Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, in the Gulf, is home to thriving coral reefs off the coasts of Texas and Louisiana.

Galveston, TX
Joined November 2012
🎃 These pumpkins look a little off. That is because they are sponges, not pumpkins. Both are orange and sedentary. Pumpkins are plants and are found on land. Sponges are animals and are found underwater. flowergarden.noaa.gov/about/… #NationalPumpkinDay
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Happy 54th anniversary to the National Marine Sanctuaries Act! 💙 Since 1972, the system has grown into a network of 18 national marine sanctuaries conserving more than 629,000 sq miles of spectacular ocean and Great Lakes waters. 🌊 🔗Learn more: sanctuaries.noaa.gov/
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NOAA's Flower Garden Banks Natl Marine Sanctuary retweeted
Gearing up for #NationalMarineSanctuaryDay with @sanctuaries volunteer program! In 2025, volunteers contributed 66,806 hours across the system, which is equivalent to 37 full-time employees! Want to volunteer with sanctuaries? Go to marinesanctuary.org/national… Photos: NOAA
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White sharks? At @FGBNMS?! A publication led by research partners at Louisiana State University, Texas A&M University at Galveston, Atlantic White Shark Conservancy, and others documents the first known observations of #whitesharks (Carcharodon carcharias) in @FGBNMS. (1/2)
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Nine white sharks were detected from 2022 to 2025, part of an acoustic receiver array installed for a NCCOS-funded project. Sharks traveled ~2,360 miles to the northwestern Gulf and were even detected near the coral cap at #EastFlowerGardenBank. flowergarden.noaa.gov/scienc… (2/2)
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The third Sanctuary Advisory Council meeting of 2026 is next week! Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026 9 a.m.-3 p.m. CT For more information, visit flowergarden.noaa.gov/adviso…
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🐙 Did you know that octopuses use special cells called chromatophores to change colors? Found at West Flower Garden Bank, at a depth of 358 feet, this Unicorn Octopus is just about as elusive as its namesake. sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/20… #WorldOctopusDay
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Sanctuary Saturday at the @MoodyGardens Aquarium Pyramid this Saturday! Learn more about corals in the Gulf and the challenges they face throughout the world. 🐟 Sanctuary Saturday—Corals of the Gulf 📆 October 10, 2026, at 1 p.m. 📍 Moody Gardens Aquarium Pyramid
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NOAA's Flower Garden Banks Natl Marine Sanctuary retweeted
#StealTheirLook! 👻 🎃 Get ready for a spooky #Halloween by thrifting your #costume with these inspiring sea creatures in mind! 🦑Who doesn't love a bald cap and ball gown combo? 🦇Check out even more DIY costume ideas as part of #SpookySanctuaries: sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/oc….
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NOAA's Flower Garden Banks Natl Marine Sanctuary retweeted
The Hidden Gulf won Best Cinematography for Doc Short at the Indiewood Film Festival! The film, created with @MsstateTV @NOAA and @USGS highlights efforts to restore deep-sea corals injured by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Watch on @PBS or marinesanctuary.org/MDBC
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With heavy hearts, we mourn the passing of Dr. Tom Bright, the “Father of the Flower Garden Banks.” His contributions to @FGBNMS and the communities who care for these waters will be remembered forever. His legacy lives on in the staff and research today. flowergarden.noaa.gov/about/…
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NOAA's Flower Garden Banks Natl Marine Sanctuary retweeted
🪸After being studied in NOAA laboratories, 56 lab-reared corals, originally collected from the twilight zone, were loaded onto the RV Pelican and transported offshore near @FGBNMS. 👉Learn more about this project in our latest #NoteFromTheField: sanctuaries.noaa.gov/notes/2…
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This mission would not have been possible without divers who collected coral and fish surveys, coral and water samples, and photomosaic plots. This was an example of teamwork involving open-circuit and closed-circuit rebreather dive operations. restoreactscienceprogram.noa… (1/2)
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Partners on this mission: University of Texas Marine Science Institute, Harte Research Institute/Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, University of Alabama at Birmingham, @HarborBranch, @noaaaoml, the University of Texas at Arlington, and @marinesanctuary. (2/2)
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Teams of divers collected coral and fish surveys, coral and water samples, and photomosaic plots at East and West Flower Garden Banks. Learn more about this project: restoreactscienceprogram.noa… (1/2)
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Partners on this mission: University of Texas Marine Science Institute, Harte Research Institute/Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, University of Alabama at Birmingham, @HarborBranch, @NOAA_AOML, the University of Texas at Arlington, and @marinesanctuary. (2/2)
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Last week, staff and partners completed a coral sampling mission under a NOAA RESTORE-funded project that looks into the responses of @fgbnms corals and their tolerances to environmental stressors. Follow along as we highlight this mission! restoreactscienceprogram.noa… (1/2)
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Partners on this mission: University of Texas Marine Science Institute, Harte Research Institute/Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, University of Alabama at Birmingham, @HarborBranch, @noaaaoml, the University of Texas at Arlington, and @marinesanctuary. (2/2)
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#MonitoringMonday! 📸🪸 What is #photogrammetry? We take thousands of overlapping reef photos and use software to turn them into a scaled 3D model. Repeat the survey over time, and we can measure changes in coral size, reef structure & more. 🤿
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👋 Howdy neighbor! R/V MANTA gained a new neighbor, Texas A&M University at Galveston's new 524-foot-long ship, TS Lone Star State. R/V MANTA spends most of the year docked at Texas A&M University at Galveston's Texas Clipper Pier and shares the pier with the new training ship.
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