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Social Media Image Gallery

A colorful parrotfish swims by a white sea urchin on the reef.

This is a collection of images used on the sanctuary's social media pages, that are not otherwise represented on our website. You'll find photos from events, behind-the-scenes activities, special days, memes, and more.

If you like what you see, consider following us on Facebook, X, or Instagram.

Collage of people meeting on the top deck of the boat and an old mooring buoy and line resting on the back deck of the boat.

Each trip ends with a debriefing. What did we learn? What could we change? What can we improve on for next time? The research team always learns something new about this special place on every trip. (Photo Credit: Taylor Galaviz/FGBNMS)

Collage of a person about to snip a piece of lionfish fin with scissors, two people placing lionfish in a bucket on the boat deck, and a person recording information on a clipboard.

Throughout this trip, permitted recreational divers removed lionfish while the research team completed their science tasks at East Flower Garden, West Flower Garden, and Stetson Banks. Over 50 lioinfish were removed, measured, bagged, and frozen for later processing. TPWD took fin clip samples for genetic testing. (Photo Credit: Taylor Galaviz/FGBNMS)

Collage of sunrise on a cloudy morning over the water, a person holding a small acoustic tag in their hand, and two divers swimming over the reef with a long-handled net.

On July 17, 2024 the team woke to a lovely sunrise over Stetson Bank. Both dives here focused on capturing invasive lionfish for an acoustic tagging project to better understand how and where these fish move throughout the sanctuary. (Photo Credit: Donavon French/FGBNMS (divers); Taylor Galaviz/FGBNMS)

Collage of the sun setting on the horizon creating an orange sky above the water, a diver jumping into the water at night, and a slipper lobster crawling across corals on the reef.

July 16, 2024 activities ended with a night dive to conduct urchin and lobster surveys, because these creatures are most active at night. (Photo Credit: G.P. Schmahl (lobster); Taylor Galaviz/FGBNMS)

Collage of a diver using a t-frame to take a photo and a diver using a compass to take a heading while swimming above the reef

On July 16, 2024 continued monitoring the reef by taking photos along random transects and conducting fish surveys. Underwater scooters enabled the divers to cover greater distances quickly. (Photo Credit: Donavon French/FGBNMS)

Collage of two people gathering equipment, a diver doing a survey on the reef, and a piece of metal equipment resting on the deck of the boat.

On July 16, 2024 divers refurbished pins at some of the repetitive photostations, took photos, and surveyed fish at East Flower Garden Bank. A second dive retrieved the Seabird water quality instrument at this bank and deployed a fresh one for continued data collection. (Photo Credit: Donavon French/FGBNMS (diver); Taylor Galaviz/FGBNMS)

Collage of a diver jumping into the water, a white chain floating next to a brain coral on the reef, and people standing around talking.

On July 15, 2024 the last dive of the day took place at the East Flower Garden Bank study site, where divers setup the study site boundaries and searched for pins. Once a pin was found, a white floating chain was set at the site. The day ended with a debrief on the upper deck. (Photo Credit: G.P. Schmahl/FGBNMS (reef); Taylor Galaviz/FGBNMS)

Collage of Divers about to jump with a mooring buoy, divers in the water positioning a mooring buoy, and people gathered to talk on the upper deck of the boat.

On July 15, 2024 the third dive took place at the HI-A-389-A platform at East Flower Garden Bank. Divers installed a new mooring buoy at the platform with the TPWD Artificial Reef Program divers on hand to help the team and learn the process. Once the buoy was installed, the boat tied off to the buoy and the rest of the divers jumped in to attach an acoustic receiver to the platform. (Photo Credit: Taylor Galaviz/FGBNMS)

Collage of divers jumping into the water, a person working on camera equipment, and an algae encrusted piece of equipment on deck.

On July 15, 2024 divers focused on photographing photostation 708 where a line of disease was seen across several corals two weeks before. On a second dive, divers collected the Seabird water quality instrument from West Flower Garden Bank in order to download a year's worth of data. A fresh one was installed in its place. (Photo Credits: Taylor Galaviz/FGBNMS)

Collage of people working on a boat, at a coffee shop, outdoors, and at other people's houses.

On July 14, 2024 the team headed offshore for a multi-faceted trip aboard M/V FLING. They loaded all the gear in several trucks, offloaded at the docks, prepped their dive gear for the next day, watched the sun set, and settled in for safety briefings as they headed out to sea. (Photo Credit: Taylor Galaviz/FGBNMS)

Collage of people working on a boat, at a coffee shop, outdoors, and at other people's houses.

Hurricane Beryl left the NOAA Galveston Lab without power for over a week. However, FGBNMS staff were resourceful in creating work spaces across Galveston. (Photo Credits: Josh Harvey/FGBNMS, Sasha Francis/MDBC, Michelle Johnston/FGBNMS)

People posing on or near large, orange floats on a grassy field full of mooring buoy set-ups they have just assembled.

FGBNMS staff gathered at the NOAA Galveston Lab to assemble deep water moorings to be deployed in expanded sanctuary areas in July and August 2024. (Photo Credit: Michelle Johnston/FGBNMS)

A collection of large orange floats, small white floats, and large white buoys rest on a grassy lawn with lot of blue and orange mooring lines.

Mooring buoy assembly day--an outdoor activity since there was still no electricity at the office following Hurricane Beryl. (Photo Credit: Michelle Johnston/FGBNMS)

Two people holding up a large Flower Garden Banks sign that was blown off the fence behind them.

FGBNMS staff were still standing after Hurricane Beryl! Our fence sign was found down the street after being blown off by the wind. (Photo Credit: Michelle Johnston/FGBNMS)

Collage of beach trash photos with the words Leave No Trace in the middle.

Any time you are at the beach, clean up your little patch of sand to remove any trash already on site. Also be sure to pack up all your own trash and take it with you. (Photo Credit: Kelly Drinnen/FGBNMS)

Side by side photos of the same section of coral reef from 2023 and 2024. The 2024 photos shows white areas caused by bleaching and disease.

For the second year in a row, bleaching started as early as July, and the disease identified in 2022 was still making itself known. (Photo Credit: FGBNMS)

A photo of the spiral gills of a Christmas tree worm on a brain coral next to a photo of a red fireworm with white bristles along its side. Overhead caption reads, Beauty and the Beast?

These two creatures are more alike than you might imagine. They are both types of segmented worms called polychaetes. (Photo Credit: Emma Hickerson/FGBNMS, G.P. Schmahl/FGBNMS)

Top down view of a section of coral reef on 8/16/23 displayed over a top down view of the same location on 9/1/23. The later photo has some bleached (white) corals in it.

We have temperature sensors at reef depth at East Flower Garden Bank but that doesn't give us actual eyes on the corals. Let us know what you are seeing out there. (Photo Credit: FGBNMS)

A graph showing declining temperatures at sea surface and reef depths in the sanctuary June 19-20, 2024.

June 19-20, 2024 the Sofar spotter buoy deployed at East Flower Garden Bank recorded a significant drop in temperature as a result of Tropical Storm Alberto. (Image Credit: FGBNMS)

A collage of people listening to a talk about the sanctuary, fishing from a boat, and small groups showing off their catches and fishing gear dockside.

In June 2024 we collaborated with National Park Trust to host a fishing trip for members of the military and their families. (Photo Credits: Kelly Drinnen/FGBNMS, National Park Trust)

Close up view of mottled brown scutes, or scales, with white lines between them.

Sea turtle species can be identified by the pattern of scutes (scales) on the top of their shells and their heads. This is the typical scute pattern on the head of a loggerhead sea turtle. (Photo Credit: G.P. Schmahl/FGBNMS)

Looking over the shoulders of two people in life jackets lowering a buoy and line into the water from a boat.

Mooring buoys are installed and maintained by sanctuary staff to prevent anchor damage to the coral below. Anchoring is not allowed within the sanctuary boundaries. (Photo Credit: G.P. Schmahl/FGBNMS)

Black and white image of a man standing next to large piece of scientific equipment on a dock.

In 1953, Henry Stetson, from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), was the first to note the presence of corals at the locations now known as the Flower Garden Banks. (Photo Credit: WHOI)

A diamond shaped metal label with the letters NE cut out of the center, mounted on a thin metal stake embedded in the reef

This thin, metal post used to mark the northeast corner of one of the long-term monitoring study sites at East or West Flower Garden Bank, but has since been replaced with something sturdier. (Photo Credit: NOAA)

A photo of an ROV taken in 2012 next to a later photo of the same, but greatly modified ROV, taken in 2021.

Since 2012, this Mohawk ROV has become a regional asset, deployed across agencies, across the Gulf, and occasionally in the Caribbean. Over the years it has also been greatly modified. (Photo Credit: NOAA)

A small group of people standing on a dock by a large ship and holding the FGBNMS poster.

This poster traveled to the NOAA Ship Nancy Foster with NOAA Corps officer LTJG Desda Sisson (2nd from right). Holding the poster are two other NOAA Corps officers who previously worked with FGBNMS and are now stationed aboard the NOAA Ship Nancy Foster. (Photo Credit: NOAA)

A deep reef scene with two bright green laser lines ending in bright green dots.

One of the cool features of our ROV is the pair of laser lights, set 10 cm apart, that help us better understand the size of things we see on camera. (Photo Credit: FGBNMS/UNCW-UVPS)

A small star coral colony sits inside a circular opening in a large brain coral.

A star coral growing in the middle of a brain coral--just another example of how corals take advantage of whatever space they can find to settle on and grow. (Photo Credit: Marissa Nuttall/FGBNMS)

A video screen grab with transparent colored rectangles surrounding each coral in the image.

Click A Coral: People can volunteer to help NOAA scientists and partners build a training dataset to help AI automatically recognize coral found in these images, and significantly speed up the process of labeling and identifying coral in future videos. (Photo Credit: NOAA)

A FGBNMS bookmark sits in the crease of an open book.

Flower Garden Banks bookmarks are a great addition to any book you are reading. Pick one up the next time you see us at a community event. (Photo Credit: Taylor Galaviz/FGBNMS)

A woman in a blue uniform stands in front of a boat

Desda Sisson is a NOAA Corps Officer assigned to the sanctuary. Her job is to oversee all operations pertaining to R/V MANTA, the sanctuary's research vessel. (Photo Credit: FGBNMS)

A FGBNMS bookmark sits in the crease of an open book.

Rhodoliths, also referred to as algal nodules, are rocks made of hard, crustose forms of algae. These are found at mesophotic depths within the sanctuary. (Photo Credit: Sarah Olmstead/University of Alabama)

Scrabble tiles spell out Apply Now in the top corner of a photo of people meeting around a u-shaped table

The deadline to apply for seven open seats on the Sanctuary Advisory Council was Monday, April 15, 2024. (Photo Credit: Michelle Johnston/FGBNMS)

A woman standing next to a screen with a picture of a lionfish on it.

Taylor speaking about invasive lionfish to Aquatic Science students at Dickinson High School. (Photo Credit: Kelly Drinnen/FGBNMS)

Three partially thawed lionfish sitting in a dissection tray.

Partially thawed lionfish await dissection at Dickinson High School. (Photo Credit: Kelly Drinnen/FGBNMS)

A dead lionfish rests on a cutting board with scissors, a ruler, and a probe lying nearby.

Lionfish dissections were part of the learning at Dickinson High School. (Photo Credit: Kelly Drinnen/FGBNMS)

A FGBNMS bookmark sits in the crease of an open book.

An adult damselfish and a large red night shrimp were two of the species found in the stomachs of dissected lionfish at Dickinson High School. (Photo Credit: Kelly Drinnen/FGBNMS)

A data sheet for recording lionfish info sits on a table in the foreground while a woman dissects a lionfish in the background.

Lionfish dissections provide valuable data on lionfish populations in the Gulf. (Photo Credit: Kelly Drinnen/FGBNMS)

A small coral colony with white scrape marks across the top.

This coral has been gnawed on by hungry parrotfish, scraping their beak-like teeth across the surface. They can't digest the hard skeleton, so it comes back out the other end as sand! (Photo Credit: Kelly Drinnen/FGBNMS)

A smooth trunkfish that has been colored purple.

When Easter fever strikes, it alters the colors of reef fish, making them look like pastel-hued Easter eggs bobbing about the reef. April Fools! (Original Photo Credit: Emma Hickerson/FGBNMS)

A smooth trunkfish that has been colored purple and had graphic bunny ears added.

Next thing you know, fish will be sprouting rabbit ears, as well. April Fools! (Original Photo Credit: Emma Hickerson/FGBNMS)

Advisory council members seated around a u-shaped table facing a screen at the front of the room.

FGBNMS sought applicants for seven seats on its advisory council. Applications were due April 15, 2024. (Photo Credit: Michelle Johnston/FGBNMS)

Marine Science Thru Art webinar information with photo of presenter on a background of watercolor circles in various colors

Marine Science Thru Art, a webinar to explore a variety of sanctuary-inspired art projects, was held March 20, 2024. (Photo Credit: NOAA Central Library)

Heads of three divers bob at the water's surface next to a float with a red flag and a white diagonal stripe. A rainbow is faintly visible in the cloudy sky above.

Flower Garden Banks is the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. (Photo Credit: Emma Hickerson/FGBNMS)

A FGBNMS bookmark sits in the crease of an open book.

In 2023, five white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) were detected in FGBNMS. This is the first confirmation of this species within sanctuary boundaries. (Credit: FGBNMS)

Front end of a white and gray shark swimming just above a sandy bottom in hazy water.

Four white sharks, detected on Bright, Geyer, Sidner, and Alderice Banks, were initially tagged off Cape Cod, MA, and Hilton Head, SC. A fifth white shark, tagged off Nova Scotia, Canada, was detected at Alderdice and McGrail Banks. (Photo Credit: Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries)

Two scuba divers leaping into the water off the side of a boat, as three other people look on.

We're leaping into Daylight Savings Time and the beginning of our field season. (Photo Credit: G.P. Schmahl/FGBNMS)

FGBNMS website on the screen of a laptop computer sitting on a desk next to a model of a coral polyp.

FGBNMS accepted applications for a VSFS virtual internship to develop web content for the sanctuary. (Photo Credit: Taylor Galaviz/FGBNMS)

Four people, with faces covered by sweating emojis, fishing from an anchored boat. A red prohibited symbol sits over the anchor line. A mooring buoy is visible in the distance behind them. Across the top it says, Don't be this boat!

Don't be this boat! Anchoring in the sanctuary is against the law. Mooring buoys are provided at East and West Flower Garden Banks, and Stetson Bank for this purpose.(Photo Credit: Kelly Drinnen/FGBNMS)

Dates and times for fish ID classes overlaid on a background collage of various fish species.

ABCs of Fish ID classes were offered 3/26/24 and 5/14/24, for people interested in learning to identify 40-50 sanctuary reef fish species. (Credit: FGBNMS)

Pixel art of a cocoa damselfish overlaid on the corner of a photo of the same fish.

Cocoa Damselfish and associated pixel art. (Photo Credit: G.P. Schmahl/FGBNMS)

Pixel art of a scrawled filefish overlaid on the corner of a photo of the same fish.

Scrawled Filefish and associated pixel art. (Photo Credit: G.P. Schmahl/FGBNMS)

Pixel art of a flamefish overlaid on the corner of a photo of the same fish.

Flamefish (Flame Cardinalfish) and associated pixel art. (Photo Credit: G.P. Schmahl/FGBNMS)

Pixel art of a Spanish hogfish overlaid on the corner of a photo of the same fish.

Spanish Hogfish and associated pixel art. (Photo Credit: G.P. Schmahl/FGBNMS)

A yellow square with a purple rectangle at the top right overlaid by blue bars and squares.

Pixel Art - Use the colors, pattern, and the following clue to identify the correct fish: Would you like some marshmallows with your hot drink, my lady? (Credit: Taylor Galaviz/FGBNMS)

A pale green-gray square covered in smaller khaki squares and light blue lines.

Pixel Art - Use the colors, pattern, and the following clue to identify the correct fish: Your penmanship is horrendous, maybe you should put away these documents. (Credit: Taylor Galaviz/FGBNMS)

A pale red square with two smaller dark gray squares near the upper left corner.

Pixel Art - Use the colors, pattern, and the following clue to identify the correct fish: Always cheering for that one team from St. Louis. (Credit: Taylor Galaviz/FGBNMS)

A yellow square with a reddish rectangle in the upper left covered with small purple and lavender squares.

Pixel Art - Use the colors, pattern, and the following clue to identify the correct fish: Algo en español sobre un cerdo. (Credit: Taylor Galaviz/FGBNMS)

Three sanctuary staff stand behind a table in a FGBNMS display booth.

FGBNMS booth at Dive into the Gulf: An Exposition at Moody Gardens on February 24, 2024. (Photo Credit: Kelly Drinnen/FGBNMS)

A FGBNMS bookmark sits in the crease of an open book.

Miss Supreme America stopped by the FGBNMS booth at Dive Expo. (Photo Credit: Kelly Drinnen/FGBNMS)

An audience seated in front of a stage as a speaker stands at the podium on stage.

Marissa Nuttall was one of the presenters at Dive Expo. (Photo Credit: Michelle Johnston/FGBNMS)

Three people stand in front of an aquarium exhibit as a diver swims by inside.

Marissa Nuttall and Sasha Francis demonstrated long-term monitoring techniques in front of the South Pacific exhibit in the Moody Gardens Aquarium, as aquarium divers demonstrated from inside the exhibit. (Photo Credit: Taylor Galaviz/FGBNMS)

A man operating an ROV from a table in front of an open topped aquarium exhibit.

Josh Harvey operated a small ROV in the South Pacific exhibit at the Moody Gardens Aquarium during a special session at Dive Expo. (Photo Credit: Taylor Galaviz/FGBNMS)

A pole with an acoustic receiver mounted on it sits in the background of a reef scene with a lionfish swimming in the foreground.

Seaside Chats 2024:A tagged lionfish swims near an acoustic receiver (in the background), which will record its movements around the reef. (Photo Credit: Marissa Nuttall/FGBNMS)

A diver holding a net watches a tagged lionfish swim away at night.

Seaside Chats 2024: Divers inserted tags into lionfish and other species for a study to learn more about fish movement on the reefs. The tagging occurred under a sanctuary permit. (Photo Credit: Jesse Cancelmo)

A cartoony version of a spotted moray eel peeks out from under a reef. Text says Eel always be your valentine.

There is a lot to love about our sanctuary, even beyond the depths most divers can explore! Happy Valentines Day! (Photo Credit: Elijah Hall/NOAA)

An audience seated in front of a stage as a speaker stands at the podium on stage.

The Powell Arch, in downtown Galveston, would be the perfect place to showcase the sanctuary's Mardi Gras Wrasse. (Photo Credit:Taylor Galaviz/FGBNMS)

A photo of Paul Humann next to text: In Remembrance of Paul Humann, author, photographer, publisher, REEF co-founder, 1937-2024.

The Reef Fish Identification books that Paul Humann and co-author Ned DeLoach created are important references for our long-term monitoring surveys, and our REEF Fish ID classes. (Photo Credit: REEF)

A scuba diver holding a clipboard lays a transect tape on the reef.

Seaside Chats 2024: Climate monitoring helps us understand impacts to our sanctuary reefs. (Photo Credit: Anderson Mayfield)

A scuba diver uses tools to secure an instrument on the sea floor near a reef.

Seaside Chats 2024: Monitoring efforts on the reefs at the Flower Garden Banks, as well as the Florida Keys, helped us understand the 2023 mass coral bleaching event. (Photo Credit: Kevin Davidson)

A catamaran style boat sits up on blocks on a platform out of the water.

Our research vessel (R/V MANTA) goes into dry dock once a year to have the hull and jets cleaned, and take care of anything else that can be more easily addressed when the boat is out of the water. (Photo Credit: Desda Sisson/FGBNMS)

Beer can label artwork featuring colorful corals and the name Star Struck Coconut Lime Gose.

A little fishy told us that something new is coming soon to a cooler near us. It looks suspiciously drinkable and aims to support our conservation efforts with Moody Gardens. (Photo Credit: Galveston Island Brewing; Artwork: Janavi Mahimtura Folmsbee)

An annual event that occurs 7-10 days after the full moon every August. What is coral spawning? with image of spawning brain coral.

FGBNMS game show style trivia about coral spawning. (Photo Credit: FGBNMS)

This person is known as the Father of the sanctuary. Who is Tom Bright? with an image of Tom with a large leaf on his head.

FGBNMS game show style trivia about Tom Bright. (Photo Credit: FGBNMS)

In 2023, new technology was installed at East Flower Garden Bank and delivers real time data, including temperatuere and wind speed. What is a Sofar Spotter Buoy? with an image of people holding a spotter buoy.

FGBNMS game show style trivia about a spotter buoy. (Photo Credit: FGBNMS)

This Indo-Pacific invertebrate invader displaces native corals in the sanctuary. What is Orange Cup Coral? with a photo of orange cup coral covering a large area.

FGBNMS game show style trivia about orange cup coral. (Photo Credit: FGBNMS)

The sanctuary's deepest point of 220 meters lies in this bank. What is Elvers Bank? with a bathymetric map of Elvers Bank and the sanctuary boundary around it.

FGBNMS game show style trivia about Elvers Bank. (Photo Credit: FGBNMS)