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BIG NEWS: Comment period extended

The NOAA comment period on the review of national marine sanctuaries and marine national monuments has been extended to Monday, August 14! Get the details here.

The comment period regards a Department of Commerce review of 11 designations and expansions of sanctuaries and monuments under Executive Order 13795, Section 4(b). The comment period was scheduled to end yesterday, but due to public interest and requests for more time, we will now be formally accepting comments through August 14. You can comment via the Federal Register here.

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Sight, smell, touch, hearing, taste—movement and magnetism?!

Sharks are sensational animals indeed!  

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Leatherback turtles have been spotted in the bay recently and talk about turtle power! The leatherbacks you see in Monterey Bay swim nearly 7,000 miles to get here, paddling across the Pacific to feast on jelly blooms. These largest of the sea turtles can grow over 6.5 feet long and weigh up to 2,000 pounds. 

Turtley awesome photo by Justin Hofman (IG: @justinhofman)

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SEA OF PLASTIC: NEW MAP SHOWS THE HORRIBLE PRESENT OF FLOATING PLASTIC DEBRIS

A New Zealand company released a new map  based on a  5Gyres study, about the plastic pollution in the world’s oceans’, the bad news is to visualize how much marine litter is floating in the oceans.

Based on measurements from 24 expeditions, model results estimated the global number of floating plastic pieces to be 5,250 billion with a combined weight of 268,940 tonnes.

This map visualises the estimated concentration of floating plastic debris in the world’s oceans. The weight density estimates are presented as a dot density map where one dot represents 20 kg of floating plastic. The estimated global mass of marine debris is plotted using more than 13 million dots. 

The two oceans of the Northern Hemisphere contain 56% of all particles and 57% of the total weight. In the Southern Hemisphere the Indian Ocean appears to have a greater particle count and weight than the South Atlantic and South Pacific oceans combined.           

Please visit Sailing Seas of Plastic for more info and interactive map

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Myrtle the green sea turtle is a big fan of leafy greens. She has her own farm share. 

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This stern little floof is none other than a white tern chick! 

Also known as fairy terns, or manu-o-kū in Hawaiian, these small birds breed throughout Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. They’re one of the 22 species of seabirds that breed and nest in the monument! 

Unlike most other seabirds, adult white terns don’t build a nest; instead, they find a suitable spot on a tree branch, rock ledge, or other surface and lay their egg there. 

(Photo: Koa Matsuoka)

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One part masterful migration sketches, one part #MondayMindmelter! 

With pages adorned with scrawling specialized observations, bird calls, and sometimes multiple checkmarks, you’ll find much to mull as you transcribe and review Moynihan’s notes from mid-century Manitoba! 

Shared as part of International Migratory Bird Day in May, these field notes track migratory patterns to the aptly named Pelican Island in 1954-1955. Help Smithsonian Institution Archives wrap up this project featuring the notes of Martin Moynihan, the founding director of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. 

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What if the ocean had more plastic than fish? Plastic is now found in almost every marine area on earth, and the problem is getting worse every year. 

But the solutions are in our hands – join us, and aquariums across the country in choosing reusable alternatives over single-use plastic, at www.ourhands.org.

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Oh, this? Just a jewel of a Janolus on a jovial jaunt. These slugs are often spotted at night in Southern California, and are late-summer visitors to Monterey Bay. Magnificent photo by Desmond Ho (IG: @ho_desmond)

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When it comes to constant vigilance, the longnose hawkfish is on it! This hawk-eyed fish perches on corals and rocks to keep an eye out for passing prey.

Tune in to our Coral Reef Cam to see them keep their watch.

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Have a whale of a weekend! 

This humpback whale and calf were photographed in Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary. More than 10,000 humpback whales use Hawai‘i��s waters as their principle wintering ground. Here, humpback whales breed, calve, and raise their young! 

(Photo: J. Moore/NOAA, under NOAA permit #15240)

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Whale hello there! 

This lovely humpback whale is Nile, a frequent visitor to Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. She’s been coming to the feeding grounds in and around the sanctuary every year since 1987. Her Nile’s friendly, curious personality makes her one of the favorites among  whale watchers. 

(Photo: Richard Dolan)

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Sea Otter Selfie!

Via the Aquarium of the Pacific, who says this selfie-taker is Charlie!

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STONY CORAL MORE RESISTANT TO OCEAN ACIDIFICATION THAN WE THOUGHT

As carbon dioxide in the ocean increases -from the burning of fossil fuels- ocean pH decreases, becoming more acidic. In this scenario, corals and other marine organism cannot absorb the calcium carbonate they need to maintain their skeletons, and the stony skeletons that support corals will dissolve.

New findings show stony coral could make hard structures even as the ocean become slightly acidic. According to researchers, corals use acid-rich proteins to build rock-hard skeletons made of calcium carbonate minerals. US scientists examined Hood corals (Stylophora pistillata), a stony coral common in the Indo-Pacific. Using ultra-high  imaging and 2-D nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, they found that stony corals precipitate minerals through a biologically driven process. 

In the proccess, random nanoparticles accumulate and form stony structures made of calcium carbonate – known as aragonite – by growing crystals. The results show that coral acid-rich proteins are the main drivers. These proteins function at a 8.5 to 7 pH, according to researchers, the future pH in the ocean may drop to 7.8, but stony corals will still be able to make rock-hard structures, as coral reefs.

Photo:  A hood coral (Stylophora pistillata) colony from a sheltered reef slope, at the Great Reef Barrier. This species of coral is commonly used in scientific investigations. By Jim Maragos.

Reference: Von Euw et al. 2017. Biological control of aragonite formation in stony corals. Science. 

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The toe’s nose knows! Walking a mile in an octopus’ suckers would be a spectacular sensory experience. Each sucker touches, tastes and smells—allowing the octopus to track, attack and snack on its meal.