NOAA Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary

06/12/2026

They won’t krill ya!! Small but mighty, North Pacific Krill (Euphausia pacifica) provide vital food and nutrients to baleen whales, seabirds, and many more organisms that live in and visit Washington waters. The cold waters of the Pacific Northwest make the perfect environment for swarms of North Pacific krill to float, grow, and reproduce; feeding off of species of phytoplankton such as diatoms.

Healthy, abundant krill populations around the world help transfer energy along the food web and keep the balance of marine species stable. These tiny organisms provide food security for creatures globally, including humans. Without healthy krill populations, life on earth would not be as we know it.

06/08/2026

Celebrate 🌎📷by helping to shape the future of NOAA Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary | ! Provide your feedback on the new Draft Management Plan at https://www.regulations.gov/document/NOAA-NOS-2023-0003-0046 | https://olympiccoast.noaa.gov/management/mpr/

06/07/2026

Reveal: Did you guess two humpback whales surfacing together? They're taking a mouthful of fish and water, so their throat pleat expands greatly and mouths are open. They will gradually close their mouth and force out the excess water, keeping any fish tucked behind their baleen plates.

06/05/2026

Whale hello there! We challenge you to identify the zoomed-in creatures that make the waters of Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary so special. Let's start with this close up photo. What do you think this shows?
Watch for the answer in a follow up post!

06/02/2026

Remember the real time data oceanographic lander? Check out this deployment video clip showing the preparation and deployment from the R/V Storm Petrel! Video: NOAA, Audio: kontraa-water-afro-pop-music-445661

05/29/2026

Aboard the R/V Storm Petrel, NOAA’s Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary team and partners deployed a new "lander" (a platform used to transport instruments between the ocean surface and the seabed). This large research equipment collects real time data on changing water conditions. Using real-time data allows for fisheries and farmers to remove any traps, nets, and buckets from the water before hypoxic or harmful conditions reach them. and partners are excited about this addition to the long-term oceanographic mooring project, hoping it will provide many benefits for communities and research across the Olympic Peninsula.

05/22/2026

Will you be on the Olympic Peninsula this weekend? Come visit the Olympic Coast Discovery Center and find out what makes national marine sanctuaries so important in our efforts to protect the ocean, marine ecosystems, and marine wildlife. We're open weekends, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. starting Saturday May 23

05/20/2026

Congratulations!!

Watch for your opportunity this fall to apply for 2027! https://www.noaa.gov/office-education/hollings-scholarship/prospective

Congratulations to the 2026 Hollings scholars! The 128 selected applicants come from 95 different campuses in 40 U.S. states, Guam, and Washington, D.C. We can’t wait to see the valuable contributions they’ll make to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) during their internship experience!
https://www.noaa.gov/office-education/hollings-scholarship/news/announcing-2026-hollings-scholarship-recipients

05/15/2026

Welcome back! Today’s organism is the iconic Opalescent Nudibranch (Hermissenda opalescens). It’s giving glow-in-the-dark fancy ball extravaganza! Learn more about this fascinating species here: https://farallones.org/news-items/opalescent-nudibranch/

05/14/2026

: Oceanographic Moorings and Intertidal Monitoring in NOAA Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary

Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary recently completed the first servicing mission of the 2025 season for its oceanographic mooring program. Sanctuary staff service the moorings every five weeks to swap out batteries, download data, collect water samples using an instrument that measures conductivity, temperature, and depth (CTD), and gather samples to monitor for harmful algal blooms.

Read the full field note: https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/notes/2025/oceanographic-moorings.html