NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries

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The Smallest Marine Mammal Who Ever Lived (in North America)

Graphic of a southern sea otter.ALT

The sea otter, the smallest marine mammal in North America, is a member of the weasel family and the only marine mammal that doesn’t have blubber to keep it warm. Instead, the sea otter relies on its thick fur to keep its body temperature around 100 degrees.


Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?

Graphic of a whale shark.ALT

Whale sharks are known to be the largest fish in the world, with some individuals measuring 20 meters (60 feet) long and weighing around 40 tons. But, do not fear! Despite their tremendous size, they are gentle giants, using their nearly 1.5 m-wide (5-foot) mouths to filter plankton out of large volumes of water as they swim. Nothing to be afraid of.

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Registration for #CHOW2024 is open!

Capitol Hill Ocean Week graphic. Helping hands build on top of one another with event info surrounding the image.ALT

Good leaders know how to create purpose behind the work they do. This is what Capitol Hill Ocean Week (CHOW) 2024 is all about. The theme this year is ocean leadership, and the annual event hosted by the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation calls upon leaders from all walks of life to come together to drive attention and innovation to protect our ocean and center people at the core of ocean solutions.

The event will explore both the traditional and new ways that local and international communities are adapting to a changing planet, saving and protecting species, and sustaining human-environment relationships.

Announcing Capitol Hill Ocean Week 2024: Leadership
Good leaders know how to create purpose behind the work they do. This is what Capitol Hill Ocean Week (CHOW) 2024 is all about. The theme th
sanctuaries.noaa.gov
chow2024 national marine sanctuary ocean marine science conservation marine conservation noaa

Smelly Gas Helps Researchers Track Right Whales

In the vast open ocean, how does a large animal like a North Atlantic right whale find enough food to eat? Scientists suspect whales are following odors produced by the natural chemical compound dimethyl sulfide (DMS), a smelly gas released when the copepods eat phytoplankton. To predict where right whales will be aggregating, scientists at NOAA’s Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary are conducting groundbreaking research following the same scent trail the whales may be using to locate their favorite food.

To track right whales this spring, researchers will use a benign suction cup to attach a digital tag tag to the flank of the whales. This photo shows the same type of tag used for humpback whale research. Credit: Center for Coastal Studies/NOAA under NMFS permit no. 27272ALT
The DMS instrument draws precise samples of water from the ocean and pushes air through those samples to create bubbles. These bubbles extract the DMS gas from the water, which then can be measured consistently throughout the research transect. Credit: David Wiley/NOAAALT
Copepods (tiny crustaceans), like this one viewed under a microscope, are important zooplankton at the base of the marine food web. Credit: NASAALT

Why does this matter? Click to learn more:

Smelly Gas Helps Researchers Track Right Whales
In the vast open ocean, how does a large animal like a right whale find enough food to eat? Right whales eat copepods, a tiny marine zooplan
sanctuaries.noaa.gov
ocean noaa earthisblue nature science national marine sanctuary conservation whales north atlantic right whales stellwagen bank cape cod gulf of maine endangered species
Diver analyzing samples underwater.ALT

Happy International Women’s Day!

Group of Nancy Foster Scholars on the back of a truck.ALT

We’re celebrating the women of our National Marine Sanctuary System and the amazing contributions they make to ocean conservation!

Snorkeler holding a sample.ALT
Two women sampling a shark in their hands on a boat.ALT
One woman passing a sea turtle off a boat to another women in the water.ALT
Woman taking samples in the ocean.ALT

Thank you for all that you do!

Woman on a vessel wearing a hard hat with her thump up.ALT

Want to learn about some of our favorite sanctuary heroes? Visit the links below!

Women in Ocean Careers | Office of National Marine Sanctuaries
Hear from some of the inspiring women working throughout the National Marine Sanctuary System.
sanctuaries.noaa.gov
Scholars | Dr. Nancy Foster Scholarship Program
Current and past scholars bios
fosterscholars.noaa.gov
Women's History Month | National Marine Sanctuaries
March is Women’s History Month, so this month NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries is celebrating and reflecting on women’s achievem
sanctuaries.noaa.gov
EarthIsBlue InternationalWomensDay WomenInSTEM WomenOfNOAA science nature ocean noaa national marine sanctuary conservation women women in stem international womens day
Graphic of Remote Communications and Social Media Internship. This graphic pictures mobile devices with social media pages.ALT

Are you looking to gain invaluable experience in social media and communications?

We invite you to join the dedicated and enthusiastic team at NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries! Apply for our Remote Communications and Social Media Internship by Friday, March 8, 2024!

Open Opportunities
Sharpen your skills or help others from the federal government.
openopps.usajobs.gov
Internship MarineScience Marketing SocialMedia Intern

BREAKING NEWS:

NOAA proposes national marine sanctuary in Papahānaumokuākea

Mokumanamana (Necker Island) is known for its numerous religious sites and artifacts. This photo is a silhouette of Necker Island beneath a colorful sky.ALT

Today, NOAA has released a draft proposal to designate a national marine sanctuary in the marine portions of Papahānaumokuākea. Home to the endangered Hawaiian monk seal, threatened green turtles and many species found nowhere else on earth, the complex and highly productive marine ecosystems of Papahānaumokuākea are significant contributors to the biological diversity of the ocean. 

Hawaiian monk seal swimming in shallow water near a reef.ALT
A school of galapagos sharks/manō at Maro Reef.ALT
NOAA maritime archaeologists located the wreck of the Two Brothers, lost in 1823.ALT
Two sea turtles laying on the sand at sunset.ALT
A mix of reef fish including ornate butterflyfish / kikakapu (Chaetodon ornatissimus), pennant butterflyfish (Heniochus diphreutes), and bluestripe snapper / ta’ape (Lutjanus kasmira) at French Frigate Shoals.ALT

Papahānaumokuākea is of great importance to Native Hawaiians, and Hawaiian culture is a foundational element in its management. It is also home to a variety of post-Western-contact historic resources, such as 19th-century commercial whaling shipwrecks and artifacts and those associated with World War II’s Battle of Midway.

A booby (Genus: Sula) at sunrise in Papahānaumokuākea.ALT
Jelly at Pearl and Hermes Atoll in Papahānaumokuākea.ALT
Baby Hawaiian green sea turtles / honu (Chelonia mydas) being released into deep water away from predators at French Frigate Shoals near Tern Island.ALT

The public is invited to comment on the sanctuary draft proposal through May 7, 2024.

National marine sanctuary designation for Papahānaumokuākea | Office of National Marine Sanctuaries
The proposed sanctuary is a place of unique environmental resources that provide large-scale ecosystem services for the region and the world
sanctuaries.noaa.gov
EarthIsBlue Papahānaumokuākea PacificIslands HawaiianCulture NationalMarineSanctuary News NOAA
Humpback whale breaching over the water.ALT

I believe I can fly.

I believe I can touch the sky.

I think about it every night and day.

Spread my fins and fly away.

Unfortunately, whales can’t fly. But, they can jump out of the water, also known as breaching! Though humpback whales are relatively slow swimmers, able to swim at about 15 miles per hour but averaging only two to nine miles per hour, they’re amazing acrobats.

Learn more about humpback whales by visiting:

Humpback Whale
Learn more about humpback whales and what NOAA Fisheries is doing to study this species and best conserve their populations.
NOAA

📸: Douglas Croft

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