News Releases - 2007

Nov. 16, 2007 -- NOAA's National Marine Sanctuary Program today announced the launch of a new national ocean literacy, education, and public awareness campaign featuring Sanctuary Sam, a California sea lion who will be the program's "spokes-sea lion" from his SeaWorld-based home in Orlando, Fla.

Oct. 12, 2007 -- Red lionfish, a venomous invasive species from the western Pacific Ocean, have been confirmed for the first time in NOAA's Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary, located in the Atlantic 20 miles off the Georgia coast.

Sept. 20, 2007 -- NOAA's National Marine Sanctuary Program today announced that Stephen Katz, Ph.D. has joined the staff of Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary in Southern California, where he will serve as the sanctuary's research coordinator.

Sept. 6, 2007 -- Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary will be hosting two public workshops on how to better manage vessel use in Tomales Bay.

Aug. 21, 2007 -- NOAA announced today that it has charged the owner and operator of a U.S. vessel with unlawfully fishing in the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument.

Aug. 14, 2007 -- Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary is seeking applicants for 19 seats on its sanctuary advisory council, which ensures public participation in sanctuary management and provides advice to the sanctuary superintendent.

Aug. 9, 2007 -- 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, which will protect marine habitats and sensitive species, went into effect on July 29, 2007. 

July 17, 2007 -- Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary is seeking to fill one primary seat and one alternate seat on its advisory council, which represents the public's interests in sanctuary matters and provides advice to the sanctuary superintendent.

July 2, 2007 -- Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary staff has invited educators from around the country to get out of their classrooms and into the Gulf of Mexico for two five-day underwater exploration workshops entitled "Down Under, Out Yonder."

June 28, 2007 -- Years of effort by NOAA and the U.S. Coast Guard will pay off this weekend when, for the first time in the United States, ship traffic lanes will be shifted to reduce the risk of collisions between large ships and whales.

June 25, 2007 -- A high-tech hunt for deep-sea fish habitat off the Georgia coast begins June 25 as the NOAA Research Vessel Nancy Foster takes researchers east into deep waters near Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary.

June 15, 2007 -- One year anniversary of Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument designation celebrated: Accomplishments include new name, protective measures, research, education and outreach.

June 12, 2007 -- NOAA's Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary is seeking to fill one primary seat and two alternates on its advisory council.

June 12, 2007 -- NOAA's Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary will partner with fishermen from Scituate, Mass., in a new project to remove derelict fishing gear and other marine debris that threatens marine resources in the sanctuary and commercial fishing operations.

June 4, 2007 -- NOAA today announced that the wreck of the coal schooner Paul Palmer, which rests on the seafloor within Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

June 1, 2007 -- In honor of World Oceans Day on June 8, NOAA's Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary, Clean Coast and regional volunteer divers are sponsoring June clean-up events to keep debris and trash out of the marine and coastal environment.

May 31, 2007 -- The Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary is seeking to fill two alternate seats on its advisory council.

May 1, 2007 -- NOAA's National Marine Sanctuary Program has announced the appointment of 14 members and alternates to serve on the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council.

April 23, 2007 -- George R. Sedberry has been selected to become the new superintendent of NOAA's Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary.

April 20, 2007 -- At an awards ceremony in Washington, D.C., NOAA today recognized Marathon resident Bruce Popham as of one of ten "environmental heroes."

April 19, 2007 -- NOAA's Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary is offering awards for the best underwater marine environment scenes for Savannah's popular Sidewalk Arts Festival on Saturday, April 28.

April 19, 2007 -- NOAA's National Marine Sanctuary Program and Aquarium of the Bay are unveiling a new interactive exhibit on San Francisco's Pier 39 that will let members of the public "dive" into the wonders of the marine environment - without getting their feet wet.

April 17, 2007 -- NOAA's Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary will host the upcoming 2007 Southeastern Region Remotely Operated Vehicle Competition on April 21 at the Chatham County Aquatic Center in Savannah, Ga.

April 17, 2007 -- NOAA's Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and its partners today recognized the first charter operator under a new program designed to protect wild dolphins.

April 17, 2007 - The Monitor National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council will hold a public advisory council meeting April 27, 2007 at the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum in Hatteras, N.C. The meeting will begin at 8:30 a.m. with a public comment period from 11:30 a.m. to noon.

April 16, 2007 -- NOAA’s National Marine Sanctuary Program and the California Ocean Protection Council today released new data and three-dimensional imagery of the sea floor off California that helps explain why the famed “Mavericks” waves are among the largest in the continental United States.

April 15, 2007 -- NOAA's Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary and the Monterey Bay Aquarium today announced the winners of their environmental message cartoon contest during the aquarium's Día del Niño (Day of the Child) event.

April 5, 2007 -- The NOAA National Marine Sanctuary Program has selected Paul Michel as the new superintendent for Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary in central California. In this role, Michel will oversee management and operations at the sanctuary. He will assume his new duties on April 29, 2007.

March 9, 2007 -- Exactly 145 years after the historic clash between the Civil War ironclads USS Monitor and CSS Virginia at the Battle of Hampton Roads in 1862, The Mariners' Museum and the NOAA today opened the doors to one of America's premier maritime Civil War attractions, the new USS Monitor Center.

March 6, 2007 -- Leading the effort to establish the world's largest area of marine protection in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands and increasing marine life in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, are some of the NOAA National Marine Sanctuary Program's top accomplishments for 2006.

Feb. 24, 2007 -- More than 600 volunteers gathered data from the shores of O'ahu, Kaua'i, the Big Island, and Kaho'olawe for Saturday's annual Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary Ocean Count.

Feb. 16, 2007 -- 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 coral reef habitat. The new regulations were released to the public in July 2006 as part of the sanctuary’s revised management plan.

Jan. 27, 2007 -- More than 600 volunteers gathered data from the shores of Oahu, Kaua'i, the Big Island, and Kaho'olawe for Saturday's annual Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary Ocean Count.

Jan. 26, 2007 -- NOAA has established a "sister sanctuary" arrangement between Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary off the coast of Massachusetts and the Marine Mammal Sanctuary of the Dominican Republic, two marine protected areas 3,000 miles apart that provide conservation programs for the same population of humpback whales.

Jan. 24, 2007 -- High school and junior high teams from around the Great Lakes will come together on April 28 to compete in the Marine Advanced Technology Education Center's ROV Building Great Lakes regional competition, hosted by the staff of Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary in Alpena, Mich.

Jan. 18, 2007 -- Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary is seeking applicants for sanctuary advisory council seats representing agriculture, business and industry, commercial fishing, recreational fishing, recreation, research, and conservation, as well as two at-large positions.

Jan. 13, 2007 -- Ocean and environmental leaders attend the opening of the Florida Keys Eco-Discovery Center. New attraction seeks to entertain and educate visitors about south Florida environment.