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Cold Water Signals Along West Coast Could Help Assess Whale Entanglement Risk

Early warning for fisheries could help avoid riskiest times and places.
March 11, 2026 - Feature Story ,
West Coast
A team of three people in a small inflatable boat approach a partially surfaced humpback, one person reaching toward the whale with a long pole. A trained team uses works to free a humpback whale off the coast of Northern California. Photo credit: West Coast Marine Mammal Stranding Network. MMHSRP Permit 18786.

2024 Report of Marine Mammal Strandings in the United States

This report details marine mammal stranding rates, trends, and activities in the United States for 2024. In 2024, there were 8,028 confirmed marine mammal strandings in the United States.
February 17, 2026 - Feature Story ,
National
A man stands with a herding board next to a kennel watching four California sea lions move across a sandy beach heading towards water. California sea lion pups are released at Cabrillo Beach following rehabilitation at the Marine Mammal Care Center in San Pedro, California. Credit: Marine Mammal Care Center Los Angeles.

International Survey Counts Bowhead and Beluga Whales in the Beaufort Sea

Applied research collects data needed to ensure food security for Indigenous subsistence hunters in the United States and Canada.
February 12, 2026 - Feature Story ,
Alaska
Four bowhead whales swim at the surface of dark turquoise water Bowhead whales. Image captured during the 2025 aerial survey over the Beaufort Sea. Photo taken while working under authority of NOAA Fisheries Research Permit #25563-02. Credit: NOAA Fisheries & CICOES / Skyla Walcott

Messaging Mariners in Real Time to Reduce North Atlantic Right Whale Vessel Strikes

A new real-time messaging network uses a well-established maritime navigation safety technology—the Automatic Identification System—to reduce the risk of vessel strikes involving North Atlantic right whales.
February 12, 2026 - Feature Story ,
New England/Mid-Atlantic
Southeast
A right whale mom and calf pair swimming at the surface of the ocean. Perspective is from above, looking down. North Atlantic right whale #4150 “Accordion” and her first calf swimming close to the shipping lanes at the entrance to the Port of New York and New Jersey. Accordion is named for the propeller scars on her back that resemble the musical instrument. Credit: NOAA Fisheries/Tim Cole, taken under NOAA permit #27066.

Three-Dimensional Acoustic Tracking Sheds Light on Beaked Whale Dive Behavior and Acoustic Detection

Tracking whales using sound helps scientists better understand the dive behavior of these elusive animals.
February 09, 2026 - Feature Story ,
Southeast
Passive acoustic recording devices resting on the deck of a ship awaiting deployment. Devices used to record underwater sounds. Credit: Marine Bioacoustics Research Collaborative, Scripps Institution of Oceanography

NOAA Fisheries Launches Underwater Glider Challenge in Hawai‘i

NOAA Fisheries is leading a major effort to evaluate how next-generation ocean gliders can transform ocean monitoring and marine mammal conservation, while also benefitting U.S. fishermen and ocean industries.
February 05, 2026 - Feature Story ,
Pacific Islands
West Coast
Autonomous underwater glider floating in circular pool in an oudoor lab. An underwater glider ballasting (stabilizing) at the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center in Honolulu, Hawai‘i, in preparation for the 2026 glider challenge. Credit: NOAA Fisheries

First Joint NOAA Killer Whale Survey Examines Endangered Southern Residents’ Shift to Coast

Two NOAA vessels use new technologies to collect more data in less time.
January 07, 2026 - Feature Story ,
West Coast
Man steering an orange vessel Research scientist Brad Hanson of the Northwest Fisheries Science Center steers a 24-foot Zodiac while the Storm Petrel parallels the course in the background. The two vessels took part in the first joint NOAA survey to study Southern Resident killer whales. Photo by Paul Hillman/NOAA Fisheries under permit 27052.

8 Fascinating Facts about Ribbon Seals

These Arctic ice-bound seals are known for their unique appearance.
December 28, 2025 - Feature Story ,
Alaska
Looking down on white ice and in the center is a dark gray seal with a light gray ring pattern around its front flipper and light gray thick stripes on its head and around its lower half. An adult female ribbon seal (Histriophoca fasciata) rests on an ice floe in the Bering Sea. Photo taken from a small UAS during operations to evaluate body condition in ribbon and spotted seals. Credit: NOAA Fisheries/Gavin M Brady. UAS operations are conducted under authority of NMFS Research Permit #23858 and NOAA NIF #N24-17.

Dead Sperm Whale Washes Ashore on Nantucket

First report of a dead sperm whale on Nantucket, Massachusetts, since 2002.
November 28, 2025 - Feature Story ,
New England/Mid-Atlantic
A dead sperm whale washes ashore on Nantucket. Team members attach a solar-powered satellite tag to the dead sperm whale, while lines secure it onshore for examination. Credit: Marine Mammal Alliance Nantucket. NOAA Permit #24359

Advanced Technologies Improve Protected Species Conservation

As conditions in ecosystems change, marine mammals and sea turtles may change their behaviors or shift their ranges to survive. This makes new technologies for tracking their movements and health vital to conservation efforts.
November 17, 2025 - Feature Story ,
National
An underwater image of a juvenile loggerhead sea turtle carrying a solar-powered satellite tag in the Gulf Stream off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina A captive-reared juvenile loggerhead sea turtle carrying a solar-powered satellite tag in the Gulf Stream off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. Credit: John McCord, UNC Coastal Studies Institute (USFWS Permit #TE676379-5)