Humpbacks Make Rare Near-Shore Visit in Santa Cruz
A pod of humpback whales, about two or three families, adults with a few calves, have been dazzling whale-watchers since about October 18, as they feed in Monterrey Bay about...
The Ocean
Fur Seals Making a Comeback on the Farallones
Recent surveys on the Farallones show that the islands' cute, feisty fur seals continue to make a comeback, more than a century after the West Coast population was hunted nearly...
A Container Caper in Monterey Bay
On a stormy winter night in 2004, as the merchant ship Med Taipei plowed southbound off the coast of Monterey in 20- to 30-foot swells, 15 shipping containers slid into...
First Day of Ocean Research Tour Finds Red Tide Rather Than Whales
Marine scientists gathering data off the Golden Gate have zeroed in on a number of hotspots of biodiversity, including transects north and south of the Farallon Islands. Turns out, though,...
Sea Level Rise Could Wipe Out Ocean Beach
A new study finds flooding and episodic storm events could result in an estimated $20 million in damages by 2100. And accelerated landward erosion from an estimated 1.4-meter rise in...
Protecting the Little Fish, Food for Many
They're the little guys. Small, silver, nondescript fish that are so hard to tell apart that many people simply call them "baitfish." But though they don't command the attention of...
“Washed Ashore” Exhibit Turns Ocean Plastic into Monumental Sculptures
The 16 giant plastic sea creature sculptures on display at the Marine Mammal Center arose from artist Angela Pozzi's desire to find solace in the ocean: "I went to the...
Support Your Local Ocean!
June 8 is World Oceans Day, but what's the big deal with celebrating our oceans? Well, generally, we've polluted, over-fished, and taken these vastly unexplored bodies of water for granted,...
Of Mice and Birds at the Farallones
U.S. Fish and Wildlife officials extended to June 10 the deadline for accepting public comments on a controversial proposal to eradicate nonnative house mice on the Southeast Farallon Islands. Opponents...
Kids Clean Up and Make Art at Ocean Beach
How do you get 500-plus kids to sit still on the beach? Tell them a helicopter is about to fly overhead and take their collective photograph, and that by the...
