Dec. 2, 2009 -- NOAA seeks comment on a proposed rule prohibiting the discharge of sewage from vessels into Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary waters and to require vessel sewage tanks be locked to prevent discharges within sanctuary boundaries. Comments will be accepted through February 17, 2010.

Nov. 18, 2009 -- NOAA has awarded six grants totaling more than $400,000 to schools and non-profit groups in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties to support local environmental education projects.

Nov. 18, 2009 -- NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries has awarded its first round of Ocean Guardian School grants to eleven California schools to help students create school or community-based conservation projects that protect their local watersheds and the ocean.

Nov. 12, 2009 -- 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.

Sep. 9, 2009 -- A NOAA-led research mission has located and identified the final resting place of the YP-389, a U.S. Navy patrol boat sunk approximately 20 miles off the coast of Cape Hatteras, NC, by a German submarine during World War II. .

Aug. 19, 2009 -- Two related research expeditions by NOAA scientists to track the habitat preferences and movements of fish at Grays Reef National Marine Sanctuary may help managers protect overfished species such as red snapper and grouper. Research from the two expeditions appears in the current online edition of the peer-reviewed Bulletin of Marine Sciences.

Aug. 5, 2009 -- NOAA will lead a three-week research expedition in August to study World War II shipwrecks sunk in 1942 off the coast of North Carolina during the Battle of the Atlantic. The shipwrecks are located in an area known as the "Graveyard of the Atlantic," which includes sunken vessels from U.S. and British naval fleets, merchant ships, and German U-boats.

Aug. 5, 2009 -- NOAA's Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary is seeking to fill 10 primary seats and nine alternate seats on its advisory council, which represents the public's interests in sanctuary matters and provides advice to the sanctuary superintendent.

Aug. 4, 2009 -- The owners and operators of the commercial fishing vessel, Risa Lynn, will pay a $10,000 civil penalty for illegally fishing in a marine protected area off the Santa Barbara coastline in the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary.

July 7, 2009 -- The Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary will hold a public meeting of the Sanctuary Advisory Council in Honolulu.

June 19, 2009 -- NOAA will participate in a research expedition June 21-28 to conduct survey work and to gather up-to-date data on the current condition of the USS Monitor.

June 17, 2009 -- A new NOAA report on the health of Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary indicates that the overall condition of the sanctuary's marine life and habitats is fair to good, but identifies several emerging threats to sanctuary resources.

May 21, 2009 -- NOAA archaeologists will be in the Florida Keys this month training members of the National Association of Black Scuba Divers in underwater archaeology as part of a new education initiative to explore the maritime heritage of African-Americans and engage the community in marine resource conservation.

May 5, 2009 -- Many of Washington State’s sea otters are exposed to the same pathogens responsible for causing disease in other marine mammal populations in other parts of the country, according to a study published by researchers from NOAA’s Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and their partners.

April 13, 2009 -- 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 Center for the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary.

April 2, 2009 -- 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.

March 20, 2009 -- NOAA's Monitor National Marine Sanctuary is seeking people between 14 and 17 years of age to provide input to its advisory council and superintendent on ocean conservation issues and how this next generation views ocean issues.

Feb. 20, 2009 -- NOAA’s Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary is seeking applicants for one alternate seat representing tourism on its advisory council. The council ensures public participation in sanctuary management and provides community advice to the sanctuary superintendent.

Feb. 11, 2009 -- NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries has launched a new online multimedia library offering public access to thousands of high-resolution, ocean-related photos and videos taken by NOAA scientists, educators, divers and archaeologists.