NOAA Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary

10/23/2026

Today is the 54th anniversary of the National Marine Sanctuaries Act! 💙💫🎊

54 years ago, a new era in the history of ocean conservation began with the creation of the National Marine Sanctuary System. Since then, the sanctuary system has grown into a nationwide network of 18 national marine sanctuaries that conserve more than 629,000 square miles of spectacular ocean and Great Lakes waters.

Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary joined the system in 1980! The sanctuary protects 1,470 square miles of marine resources surrounding San Miguel, Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz, Anacapa, and Santa Barbara Islands. It encompasses a rich diversity of marine life, habitats, and historic and contemporary cultural resources and values.

Get to know more of the incredible national marine sanctuaries in this system:

🏝️National Marine Sanctuary of American Samoa (American Samoa)
🦭Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary (California)
🦦Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary (California)
⛰️Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary (California)
🪸Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (Florida)
🐙Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary (Texas/Louisiana)
🪼Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary (Georgia)
🦈Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary (California)
🐋Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary (Hawai‘i)
⛵️Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary (New York)
🛶Mallows Bay-Potomac River National Marine Sanctuary (Maryland)
⚓️Monitor National Marine Sanctuary (North Carolina)
🦑Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (California)
⭐️Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary (Washington)
🌅Papahānaumokuākea National Marine Sanctuary (Hawai‘i)
🐦Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary (Massachusetts)
🤿Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary (Michigan)
🌊Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary (Wisconsin)

Learn more: https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/.

📸: Robert Schwemmer/NOAA

09/10/2026

Our next Sanctuary Advisory Council meeting is happening on Friday, September 18th from 9:30 am - 1:10 pm PT at the Santa Barbara Zoo with an option for joining online.

Come share your voice on the topics that matter to you about your Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary.

We hope to see you there!

For more information, including the link to our virtual meeting and our meeting materials, visit: https://channelislands.noaa.gov/sac/meeting_announcements.html

📸: Robert Schwemmer/ NOAA

08/19/2026

Summer = ice cream weather 🍦

While you enjoy a sweet treat by the coast you might observe harbor seals hauling out on the sand. Harbor seals haul out to molt (shed hair), give birth, nurse their pups, and regulate their body temperature. These animals are found throughout Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary. Amazingly, San Miguel Island supports more than 1,100 breeding harbor seals each year!

Reminder to stay 50+ yards back when observing.

Want to learn more about Harbor Seals? Visit https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/harbor-seal

📸: NOAA

08/14/2026

Since 1932, Anacapa Island Light Station has improved travel throughout the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary. Learn more about this incredible historic lighthouse, and others, here:

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/2026/ten-stunning-lighthouses-in-and-around-your-national-marine-sanctuaries.html?fbclid=IwY2xjawTsbepwZG9mAWV4dG4DYWVtAjEwAGJyaWQRMW1DZXpvSENGSUV0UFFSNVNzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeiMM1SnQD6teAmbcPUU9pNsIsH4JVmMWPB56H6wyFUWI7wtD6snOkyfg59sw_aem_u9SRORXQ8HmSBhoqa1XtiA

Celebrate with 10 stunning lighthouses in and around national marine sanctuaries! 💡⚓️

From Great Lakes shipwreck waters to coral reefs and rugged coastlines, lighthouses have helped mariners navigate rocky headlands, shallow reefs, foggy coastlines, and stormy seas for centuries. Take a virtual tour of 10 of the many stunning lighthouses in and around your National Marine Sanctuary System in our latest web story!

Read the full story: https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/2026/ten-stunning-lighthouses-in-and-around-your-national-marine-sanctuaries.html.

08/06/2026

Of all the reasons to adventure outside this summer, what’s yours? During the NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries Get Into Your Sanctuary campaign, we invite you to visit a national marine sanctuary near you for surfing, fishing, diving, paddling, exploring, and more. Show us how you in national marine sanctuaries by sharing photos with the hashtag and submitting photos to the Get Into Your Sanctuary photo contest.

Visit https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/photo-contest.html and follow to learn more!

📸: Jean Zuo

07/16/2026

Tomorrow, come sit in on this month’s hybrid Sanctuary Advisory Council meeting!

Happening Friday, July 17th, in Guthrie Hall at Ventura College from 9:30 am - 1:00 pm PT.

🌊 Lunch will be provided by the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation

Come share your voice on the topics that matter to you about your Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary. We hope to see you there!

For more information, including the link to our virtual meeting and our meeting agenda, visit: https://channelislands.noaa.gov/sac/meeting_announcements.html

📸: NOAA

07/10/2026

Coming up, our July Sanctuary Advisory Council meeting is happening next week!
✨🦭✨

Lunch will be provided 🍽️, sponsored by the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation

When? Friday, July 17th, from 9:30 am - 1:00 pm PT

Where is it happening? You can join in-person at Guthrie Hall in Ventura College or virtually via Google Meet!

Is it open to the public? Yes, all are welcome! There are also opportunities for public comment.

Where should I park? A parking lot is available for meeting attendees to park directly next to Guthrie Hall, in the Ventura College West Lot. The daily rate for this parking lot is $3 a day. Alternatively, free street parking may be found off of Loma Vista Road 🚗

For more information, including the link to the virtual meeting and the meeting agenda, visit: https://channelislands.noaa.gov/sac/meeting_announcements.html

📸: Jeff Harris/NOAA

07/07/2026

Happening now! 🌊🌊🌊

Citizen Science Webinar Series, Finding Hal: Engaging Divers in the Search for California’s Rarest Abalone!

It’s not too late to register for the webinar, sign up here: https://library.noaa.gov/seminars/upcoming/Finding-Hal

07/05/2026

Join us Tuesday, July 7th at 10am PT, for our Citizen Science Webinar Series, Finding Hal: Engaging Divers in the Search for California’s Rarest Abalone!

Learn about:

🐚 How community science is expanding monitoring capacity for white abalone
🐚 The importance of accurate species identification
🐚 How partnerships among NOAA, Aquarium of the Pacific, and the diving community are helping advance endangered species recovery

Register for the Citizen Science seminar here: https://library.noaa.gov/seminars/upcoming/Finding-Hal. We look forward to seeing you there!

07/04/2026

It’s Saturday, time for another Species Spotlight 🎆 Where we’ll be covering eelgrass!

🐍 Found in shallow coastal waters like estuaries, bays, and sheltered harbors
🐍 Eelgrass is one of the only flowering plants found in marine environments!
🐍 Leaves and rhizomes (root structures) adapted to have pockets of air, helping eelgrass stay buoyant

Eelgrass plays a vital role for marine ecosystems by providing shelter and food for many marine creatures.

Interested in learning more? Visit: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-story/importance-eelgrass

📸: Adam Obaza