NOAA Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary

Mask, fins, snorkel, check! 🤿

Scuba divers need a lot of equipment to conduct safe scientific dives. Check out some of the dive gear that is essential to underwater research.

You can learn more about this equipment on Sunday, June 21st, 2026 at our open-house event! We are partnering with NOAA Ship Nancy Foster and the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation to welcome you aboard NOAA Ship Nancy Foster and share information on our upcoming research expedition! The open-houe will take place from 12:00 - 3:00 p.m. and the vessel will be docked by the "A World Apart" World War II Monument on River Street in Savannah, GA.

Content by NOAA.
Music by Universal Music Productions

72 hours until we welcome you aboard NOAA Ship Nancy Foster! We're so excited to show off this incredible ship and share about the research being done on this expedition., As a reminder, the ship will be docked by the ""A World Apart"" World War II Monument on River Street in Savannah, Georgia, June 21st from 12:00 - 3:00 p.m. There will be information tables out front hosted by NOAA Ship Nancy Foster, Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary, and Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary Foundation. We can't wait to see you there!

Content by NOAA
Music by Universal Music Productions

It's ! 🌊 Enjoy a dive into the beauty of NOAA Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary ! The 22-square-mile sanctuary protects a vibrant, hard-bottom reef off the Georgia coast, home to almost 1,000 species of invertebrates and 200 species of fish!🐟 What kinds of creatures do you see swimming around the reef in this video?

Looking to throw in a line?🎣 Every angler will encounter a time where they have to or choose to return the fish they caught back to the water due to regulations or personal preference. It is your responsibility to know the catch limits and minimum sizes for the fish you may encounter - If you don’t know, let it go!

For , check out a few things to keep in mind to ensure that released fish survive to support healthy, sustainable fish communities: https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/visit/fishing/best-practices/catch-and-release.html.

🎥: Nick Zachar/NOAA

As we continue on with National Fishing Week, we wanted to share some information about a common occurrence seen when fishing at Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary. When a fish is pulled up from a depth that is below 30 ft, there may be indicators of what is called barotrauma (“pressure shock”).
Barotrauma is the expansion of gases in a fish’s swim bladder and other body cavities that prevents the fish - typically a snapper or grouper - from swimming back down after release. This incapacitates them and can be fatal if not properly addressed. Signs of barotrauma can include bulging eyes, sluggish swimming, a bloated belly, or a protruding stomach from the mouth.

To increase the survivability of fish at Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary that are suffering from barotrauma, return the fish into the depth of capture as quickly as possible with recompression tools (such as. descender devices, release weights, and release baskets). This recompresses the swim bladder and re-establishes the fish’s equilibrium. If rapid descent is not possible, use a venting tool to release the gases in the fish’s swim bladder, allowing it to swim back down into the depths by itself. NEVER use a knife or puncture a fish’s protruding stomach.

This descender device mechanically releases the fish when it hits bottom.

You can learn more at the link below.
https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/descending-device-and-venting-tool-direct-enhancement-snapper-conservation-and-economy

Content by NOAA Fisheries
Music by Universal Music Productions

Life began in the ocean billions of years ago. Most major forms of life live in the ocean. Most volcanic activity occurs in the ocean. There are over 6,000 known species of coral in the ocean. The Great Barrier Reef is the largest living structure on Earth and can be seen from space. The deep sea is the largest habitat on Earth. The Arctic Ocean covers more than five million square miles. Over 71% of the Earth's surface is ocean.

Celebrate World Ocean Day this year by visiting the free Gray’s Reef Ocean Discovery Center, exploring the sanctuary, following the best practices listed on our website, and exploring some of the incredible videos and lesson plans available across the National Marine Sanctuary System’s webpages! See the links below.

https://graysreef.noaa.gov/
https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/

Content by Nick Zachar/NOAA. Music by Universal Production Music.