Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary Foundation

Eye spot a pufferfish! Did you know that pufferfish are one of the most poisonous creatures in the world? Almost all species have a neurotoxin called tetrodotoxin that is released onto their skin once they inflate. This toxin can damage the nervous system of animals or people. This is one way of scaring off predators! Photo: GrPhoto: Gr#FishFactFridayeg McFall/NOAA #ocean #oceanprotection #graysreef #marinesanctuaryfdn #protectwhatyoulove #stemeducation #wilderness #divein #explore #graysreefnmsf #georgiacoast #GraysReef40th #FishFactFriday

Dive right in and learn more about the history behind Gray’s Reefs name! #GraysReef40th https://vimeo.com/396477698

NOAA’s Office of Law Enforcement is deploying remotely operated vehicles that will make inspecting offshore lobster gear more efficient. The endangered North Atlantic Right Whales, are particularly susceptible to entanglements in the lobster gear because their habitat and feeding areas overlap with fisheries. https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov//noaa-enforcement-deploys-r Photo: NOAA... #ocean #oceanprotection #graysreef #marinesanctuaryfdn #protectwhatyoulove #stemeducation #wilderness #divein #explore #graysreefnmsf #georgiacoast #GraysReef40th See more

Meet the Spotfin Butterflyfish! While there may be more than 130 types of butterflyfish, the spotfin is easy to identify due to the black spot on their dorsal fin. Can you spot the spot? Photo: Greg McFall/NOAA #ocean #oceanprotection #graysreef #marinesanctuaryfdn #protectwhatyoulove #stemeducation #wilderness #divein #explore #graysreefnmsf #georgiacoast #GraysReef40th #FishFactFriday

The Gray’s Reef Sanctuary was named in recognition of Milton "Sam" Gray in 1974, who studied the area in the 1960's as a biological collector and curator at the University of Georgia Marine Institute on Sapelo Island, GA. Collections made during the surveys are under the protective supervision of the University of Georgia Natural History Museum and maintained as the "Gray's Reef Collection". Over 200 lots of his invertebrate collections from Georgia waters are housed at the ...National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution. Photo: Washington Times #ocean #oceanprotection #graysreef #marinesanctuaryfdn #protectwhatyoulove #stemeducation #wilderness #divein #explore #graysreefnmsf #georgiacoast #40YearsofGraysReef

A crew of scientist aboard the NOAA Ship Nancy Foster make annual trips to Gray’s Reef to conduct research. The first trip began in May of 2006, when a team of scientist embarked on a two week cruise. Their mission: to conduct research operations designed to gather information that will help managers better understand and protect the unique resources of Gray's Reef. These operations included: habitat characterization, invertebrate characterization, a visual fish census, an i...nvertebrate dispersal and recruitment study, and a multipurpose study on sponges. Scientists also used the expedition as an opportunity for photo documenting GRNMS and surrounding waters. Photo: Greg McFalls/NOAA #ocean #oceanprotection #graysreef #marinesanctuaryfdn #protectwhatyoulove #stemeducation #wilderness #divein #explore #graysreefnmsf #georgiacoast #GraysReef40th

Mark your calendars if you are interested in attending the NOAA Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary's Advisory Council Meeting! More information can be found at the link below.

NOAA and their partners are continuing to prioritize stabilizing and preventing extinction of the North Atlantic Right Whales, and the Species in the Spotlight designation helps focus resources on these many efforts. https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov//north-atlantic-right-whale Photo: NOAA #ocean #oceanprotection #graysreef #marinesanctuaryfdn #protectwhatyoulove #stemeducation #wilderness #divein #explore #graysreefnmsf #georgiacoast #GraysReef40th

On January 16, 1981, President Jimmy Carter approves the designation of Gray's Reef as a national marine sanctuary along with two other newly protected waters. These designations brought the total number of national marine sanctuaries to six. Look out for more history on Gray's Reef this week to celebrate it's 40th anniversary! #ocean #oceanprotection #graysreef #marinesanctuaryfdn #protectwhatyoulove #stemeducation #wilderness #divein #explore #graysreefnmsf #georgiacoast #40YearsofGraysReef

You can take four steps to protect the endangered North Atlantic right whale. 1-Report a Right Whale Sighting to 877-WHALE-HELP (877-942-5343) 2-Stay 500 Yards ...Away. If you’re on a boat and see a whale, slowly move away until you're 500 ft from the animal. 3-Report Marine Life in Distress. Georgia Department of Natural Resources - Georgia DNR is your contact if you’re in or near the sanctuary 4- Be Informed and Get Involved. Learn more about North Atlantic right whales at the link below. #GraysReef40th https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/s/north-atlantic-right-whale credit: Allison Henry for NOAA under MMPA Permit #17335

Unlike other sharks, the Nurse Shark is able to live a relatively sedentary life. They are able to breath by using oral muscles to actively suck water into the mouth which then can supply oxygen to the gills without needing to swim anywhere. This method is called buccal pumping. Photo: Greg McFall/NOAA #ocean #oceanprotection #graysreef #marinesanctuaryfdn #protectwhatyoulove #stemeducation #wilderness #divein #explore #graysreefnmsf #georgiacoast #FishFactFriday

Check Your Direction. Gaze at the Stars. Take a Deep Breath. Just Keep Swimming. Find your Sanctuary. Happy New Year! Best wishes for a great 2021! #ocean #oceanprotection #graysreef #marinesanctuaryfdn #protectwhatyoulove #stemeducation #wilderness #divein #explore #graysreefnmsf #georgiacoast #WisdomWednesday

Interested in knowing the wind and wave conditions at Gray's Reef? This yellow buoy located at Gray's Reef is a part of a global network of data buoys operated by the National Data Buoy Center providing weather data for the area. https://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.php Photo: National Data Buoy Center

November 1st begins the official migratory season for North Atlantic right whales to our southern waters. Whale-come them back with our right whale merchandise available through our Custom Ink fundraiser page to support conservation research efforts! These Sanctuary Soundscapes t-shirts are only available through November 27 so grab yours now and receive it just in time for the holidays! And beginning November 15th, volunteers can train for our Sanctuary Soundscapes citizen s...cience project to help catalog the sounds of the sanctuary and contribute to research around important right whale habitats, like Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary. https://www.graysreefnmsf.org/get-involved/citizen-science (right whale photo credit: National Geographic Society) #graysreef #rightwhale #sanctuarysoundscapes #atlanticocean #georgiacoast #volunteer #oceanacoustics #protectwhatyoulove #citzenscience #oceanlife #exploreyourworld

North Atlantic right whales are almost extinct. NOAA reports this week that only around 366 individuals total exist WORLDWIDE. These gentle giants migrate along our Atlantic coastline from New England to Florida each year, females give birth and nurse their calves around Gray's Reef (offshore of Georgia) in the winter. The greatest threat to these magnificent animals are entanglement in seafood traps (crab, lobster, sea bass) and ship strikes while on their winter migration. These are preventable deaths. #rightwhale #graysreef #sustainableseafood #slowzones #atlanticocean #whalemigration #georgiaonmymind #urbanmigration #southatlanticbight #eastcoast #marinesanctuaryfdn

These malicious (but delicious) Atlantic invaders are pleased not to be on the menu of our sustainable seafood gala, A Fishy Affair, this year. While we cannot host a gala event to bring awareness to these invasive predators, you can still Fund the Mission and help to eradicate them from our reef. #invasivespecies #maliciousbutdelicious #AFishyAffair #graysreef #sustainableseafood #eatmorelionfish #fundthemission #marinesanctuaryfdn Credit: Pacific lionfish (Pterois volitans) - NOAA/GRNMS

Great news for a New Year!!

Students! Get ready for the most innovative underwater robotics challenge in the southeast - Gray's Reef MATE ROV Competition! Dive in to learn more about this international marine technology education experience. Thank you to our sustaining sponsor - Littlejohn Family Foundation, for making this program possible. #graysreef #MATEROV #WATERGAME #exploreyourworld #marinetech #southeast #atlanticocean #blueeconomy #STEM

You're invited to join the Sanctuary Advisory Council meeting today. See you there!

Build your ROV skills and coach a student team for the Gray's Reef Southeast MATE ROV Competition. Attend an educator workshop at Georgia Southern University and learn how. #MATEROV #GRAYSREEF #MARINETECH #GSU

It's a beautiful day for a scavenger hunt in Savannah! Ready, set, go! Visit #graysreef

It’s #finallyfriday and the fog has cleared for a salty sunrise. Water temps at Gray’s Reef are a refreshing 77 degrees with a flat surface and welcoming skies. Chances are it won’t stay that way with #HurricaneDelta in the region. Check the NOAA data buoy at Gray's Reef (NDBC #41008) for real-time conditions before traveling offshore. Can't leave your office? The buoy has a camera!! #graysreef #sanctuary #finallyfriday #georgiacoast #atlanticocean #ndbc41008 #knowbeforeyougo #saltysunrise #oceanwilderness

Fun Facts: Common octopuses, like this beauty at Gray's Reef, discard the remains of their shellfish prey just outside their lairs into piles called middens. These piles are useful in studying their feeding habits. The piles also make it easier to spot an octopus lair and therefore perhaps an octopus. Photo credit: Peter Auster (UCONN) / GRNMS @graysreefnmsf ... #graysreef #octopus #atlanticocean #georgiacoast #sanctuary #marinesanctuaryfdn See more

Scavenger hunt, anyone?!!!

MATE ROV IS BACK! Kick off events begin today on FB. Stay tuned for updates from Gray's Reef Southeast MATE ROV Competition.

I'm so ready #MATEROV #WATERGAME #GRAYSREEF #SOUTHEAST #STEMEDUCATION #EXPLOREYOURWORLD

You're invited to discover the wonders of the Atlantic Ocean by listening to the acoustic soundscape recordings in the NOAA underwater sound monitoring study. L...isten to the most common sounds at Gray’s Reef at: http://ow.ly/5WcS50Bb23d Then try your hand at identifying what else you hear in our crowdsource playlists: https://soundcloud.com/graysreef/sets Calling all Citizen Scientists and students! Dive into the project data analysis by registering for the Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary Foundation Soundscapes volunteer project. Register to attend a web training tutorial (coming soon!) and submit data from your observations at: http://ow.ly/2C7O50Bb23e

Every year, Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary Foundation hosts the Gray’s Reef Southeast MATE ROV Competition where student teams across the region build un...derwater robots designed for remote sensing, collecting & observing of subsea habitats to solve real-world ocean challenges. Students will tackle the ubiquitous problem of plastic pollution, the catastrophic impacts of climate change on coral reefs & maintaining healthy waterways in our underwater robotics challenge. Coming next Spring 2021. https://www.graysreefnmsf.org/events/mate-rov-competition #watergame MATE ROV Competition

It’s time for some #GraysReef #trivia! NOAA Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary protects the only known winter calving ground of this endangered whale. Do you... know which species it is? Comment your guesses below! Hint 1: This whale is among the rarest of all large whales. Only about 500 of these whales are alive today. Hint 2: They have white calluses on their heads which are known as callosities. #ChapterTakeover #GraysReefTakeover Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary Foundation