Tag: marinelife

NOAA Staff Have Been Busy Installing Mooring Buoys for Public Use Across America

7/3/2025 - By sanctuaries.noaa.gov. Mooring buoys are a vital part of the infrastructure in many national marine sanctuaries. These buoys make it safer and easier for boaters, divers, paddlers, and snorkelers to access sanctuary sites—while protecting sensitive resources like coral reefs, seagrass beds, and historic shipwrecks from anchor damage. Across the sanctuary… SEE MORE

Lane Simmons of the U.S. Geological Survey collects a water-quality sample at the Mississippi River at Baton Rouge, Louisiana (USGS 07374000). Credit: Scott Dennis, USGS.

NOAA Forecasts an Average Summer ‘Dead Zone’ in Gulf

6/11/2025 - By oceanservice.noaa.gov. Low-oxygen conditions expected to impact 5,574-square-mile area NOAA is forecasting this summer’s Gulf of America (formerly Gulf of Mexico) “dead zone” to be average-sized, covering approximately 5,574 square miles — an area roughly three times the size of Delaware. The dead zone, or hypoxic zone, is an area of… SEE MORE

Will Shrinking Glaciers Mean More Harmful Algal Blooms?

4/15/2025 - By tula.org. Marine algae known as phytoplankton form the essential foundation of marine food webs. Some are dangerous to marine mammals and humans, and researchers are exploring how the diversity and abundance of certain phytoplankton are linked to fresh water—which may be bad news in a changing climate. Toxic algal… SEE MORE

Gelatinous sea creature photographed using the ROV Deep Discoverer in 2015. Credit: NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research

Diving into Creatures of the Deep

3/30/2025 - By fisheries.noaa.gov. Dive in and learn about creatures of the deep. These mysterious species live way below the surface of the ocean. Ever wonder what lurks beneath the surface? One million species live in the sea—but we’ve only discovered about one-third of them, because they live in deep parts of… SEE MORE

Image Credits: A male northern elephant seal. Credit: NOAA Fisheries/Mark Lowry.

From Krill to Elephant Seals, Sentinel Species Detect Hidden Ocean Shifts that Forecast Change

3/18/2025 - By fisheries.noaa.gov. New research identifies species that signal changes in ocean ecosystems. Northern elephant seals weigh in at several thousand pounds and quickly put on more weight when catching squid, fish, and other prey. They feed off the California coast in the so-called “twilight zone” of the ocean (200 to… SEE MORE

A diver uses a lift bag to transport loose rubble. Credit: NOAA

Innovative Coral Restoration Begins in Hawaiʻi After Ship Grounding

3/14/2025 - By fisheries.noaa.gov. A promising and emerging coral restoration technique is being tested in the coastal waters of Hawai‘i for the first time. Scientists are testing rubble stabilization as a coral restoration technique in the coastal waters of Hawai‘i for the first time, with promising results. It involves securing loose, broken… SEE MORE

What’s Happening in the Ocean During Springtime?

3/2/2025 - By noaa.gov. When you think of springtime on land, you might think of birds migrating, flowers blooming, and leaves emerging. While these changes are happening on land, changes are happening in the ocean, too! But how can you tell if spring has sprung in the sea? This graphic explains some… SEE MORE

North Atlantic Right Whale off the coast of Massachusetts

NOAA Withdraws Proposed Speed Restrictions on Boats 35-65ft.

1/16/2025 - The proposed rule, intended to protect North Atlantic Right Whales, would have extended current restrictions to recreational boats ranging from 35 to 65 feet to a speed of 10 knots along much of the Eastern Seaboard for up to seven months of the year. In a significant development for the… SEE MORE

The Galapagos Islands and Many of Their Unique Creatures are at Risk from Warming Waters

10/15/2024 - By Alie Skowronski. GALÁPAGOS ISLANDS, Ecuador — Warm morning light reflects from the remains of a natural rock arch near Darwin Island, one of the most remote islands in the Galapagos. In clear, deep blue water, thousands of creatures — fish, hammerhead sharks, marine iguanas — move in search of… SEE MORE

A Bryde’s whale photographed in the Mariana Archipelago. Credit: NOAA Fisheries/Adam Ü (NOAA Fisheries MMPA-ESA Permit #14097)

Hey, Google: Find this New Whale Sound

10/6/2024 - By fisheries.noaa.gov. NOAA Fisheries identified that Bryde’s whales are the source of a new whale call in the western North Pacific. Working with Google AI, we used machine learning to sort through thousands of hours of acoustic recordings and identify when and where these calls occur. n 2014, an Oregon State… SEE MORE