happy 100th birthday! What's little known about the National Park Service is that 88 ...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/aug16/wishing-the-national-park-service-a-happy-100th.html

Several potential causes of the outbreak are under investigation, but it's most likely a combination of stressors at work. Although the reefs of Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary ar...

http://flowergarden.noaa.gov/newsevents/massmortalityresponsearticle.html

How do you restore and conserve an iron turret that spent more than a century on the sea floor? It takes a lot of time and a complicated process. Together, Monitor National Marine Sanctuary and T...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/aug16/restoring-the-turret-of-the-uss-monitor.html

What are some of the best places in the nation to experience the wonder of the ocean and Great Lakes? National marine sanctuaries! This June, the National Marine Sanctuary System celebrated its...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/aug16/how-did-you-celebrate-get-into-your-sanctuary-days.html

On Monday, sport divers on the M/V Fling, diving in the Gulf of Mexico 100 miles offshore of Texas and Louisiana, were stunned to find green, hazy water, huge patches of ugly white mats coating c...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/jul16/noaa-scientists-report-mass-die-off-of-invertebrates-at-east-flower-garden-bank.html

How can young people make a difference in the face of marine debris? This spring, students at ninety schools across the nation – from as far and wide as American Samoa, Hawaii, California, Mich...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/jul16/students-take-action-against-marine-debris-by-embracing-zero-waste.html

Perhaps this week you've caught a Rattata (or twenty) walking down the street or a Pidgey wandering through the park. But what's a Pokemon Go player to do when looking for the elusive Tentacruel ...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/jul16/looking-for-water-type-pokemon-check-out-your-sanctuaries.html

This article is Part Two of a feature on how coral bleaching will affect the National Marine Sanctuary System. For a primer on coral bleaching, read Part One . "How many hits do corals have to ...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/jul16/responding-to-coral-bleaching-in-sanctuaries.html

Gliding through the crystal blue seas of Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, you glance down into a scene straight out of a kaleidoscope: dazzling yellow and orange parrotfish dart in and out...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/jun16/how-is-coral-bleaching-affecting-sanctuaries.html

Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary supports one of the most diverse assemblages of underwater plants and animals in North America. Here are five simple ways you can have a fantastic time visi...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/may16/5-ways-to-enjoy-florida-keys.html

That new camera update on your phone may be great for snagging photos at the amazing concert coming up, but camera phones and selfie sticks are raising new concerns for animal welfare worldwide. ...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/may16/responsible-recreation.html

This May, Hobart, Tasmania will attract more than 350 scientists to an international symposium about our changing climate and ocean, particularly focusing on ocean acidification. Together, NOAA's...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/apr16/ocean-acidification.html

Planning to spend your summer seaside? Be sure to include a stop at one of your national marine sanctuaries! Spanning the central California coast, four of our national marine sanctuaries were re...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/apr16/west-coast-marine-wildlife-viewing-experiences-you-cant-miss.html

The results are in: Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary has been named "Best Place to See Aquatic Life" by USA TODAY's 10BEST contest! And Stellwagen Bank isn't the only phenomenal place in...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/mar16/stellwagen-bank-named-best-place-to-see-aquatic-life.html

What does it take to solve a 95-year-old mystery? Robert Schwemmer knows the answer. As the West Coast Regional Maritime Heritage Coordinator for NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries (O...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/mar16/what-does-it-take-to-solve-a-95-year-old-mystery.html

On March 25, 1921, three years after the end of World War I, the USS Conestoga left Mare Island, California bound for American Samoa. It was never heard from again. For nearly a century, what h...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/mar16/conestoga.html

Monterey Bay and Stellwagen Bank national marine sanctuaries have been nominated by USA Today in their latest 10Best travel award contest! The 10Best panel of experts selected Monterey Bay and St...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/feb16/monterey-bay-stellwagen-banks-nominated-as-favorite-places-to-see-aquatic-life.html

The kelp forests of Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary provide shelter and food for hundreds of species of animals and plants, from abalone to sea lions. So how does an invasive seaweed im...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/feb16/foster-scholar-takes-on-invasive-species.html

But when corals are stressed, they expel photosynthetic algae called zooxanthellae that they need to survive. This is known as bleaching -- because those algae are what give corals their bright c...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/dec15/coral-bleaching.html

You may have heard recently that humpback whales have "gone missing," or are "disappearing" from Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary. But never fear! These majestic animals ...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/jan16/tardy-whales.html

The lionfish! When viewed from the right angle, these fishes' ornate fins look like turkey plumage. But don't get too close: these fins are made of venomous spines.

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/nov15/turkeyfish.html

Less than a hundred miles south of the reefs and mangrove forests of Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary lay the marine ecosystems of Cuba.

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/nov15/us-and-cuba-to-cooperate-on-sister-sanctuaries.html

Faced with the challenge of creating the first detailed and accurate site plan of the USS Monitor, this August NOAA divers turned to photogrammetry, a 3D digital method of making measurements fro...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/nov15/getting-a-clear-view-of-the-uss-monitor.html

See blogs and pictures on the new Tumblr page.

http://noaasanctuaries.tumblr.com/

Today at the 2015 Our Ocean Conference in Valparaiso, Chile, President Barack Obama announced that, for the first0 time since 2000, two new marine areas have been identified by NOAA for possible ...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/oct15/proposed-designations.html

Each year, NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries hosts several undergraduate Hollings scholars at sites across the National Marine Sanctuary System.

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/sep15/hollings-scholars.html

The Okeanos is equipped with real-time broadband satellite communications that provide the ship with telepresence -- meaning the video and photos collected with underwater robots known as remotel...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/aug15/okeanos.html

The Okeanos is equipped with real-time broadband satellite communications that provide the ship with telepresence -- meaning the video and photos collected with underwater robots known as remotel...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/aug15/okeanos.html

Catch! Click! Release! It’s time for the fourth annual Sanctuary Classic, a free fishing and photo contest that celebrates recreational fishing in America’s national marine sanctuaries.

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/jul15/sanctuary-classic.html

Are you visiting one of America’s national marine sanctuaries this weekend for Get into Your Sanctuary days? Here are seven tips to make your trip a success without harming any of the amazing c...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/jun15/get-into-your-sanctuary.html

Each year, thousands of whales, dolphins, porpoises and seals become entangled in marine debris. It’s a lethal event: nets and other debris can actually drown smaller mammals like dolphins and ...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/jun15/whale-disentanglement.html

This Sunday, Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary celebrated its 26th anniversary. Established in 1989, the sanctuary protects 529 square miles off the coast of California.

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/may15/cordell-bank.html

A highly invasive species, lionfish prey on native species, quickly destroying biodiversity and threatening ecosystems. Since they have a high breeding rate and are not subject to any predators t...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/may15/lionfish-invasion.html

National marine sanctuaries play an important role in protecting some of America's most valuable marine ecosystems and the species that call these places home. Sanctuaries provide safe haven for ...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/may15/endangered-marine-species.html

Citizen science is the collection of data by the general public to help scientists answer real-world questions. Citizen science programs engage volunteers in scientific study, such as gathering i...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/apr15/citizen-science.html

Following extensive collaboration with partners including non-governmental organizations, businesses, scientists, and other members of the community, NOAA today has announced its proposed rule fo...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2015/hi-draft-mgmt-plan-review.html

Launched by the U.S. Navy in 1933, the airship USS Macon was one of the largest flying machines in history, but after just two years of service, disaster struck.

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/macon/

For 40 years, the United States national marine sanctuaries have worked to protect sites ranging from a Civil War shipwreck to coral reefs and tiny atolls. Today, NOAA announced that beginning th...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2014/pr061014.html

Through this new award, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Office of National Marine Sanctuaries intends to recognize outstanding achievement in the fields of interpreta...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/features/1013_sea_award.html

NOAA's Gulf of the Farallones and Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuaries advise San Francisco Bay Area and Central Coast beachgoers against interacting with any seal pups they may find on the b...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2011/pr022511.html

Orange and pink corals, sponges, and anemones emerge through an enormous cloud of widow rockfish. Using strobes and powerful lights that chase the darkness from the deep, a group of expert divers...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/feb14/bay_area_underwater_explorers.html

The lionfish invasion sweeping the waters of the southeastern United States, Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico is well-documented. We know what we're up against: hordes of venomous, fast-growing i...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/feb15/lionfish.html

Aliens have invaded the beaches of California. They're small, green, spiky, and they're everywhere. But these invaders aren't from another planet - just another part of our own. And now, with NOA...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/feb15/invasive-species.html

More than 150 years after the USS Hatteras met its final resting place in the Gulf of Mexico, the identities of two African-American sailors who went down with the ship remain a mystery.

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/feb14/hatteras_mystery.html

Calling all middle and high school students: the Second Annual Voyage to Discovery Essay Contest is now accepting entries!

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/features/0114_vtdessay.html

NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries has established a new business advisory council to give its director the views of industry leaders as they work with corporate partners in marine reso...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2013/pr091213b.html

NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries has awarded 21 K-12 schools in California with more than $74,000 in grants to help protect the health of the ocean. The schools received a Ocean Guard...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/welcome.html

NOAA scientists report the discovery of the first known colony of table coral off of the south shore of O'ahu in Hawai'i.

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2013/pr080813.html

NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries has selected three graduate students as national recipients of the Dr. Nancy Foster Scholarship.

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2013/pr072513.html

With seabird breeding season underway, NOAA's Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary urges coastal visitors, whether boaters and paddlers or small aircraft pilots, to avoid disturbing n...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2012/pr041612.html

Mariners along the U.S. east coast can now download a new iPad and iPhone application that warns them when they enter areas of high risk of collision with critically endangered North Atlantic rig...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2012/pr041212.html

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live underwater? Well, from October 12-21 you can find out by tuning in to daily broadcasts shot live from an undersea research lab, the only one o...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/missions/2010aquarius/welcome.html

NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries is a sponsor and supporter of BLUE, taking place in Monterey, California Aug. 24-29, 2010 at venues overlooking Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/features/0710blue.html

NOAA's Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary presented its Young Marine Scientist Award to eighth-grade student Julie Avetisyan for her biological sciences project, "Effects of an Oil ...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2010/pr031110.html

Commemorating the 75th anniversary of the loss of the U.S. Navy airship USS Macon, NOAA today announced that the wreck site on the seafloor within Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary has been ...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2010/pr021110.html

Two World War II Japanese submarines, designed with revolutionary technology to attack the U.S. mainland, have been discovered off the Hawaiian coast of Oahu.

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2009/pr111209.html

On a stormy night in December 1862, one of the most famous ships in history vanished into the depths of the Atlantic Ocean.

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/jan15/monitor.html

Now, with the help of several private partners and cutting-edge technology, NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries has brought back the first-ever 3-D images of this long-lost shipwreck, wh...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/dec14/city-of-rio.html

For the second year, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Office of National Marine Sanctuaries recognizes outstanding achievement in the fields of interpretation and envi...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/dec14/sea-to-shining-sea-awards.html

When it comes to studying a 150-year-old, nationally significant shipwreck, NOAA knows that often the best resources are the people who've already been diving there for decades.

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/nov14/mapping-the-walker.html

For more than 70 years, sand and silt concealed the watery graves of two vessels lost in a battle that brought World War II to America's shores.

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2014/pr102114.html

A team of NOAA researchers today confirmed the discovery just outside San Francisco's Golden Gate strait of the 1910 shipwreck SS Selja and an unidentified early steam tugboat wreck tagged the "m...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2014/pr091614.html

Thousands of years ago, before humans settled around San Francisco Bay, geologic forces were at work creating dramatic coastal mountains and deep sea floor ridges off the central California coast...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/sep14/exploring-gulf-farallones.html

Since its designation in 2000, Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary has been home to one of the richest collections of federally protected shipwrecks in America.Now that collection is growing ev...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/sep14/thunderbay-expansion.html

A new blog by Maya Walton, a NOAA Sea Grant Knauss Fellow: I recently had the incredible opportunity to visit beautiful Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary for a high-tech research expedition ...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/aug14/capturing-keys-360.html

From the white sharks that silently patrol the Gulf of the Farallones to the graceful hammerheads that congregate at the Flower Garden Banks, sharks are some of the national marine sanctuaries' m...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/sharkweek/

Six shipping companies agree to slow down in Santa Barbara Channel to reduce pollution, protect endangered whales.

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/aug14/slowdown-ships.html

Buoyed by financial support from NOAA, a new group of burgeoning marine scientists is preparing to dive into the underwater world of America's national marine sanctuaries.

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/jul14/nancy-foster.html

Picture a place where orcas breach above the sunken wrecks of 19th-century ships, and sea otters frolic among kelp forests while bald eagles soar through the skies. That place is Olympic Coast Na...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/jul14/olympic-coast-20th.html

Nearly 100 years after its last voyage, the whaleship Charles W. Morgan will visit NOAA's Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary in a symbolic journey to one of the world's premier whale watch...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2014/pr070814.html

Fabien Cousteau, world-renowned ocean advocate, filmmaker and grandson of pioneering ocean explorer Jacques-Yves Cousteau, accomplished just that last month during Mission 31, his record-breaking...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/jul14/mission-31.html

While the sporting world is fixated on the World Cup in Brazil this summer, another international tournament is about to take the quiet Michigan town of Alpena by storm.

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/jun14/rov-competition.html

NOAA announced today it has determined the probable location of the remains of the Civil War-era sidewheel steamer Planter, which gained national fame in 1862 when a group of enslaved African Ame...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2014/pr051314.html

Find out how you can help by reading this article and volunteering!

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/apr14/surprising-ways-to-help.html

NOAA announced today the rediscovery of underwater wreck of the passenger steamer, The City of Chester, which sank in 1888 in a collision in dense fog near where the Golden Gate Bridge stands tod...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2014/pr042314.html

NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries has released a proposal to expand the boundaries of Gulf of the Farallones (GFNMS) and Cordell Bank (CBNMS) national marine sanctuaries, two of 14 sit...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2014/pr041414.html

NOAA today announced that the wreck of the ship Robert J. Walker, a steamer that served in the U.S. Coast Survey, a predecessor agency of NOAA's Office of Coast Survey, has been added to the Nati...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2014/pr040214.html

Beginning as early as June 2013, sea stars along the entire Pacific coast began dying from what has become known as "sea star wasting syndrome," or "S3." The ailment, which affects over a dozen s...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/apr14/sea-star-wasting.html

When Emma Hickerson started volunteering at Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary headquarters in Galveston, Texas, in 1996, it was just a "temporary thing" -- or so she thought. But thin...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/mar14/emma-hickerson.html

NOAA's Mokupapapa Discovery Center in Hilo, Hawaii, reopened its doors to the public last week after nearly a year of renovations, unveiling a new 20,000-square-foot facility that's five times th...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/mar14/mokupapapa-discovery-center.html

What about a whole week? Here's your chance to find out. Join students across California as they try to cut down their environmental impact during Zero Waste Week!

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/mar14/taking-out-the-trash.html

More than 150 years after the USS Hatteras met its final resting place in the Gulf of Mexico, the identities of two African-American sailors who went down with the ship remain a mystery.

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/features/feb14/hawaii_ocean_count.html

NOAA researchers find themselves face to face with the remnants of a devastating U-boat attack on the U.S. East Coast in the National Geographic documentary Hitler's Secret Attack on America.

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/feb14/hitler_secret_attack_on_america.html

Picture this: you're a marine scientist studying the deep ocean. From the darkened control room on your research boat, you guide a remotely operated vehicle (called an ROV) over the alien landsca...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/features/1213_mohawk.html

Every day, millions of shipping containers crisscross the world's oceans. But what happens to the ones that get lost along the way?

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/features/shippingcontainers.html

Today, Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council recognized John J. Galluzzo a Massachusetts South Shore resident and author, who was named the 2013 Stellwagen Bank National Mari...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2013/pr110513.html

On Aug. 27, NOAA celebrated the 40th anniversary of the 1973 discovery of the Monitor's final resting place by a team of scientists led by John G. Newton of the Duke University Marine Lab in Beau...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/features/0913_monitor.html

The sights, sounds, history and natural wonders of California's coast are highlighted in a new iPhone/iPad application released by the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation and NOAA's Office of Na...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/features/mobile_app.html

More than 153 years after it was lost in a violent collision at sea, government and university maritime archaeologists have identified the wreck of the ship Robert J. Walker, a steamer that serve...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2013/pr082713.html

Officials from NOAA and the University of California at Santa Barbara today joined U.S. Rep. Lois Capps to celebrate the opening of the school's Ocean Science Education Building, which will also ...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2013/pr080613.html

From the white sharks that silently patrol the Gulf of the Farallones to the graceful hammerheads that congregate at the Flower Garden Banks, sharks are some of the national marine sanctuaries' m...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/sharkweek/welcome.html

NOAA is seeking public input on a proposed process and associated criteria to evaluate potential new national marine sanctuaries in the nation's marine and Great Lakes environments.

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2013/pr062813.html

NOAA has begun testing an unmanned aircraft system in the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary that could allow researchers to observe animals at relatively close range with minimal disturbanc...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2013/pr062013.html

NOAA today released for public comment a draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) and proposed rule for expanding the boundaries of Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary in Lake Huron from its...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2013/pr061413.html

NOAA presented to the U.S. Coast Guard today a new report that finds that 36 sunken vessels scattered across the U.S. seafloor could pose an oil pollution threat to the nation's coastal marine re...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2013/pr052013.html

Volunteers across the country donated more than 100,000 hours of their time last year - the equivalent of 58 fulltime employees - to help protect and conserve the country's ocean and coastal trea...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/features/0413_volunteer_week.html

A new report on the potential effects of climate change on NOAA's Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary uses existing observations and science-based expectations to identify how climate change ...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2013/pr041713.html

Workers have begun staging equipment and dismantling the dock that came ashore on the Olympic peninsula this past December. The dock was washed out to sea during the March 2011 tsunami in Japan.

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/features/0313_dock.html

On Monday, March 11, a team of specially trained rescuers freed an entangled male humpback whale near Lahaina in the waters of NOAA's Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, sa...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2013/pr031113.html

Under the swirling clouds of a blustery March day, two fallen heroes of the Civil War were laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery last week, their identities still a mystery.

http://monitor.noaa.gov/150th/feature_burial.html

Today, NOAA released the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary Condition Report that describes the state of the sanctuary's resources and pressures that affect their scientific integrity and recr...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2013/pr021913.html

A new NOAA research report finds that both fish populations and commercial and recreational anglers have benefited from "no-take" protections in the Tortugas Ecological Reserve in the Florida Key...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2013/pr020413.html

A new 3-D state of the art sonar map released today by NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, ExploreOcean, Teledyne Blueview, and Northwest Hydro shows never-before seen details of the US...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2013/pr011113.html

NOAA's Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary welcomes Quiescence Diving Services, Inc. of Key Largo as the newest participant in the sanctuary's Blue Star education and conservation program. Qui...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2012/pr122112.html

NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries announced today it will begin a public process to review the boundaries for its Gulf of the Farallones and Cordell Bank national marine sanctuaries of...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2012/pr122012.html

Beginning Dec. 1, more oceangoing ships traveling near the Washington coast will be asked to stay further offshore to reduce the threat of an oil spill to Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary.

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2012/pr120312.html

NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries has identified the remains of an early 20th century shipwreck in Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary to be those of the British steamship Hannah M....

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2012/pr112012.html

For 40 years, NOAA's National Marine Sanctuary System has preserved and protected some of the most spectacular and treasured resources in the world's oceans.

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2012/pr102312a.html

Seventy years after it was scuttled off Los Angeles, government archaeologists have found the wrecked remains of the George E. Billings, a rare Pacific Coast schooner that was employed in the lum...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2012/pr102312.html

Take a virtual tour of the Outer Banks! Visit the Outer Banks Maritime Heritage Trail website where you can travel along Highway 12 and explore some of the most exciting places the Outer Banks ha...

http://monitor.noaa.gov/obxtrail/welcome.html

The Sanctuary Ocean Count, the signature outreach project for NOAA's Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, was named the Take Pride in America Outstanding Federal Volunteer P...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2012/pr101112.html

In recent comments to the House of Representatives, Congressman Sam Farr said the collaboration between local residents, government and environmentalists that resulted in the creation of Monterey...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/features/0912_farr.html

NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries is diving into BLUE, Sept. 24-30, as BLUE Ocean Film Festival comes to Monterey, California.

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/features/0912_blue.html

Volunteer science divers with the National Association of Black Scuba Divers (NABS) are helping Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary unlock the mystery of an early 20th century shipwreck off Ke...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2012/pr091912.html

According to a NOAA-led paper published today in the journal Conservation Biology, high levels of background noise, mainly due to ships, have reduced the ability of critically endangered North At...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2012/pr091012.html

On October 23, 1972, the National Marine Sanctuaries Act was signed, initiating ocean protection and conservation at a scope and scale never seen before. Today, fourteen magnificent protected are...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/top40/welcome.html

According to a NOAA-led paper published today in the journal Conservation Biology, high levels of background noise, mainly due to ships, have reduced the ability of critically endangered North At...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2012/pr081512.html

Ron Armonath, a Sagamore Beach resident who helped organize a citizen science project that collects information about whale activities at Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, was named Nati...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2012/pr072512.html

Scientists from Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and partner agencies will depart Key West Thursday aboard the NOAA Ship Nancy Foster to map fish spawning sites between Key West and the Dry...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2012/pr072412.html

NOAA has requested that large ships slow down in the Santa Barbara Channel to reduce the threat of ship strikes on endangered blue, humpback and fin whales.

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2012/pr072312a.html

Officials from NOAA's Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary and the city of Santa Cruz today celebrated the opening of the Sanctuary Exploration Center, a state-of-the-art facility full of inter...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2012/pr072312.html

How climate change affects U.S. indigenous coastal cultures is the focus of the First Stewards symposium starting today at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D....

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2012/pr071712.html

Bone-chilling water. A thousand shades of gray. A northwesterly swell, just in from somewhere near Kamchatka. Two veteran surfers start down the steep cliff-face on the Makah Indian Reservation. ...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/features/0712_power.html

To find out more about the connections between people and special places, we sat down with Chesapeake Bay watershed residents Joe Scrivener, Tommy Zinn, Craig Kelly and Phil Watson to talk about ...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/features/0712_reflections.html

From an early age, our children learn about Yellowstone, Yosemite, Mount Rushmore, Gettysburg, the Grand Canyon - iconic locations whose names resonate with deep cultural and historical significa...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/features/0712_special.html

NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries has selected three graduate students as national recipients of the Dr. Nancy Foster Scholarships. Recipients of the scholarships represent graduate-le...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2012/pr070212.html

From removing trash to counting whales and educating school children, volunteers across the country performing a variety of critical functions have donated more than one million hours of communit...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2012/pr061512.html

On Monday, a NASA mission splashed down off Key Largo, Fla. Unlike some NASA ventures, however, "splashdown" wasn't the end of the mission - it was just the beginning. Called "NEEMO" (NASA Extrem...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/science/neemo/welcome.html

Reel 'em in, ready the shot and release! Get your fishing rods out and your cameras ready for a summer-long catch-and-release photo competition. Beginning June 9, submit your favorite fishing pho...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/visit/fishing.html

The Massachusetts Marine Educators (MME) and Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary have announced the winners of the 2012 K-12 Marine Art Contest, selected from nearly 800 entries.

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2012/pr052312.html

The wreck of the Lamartine, a 19th century schooner that hauled granite for construction of streets, sidewalks and buildings along the U.S. East Coast, has been listed on the National Register of...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2012/pr051712.html

Commerce Secretary John Bryson and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced this week the Administration's National Travel and Tourism Strategy - delivering on President Obama's call in January f...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/features/0512tourism.html

Teachers, students, beachgoers, researchers and others can now view a wealth of information about central California marine life through a new iPhone and iPad application released by NOAA's Monte...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2012/pr050412.html

Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary is seeking to fill eight primary and nine alternate seats on its advisory council, which ensures public input into sanctuary matters and ...

http://hawaiihumpbackwhale.noaa.gov/news/latestnews.html

A new rule prohibiting killing, injuring, touching or disturbing whale sharks and rays is part of the final management plan, regulations and environmental assessment for NOAA's Flower Garden Bank...

http://flowergarden.noaa.gov/management/2012mgmtplan.html

NOAA today released a comprehensive draft management plan and environmental assessment for the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary for public review and comment. The plan, based on several years of...

http://monitor.noaa.gov/management/draft_management.html

Mariners along the U.S. east coast can now download a new iPad and iPhone application that warns them when they enter areas of high risk of collision with critically endangered North Atlantic rig...

http://stellwagen.noaa.gov/protect/whalealert.html

NOAA's Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary is seeking applicants for five seats on its advisory council, which ensures public participation in sanctuary management and provides advice to th...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2012/pr032112.html

NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries has teamed up with world renowned environmental filmmaker Bob Talbot to showcase three ocean films at DC's upcoming Environmental Film Festival. Exper...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/features/0312filmfestival.html

NOAA's Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary advises San Francisco Bay Area boaters to watch out for and steer clear of whales. Multiple whale species migrate into the area in large nu...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2012/pr031812.html

Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary will hold its annual Currents symposium on April 14 at California State University, Monterey Bay. This year's theme is From Lions to Luminescence: Linking L...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2012/pr031612.html

NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries has named Sean Morton as "Manager of the Year" for his dedicated leadership and visionary approach as superintendent of Florida Keys National Marine S...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2012/pr030912.html

USS Monitor Memorial Service, Plaque Dedication and an Unveiling of the Monitor Sailors' Faces at the US Navy Memorial, Washington, D.C.

http://monitor.noaa.gov/150th/news_forensic.html

Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary's new research vessel, R/V Kohola, was blessed today during a brief ceremony at U.S. Coast Guard Station Maui.

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2012/pr022212.html

Between June 5th and June 18th 2011, NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries Maritime Heritage Program and the University of Hawai`i's Marine Option Program conducted a survey of sunken Worl...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/maritime/expeditions/maui/welcome.html

The year 2012 marks the 150th anniversary of the USS Monitor. From its launch on Jan. 30, 1862, to its sinking on Dec. 31, 1862, the Monitor, in its short lifetime, became one of our nation's mos...

http://monitor.noaa.gov/150th/

Latest Update on the Nihoa Millerbirds on Laysan Island - New Hope for Critically Endangered Species.

http://www.papahanaumokuakea.gov/news/millerbirdupdate.html

From restaurants and hotels, to aquariums and kayak operators, the success of many businesses, millions of dollars in sales and thousands of jobs, directly depend on thriving national marine sanc...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/features/1211socio.html

This document presents the results of a restoration and four subsequent monitoring events designed to track the recovery of coral habitat restored after injury involving a nearshore patch reef wi...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/science/conservation/lagniappe.html

Under a new regulation that went into effect Sunday, the southern third of NOAA's 22-square-mile Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary is now a research area where scientists will be able to stud...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/features/1211grays.html

NOAA today released the final management plan and environmental assessment for the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary in Washington state. The document provides a framework for the sanctuary...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2011/pr110111.html

NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries will help the State of North Carolina recover a large cannon from the Queen Anne's Revenge, the sunken flagship of the notorious pirate captain Blackb...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2011/pr102011.html

The gust of wind carried the grand arch of balloons away from the confines of the city garbage bin. The students of Pacific Grove Middle School in Pacific Grove, Calif., did not delight in their ...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/features/1011children.html

NOAA and France's Protected Areas Agency have signed a "sister sanctuary" agreement to support the protection of endangered humpback whales that migrate annually more than 3,000 miles between NOA...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/features/1011whales.html

With the first confirmed sighting this week of a humpback whale in waters off the Big Island, NOAA is reminding boaters and other ocean users to keep a safe distance from these annual visitors to...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2011/pr092711.html

Lionfish, a venomous invasive marine species considered one of the top predators in many coral reef environments in the Atlantic, have been documented at NOAA's Flower Garden Banks National Marin...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2011/pr081511.html

NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries' Maritime Heritage Program and the University of Hawaii's Marine Option Program have completed a survey of sunken World War II-era aircraft and shipwr...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2011/pr080811.html

This week, a team of government and university scientists is peering into the depths of Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary in an attempt to better understand whale behavior and the underwa...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/features/0711tagging.html

The 2011 Battle of the Atlantic Expedition is all about discovery! Join NOAA's Monitor National Marine Sanctuary as we explore the seafloor off of North Carolina's Outer Banks, search for undisco...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/missions/2011battleoftheatlantic/welcome.html

Divers successfully removed 531 invasive lionfish from Florida Keys waters on May 14, during the first event of the Second Annual Florida Keys Lionfish Derby Series in Long Key, Fla., organized b...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2011/pr051611.html

Divers will return to Florida Keys waters next month on a mission: net thousands of dollars in cash and prizes while protecting the environment from invasive lionfish.

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2011/pr041911.html

Mavericks. Waimea Bay. Pipeline. The names evoke images of pumping surf, the raw beauty of ocean swells exploding on solid reefs, and crowds gathered to watch in awe as expert surfers take on wor...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/features/0311catching.html

NOAA's Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary advises San Francisco Bay Area boaters to watch out for and steer clear of whales, which migrate into the San Francisco Bay Area in large n...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2011/pr031411.html

Visitors to the sanctuaries are often struck by their extraordinary natural beauty, but the worth of these underwater treasures is greater than just their aesthetic wonder.

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/report2010/

NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, in partnership with Murrain Associates, Inc., and the National Association of Black Scuba Divers (NABS), today launched Voyage to Discovery, a new we...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2011/pr020111.html

Former President Bill Clinton congratulates NOAA on the 10th anniversary of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve.

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/features/1210clinton.html

There are nearly 660 fewer Indo-Pacific red lionfish in the waters of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, thanks to more than 40 teams of divers who participated in a series of derbies ai...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/features/1110lionfish.html

Over twenty years have passed since the initial exploration of the upper pinnacles of Cordell Bank by SCUBA divers from the non-profit organization Cordell Expeditions. For the first time since t...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/missions/2010reefcrest/welcome.html

Armchair archeologists across the globe can experience the thrill and excitement of undersea exploration during a series of "Live Dive" webcasts July 14 from NOAA's Thunder Bay National Marine Sa...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/features/0710montana.html

Officials from NOAA Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary and the City of Santa Cruz broke ground Monday, July 12 on the Sanctuary Exploration Center. Located in Santa Cruz' famed beach area at ...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2010/pr071210.html

The Monitor National Marine Sanctuary's previous Battle of the Atlantic expeditions in 2008 and 2009 focused on the U-boats and Allied vessels that sank during World War II just off the North Car...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/missions/2010battleoftheatlantic/welcome.html

Come join the students of the Program in Maritime Studies' summer field school as they learn about the shipwrecks of North Carolina. This summer marks an important milestone in ECU's summer field...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/missions/2010ecu_nearshore/welcome.html

From June 9 - July 3, the NOAA Ship McArthur II will explore deep-sea coral habitats in depths along the west coast of the United States from Washington's Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary,...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/missions/2010coral_west/welcome.html

NOAA's Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary will conduct a research mission aboard the NOAA ship Nancy Foster May 18 to June 8. Please join us as we report on the activities and findings of this...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/missions/2010nancy_foster/welcome.html

From 8-14 April, the NOAA Ship Pisces explored deep-sea coral habitats in depths from 200-600 m (650 - 2000 ft.), on the continental slope east of Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary. Sampling ...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/missions/2010coral_east/welcome.html

Today, perhaps as never before, our National Marine Sanctuary System is part of a larger means to address the fundamental problems confronting the nation. National marine sanctuaries offer more t...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/report2009

The wreck of a mid-20th century fishing vessel, representative of a distinctive regional fishing technique, has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the nation's official list...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2011/pr013111.html

NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco and the University of California, Santa Barbara Chancellor Henry T. Yang broke ground today on the new 15,000-square foot Ocean Science Education Building on the...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2010/pr011110.html

On November 16th the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries hosted "Science for Marine Spatial Planning - A Symposium." The goal of this symposium was to provide an appreciation of practical examp...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/msp_symposium.html

On Sunday afternoon, December 6, 2009, the juvenile humpback whale found entangled in a web of polypropylene rope last week was set free. Members from NOAA's Hawaiian Islands Humpback National Ma...

http://hawaiihumpbackwhale.noaa.gov/news/rescue_news.html

The Pacific Islands Region, through the Hawai'i Institute of Marine Biology, helped to support five student interns at the American Samoa Community College in 2008.

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/about/seacucumber.html

The Office of National Marine Sanctuaries (ONMS) was invited to participate in a recent international workshop called "Governing Marine Protected Areas: Getting the Balance Right." Elizabeth Moor...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/features/1009_mpa.html

Follow the latest blogs from the Deep Reef 2009 Cruise.

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/missions/2009ramp/blog_101809.html

The 2009 summer expedition is the second part of a larger multi-year project to research and document a number of historically significant shipwrecks tragically lost in the Battle of the Atlantic...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/missions/battleoftheatlantic2/welcome.html

The USS Monitor is by far one of the the most historically significant warships in US history. By virtue of her rotating gun turret, the Monitor earned the title of being the mother of all modern...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/missions/2009monitor/welcome.html

Dr. Jane Lubchenco, newly appointed administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, joined officials and community leaders at the Grand Opening of the Sanctuary Learning Cen...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2009/pr041309.html

Marine life and habitats at Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument are in good overall condition but face emerging threats, according to a new NOAA report on the monument's health.

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2009/pr040209.html

The wreck of an early 20th century fishing vessel that represents technological changes in New England's fishing industry has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the nation's...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/features/0309_joffre.html

Our ocean and its creatures have never been more in need of our help. Threats like pollution, marine debris, habitat destruction and climate change are endangering some of our most precious ocean...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/makeadifference

Today, perhaps as never before, our National Marine Sanctuary System is part of a larger means to address the fundamental problems confronting the nation. National marine sanctuaries offer more t...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/report2008

Fagatele Bay National Marine Sanctuary announces the start of its management plan review and public scoping. Three public meetings are being held in American Samoa on February 10-12, 2009. Writte...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/involved/welcome.html

The Final Management Plan contains information about the Sanctuary's environment, staffing and administration, regulations and boundary, operational and programmatic costs, and performance measur...

http://channelislands.noaa.gov/manplan/overview.html

In December 2008, the County of Kaua`i joined the ranks of Preserve America Communities, which in Hawai`i includes Maui County and Honolulu's Chinatown Historic District. The Preserve America des...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/features/0109_kauai.html

The purpose of the NOAA National Marine Sanctuaries Ocean Guardian Kids Club is to encourage children to explore their natural surroundings to form a sense of personal connection to the ocean and...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/education/kids_club/welcome.html

During the season's first rains, citizens in nine central coast cities sampled storm water flowing into NOAA's Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary on Nov. 3 as part of the "First Flush" volunt...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2008/pr110308.html

During the late afternoon of September 12, 2008, Hurricane Ike crossed directly over East Flower Garden Bank, in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico. At the time of passage over the sanctuary, the st...

http://flowergarden.noaa.gov/science/ike2008.html

The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation designated Maui County a Preserve America Community June 26, 2008 making Maui County the second Hawai`i community, and the first County in Hawaii, to...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/features/1008_maui.html

For one week earlier this month, thousands of conservation professionals, researchers, interest groups and students met in Barcelona, Spain, at the World Conservation Congress, an event that is t...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/features/1008_barcelona.html

Roz Savage, the record setting long distance rower, left from beneath the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco on May 25 and rowed her 24 ft boat across 2,300 miles of treacherous Pacific Ocean un...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/features/0908_rower.html

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) scientists are setting off on a 6-day research mission exploring the remote habitats of Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary and testing m...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/missions/2008cordellbank/welcome.html

By assuming that a common marine ecosystem framework can be applied to all places, the National Marine Sanctuary program developed a series of questions that are posed at all sites and used as ev...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/science/condition/grnms/welcome.html

Today was a great day to be a maritime archaeologist! After conducting a systematic search based upon historical records, the team discovered what we are confident is the remains of the Gledstane...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/missions/2008pmnm/blog_081308.html

This summer, NOAA scientists continued a long-running study of Florida's remote Dry Tortugas Ecological Reserve, widely recognized as home to some of the most productive and unique marine resourc...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/features/0808nccos.html

NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries conducted an archaeological expedition to survey ships sunk off the coast of North Carolina during the WWII Battle of the Atlantic.

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/missions/battleoftheatlantic/welcome.html

The Scientific Forum on the Gulf of Mexico: The Islands in the Stream Concept took place in January 2008 in Sarasota, Florida. The purpose of the meeting was to bring together scientists and mana...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/science/conservation/gom.html

NOAA christened a new, state-of-the-art research vessel that will enhance the study and protection of Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary in the Gulf of Mexico. The 83-foot R/V Manta wi...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2008/pr062708.html

Santa Barbara and Ventura County residents and visitors can now explore Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary without getting their feet wet through new state-of-the-art touch screen NOAA kio...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2008/pr062608.html

The primary goal of this expedition is to gather information to better understand, manage and protect the natural resources of Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary. The first leg, May 5-11, will...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/missions/2008nancy_foster/welcome.html

Follow along as the NOAA ship Oscar Elton Sette takes part in a 17-day cruise from March 24 to April 9, 2008 from Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, to an area north of Hawaii called the North Pacific Subtrop...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/missions/nwhi2008/

Recognizing an urgent need to increase awareness and understanding of coral reefs, and to further conserve and manage valuable reef ecosystems, the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) desi...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/features/0308iyor.html

Our featured accomplishment came in July when NOAA expanded protected areas within the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary. The move permanently bans fishing from nearly 111 square miles ar...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/sos2007/

NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries and the U.S. Army Dive Company joined forces to repair buoy moorings, remove trash from dive sites, and install listening devices to track fish in nat...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2008/pr030608.html

How can we tell what the marine environment looked like underwater before the advent of modern science, before scuba diving, submarines or sonar? The fish kept no records. Can we somehow ask our ...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/science/historical_ecology/welcome.html

The description of a species of coral reef wrasse that is new to science has been published in the December 2007 issue of the journal Copeia. The article, written by former Flower Garden Banks Na...

http://flowergarden.noaa.gov/news_events/wrasse_article.html

As part of NOAA's two hundredth anniversary celebration of the U.S. Coast Survey, four archaeologists returned to Alaska in May 2007 for a more focused expedition to wreck of the Hassler - a pion...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/maritime/expeditions/hassler/

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has completed a network of marine zones in the federal waters of Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary. The federal water marine zones, whi...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2007/pr080907.html

A new nature trail connecting Fagatele Bay with Larsens Bay in American Samoa opened in March. The trail is a new collaboration between Fagatele Bay National Marine Sanctuary and the people of Ta...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/features/0707_fbtrail.html

Can you imagine rowing across an ocean alone? Roz Savage can. She spent 103 days in a solo row across the Atlantic during the winter of 2005/2006. Now she plans a three-stage row across the Pacif...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/features/0707_rower.html

Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuaries staff, along with researchers from several universities and other organizations, are taking part in an expedition in and around the Gray's Reef National Ma...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/missions/2007grnms/welcome.html

The Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary staff, NOAA Fisheries Service, and local partners developed Dolphin SMART after tour operators approached the Sanctuary Advisory Council with concerns t...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/features/0507_dolphinsmart.html

This February, a call came in to the Hawaiian Islands Disentanglement Network about a distressed whale off Hawaii's Big Island. Coordinators David Mattila and Ed Lyman from the Hawaiian Islands H...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/features/0407_entanglement.html

The NOAA National Marine Sanctuary Program in collaboration with National Geographic Society has launched a new series of marine education lesson plans highlighting cutting-edge research, maritim...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/education/welcome.html

NOAA's National Marine Sanctuary Program and the California Ocean Protection Council released new data and three-dimensional imagery of the sea floor off California that helps explain why the fam...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2007/pr041607.html

During the Secrets of the Gulf expedition, Dr. Robert Ballard and a team of researchers, including sanctuaries staff, will explore the northwestern Gulf of Mexico.

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/missions/2007fgb/

The National Marine Sanctuary Program is making major strides in developing results-oriented resource protection, science, management and educational programs. This Web site highlights the progra...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/sos2006/

Several new regulations for NOAA Gray?s Reef National Marine Sanctuary become effective today, providing greater protection for the sanctuary?s valuable marine resources and live-bottom reef habi...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2007/pr021607.html

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has established a 'sister sanctuary' arrangement between Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary off the coast of Massachusetts and th...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/2007/pr012607.html

The coastal treaty Indian tribes, State of Washington and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Marine Sanctuary Program have established an Intergovernmental Policy Cou...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/features/0107_octribes.html

What started out as a routine day of fishing for a well-intentioned New Zealand man quickly turned to tragedy when he attempted to save an entangled humpback whale off New Zealand?s coast.

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/features/0107_whalerescue.html

NOAA opened the doors to the brand-new, 6,400-square-foot Florida Keys Eco-Discovery Center on Jan. 13, treating visitors to an exciting array of interactive exhibits highlighting the rich natura...

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/features/0107_ecocenter.html