Marine Protected Species Consulting - MPSC

07/27/2026

07/23/2026

It's a little hard to see from the photo, but look closely.

Do you see the pink spot on top of this leatherback's head? That is called a pineal gland and it helps the turtle detect sunlight and gather information about the changing seasons.

Scientists believe this information helps them to make decisions about when to move to different foraging or mating grounds.

Photo: Brad Nahill

07/18/2026

⚓ JOB ALERT: Ready to steer the ship at NOAA's Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary ? 🌊

We are officially searching for a Sanctuary Superintendent! If you’ve ever wanted to protect historic shipwrecks, lead cutting-edge freshwater research, and represent NOAA in the Great Lakes community, this is your call.

🛡️Lead research and conservation to safeguard historic maritime and natural resources.
🤝 Serve as the face of the sanctuary, collaborating with local and national organizations.
💼 Oversee field operations, steer federal budgets, and make decisions.

We're looking for a strategic, community-minded professional ready to navigate policy, manage federal resources, and protect Lake Ontario for generations to come. If you are ready to combine your love for maritime heritage with top-tier public service, we want you on our team.

👉 Apply now on USAJOBS: https://www.usajobs.gov/job/876462400. Applications close at 11:59 p.m. ET on July 21, 2026.

07/18/2026

🐢 2026 Sea Turtle Nesting Season Update 🐢
The 2026 nesting season continues to bring exciting developments across Florida’s beaches!

🟠 Loggerheads are having an outstanding season, with 94,667 nests documented statewide, the highest June total recorded in the past five years and currently on pace for a possible record year.
🟣 Leatherbacks continue to impress, with 2,152 nests documented so far. If these preliminary numbers are confirmed, 2026 would become Florida’s new record leatherback nesting season.
🔵 Green turtles are proving to be one of the season’s biggest surprises. Because they often alternate between higher and lower nesting years, 2026 was expected to be a lower year, but 10,603 nests have already been documented statewide.
🟢 Kemp’s ridley turtles remain rare but exciting visitors to Florida’s beaches, with 15 confirmed nests reported so far this season.
🟡 Florida’s first confirmed olive ridley nest remains one of the most remarkable discoveries of the 2026 season.

🌴 Thank you to all the permit holders, volunteers, interns, and partners working together to document sea turtle nesting activity across the state!

📊 Preliminary statewide totals as of June 30, 2026
• Loggerhead: 94,667 nests
• Green Turtle: 10,603 nests
• Leatherback: 2,152 nests
• Kemp’s Ridley: 15 confirmed nests
• Olive Ridley: 1 confirmed nest
• Hawksbill: 0 nests

📸 FWC photos

06/12/2026

📣Calling all coral reef field monitors! The U.S. Coral Reef Task Force ( ) has released its first coral bleaching monitoring standard operating procedure.

The document offers guidance on key metrics to collect and how often to survey to get the most pertinent information. Intentionally simplified, streamlined, and scalable, this SOP is not intended to replace or supersede existing monitoring programs. Rather, its purpose is to help surveyors and managers identify the most efficient way to obtain quantitative information specific to coral bleaching impacts.

This new guidance, released in May 2026, addresses the critical need for standardized and simplified procedures to quantify the impacts of bleaching consistently across space and time on U.S. coral reef areas.
https://coralreef.noaa.gov/digital-corals/stories/may26/uscrtf-sop-coral-bleaching-monitoring

06/12/2026

Last week, NOAA announced that the 4th global bleaching event has ended. From early-2023 to mid-2025, approximately 84% of coral reef ecosystems around the world were impacted, making it the largest bleaching event to date.

Read more: https://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/news/worlds-fourth-mass-coral-bleaching-event-likely-ended-2025

06/12/2026

05/27/2026

The Pacific NCRMP team has completed Leg 1 of the 2026 survey aboard NOAA Ship Oscar Elton Sette! Over 16 operational days (April 15 - May 13) the team conducted extensive scientific surveys across Palmyra Atoll, Kingman Reef, and Jarvis Island.

The sheer volume of data collected is a testament to the team’s hard work, including:

- 141 Stationary Point Count (SPC) fish surveys
- 182 photoquadrat benthic surveys
- 121 Structure-from-Motion (SfM) belts/8 SfM spirals
- 103 CTD casts/water samples
- 37 Subsurface Temperature Recorders (STRs) deployed/25 recovered
- 25 Calcification Accretion Units (CAUs) deployed/35 recovered
- 15 Bioerosion Monitoring Units (BMUs) deployed/9 recovered
- 6 carbonate budget surveys
- 1 diel suite deployment
- 54 Isaacs-Kidd Midwater Trawl (IKMT) tows
- 58 eDNA samples
- 66 genetic voucher specimens

Follow along as they embark on Leg 2 of the survey: https://arcg.is/10bH1e2

NOAA Ocean Acidification Program
NOAA Fisheries Pacific Islands
NOAA Marine and Aviation Operations
NOAA Ship Oscar Elton Sette

05/25/2026

The Greens have arrived in the refuge!

Thank you to UCF Marine Turtle Research Group, Sebastian Inlet State Park, and Ecological Associates, Inc. for monitoring and reporting nesting activity in the Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge