Conservation Photography
The Magnificent Coral Spawning Phenomenon: Nature’s Underwater Snowstorm at Flower Garden Banks
Every August, beneath the surface of the Gulf of Mexico, one of nature’s most spectacular events unfolds. The reef-building corals of Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary stage what researchers describe as a “fantastic spawning display” that rivals any natural wonder on Earth.
This extraordinary phenomenon represents one of the most abundant coral spawning displays in the entire Caribbean, made possible by the sanctuary’s remarkably high density of broadcast spawning species. For marine biologists and ocean lovers alike, understanding this natural spectacle offers crucial insights into coral reproduction and the delicate balance of marine ecosystems.
What Makes Coral Spawning So Remarkable?
Coral spawning is essentially a massive underwater release of genetic material. Each coral species releases gametes (eggs and sperm) in a precisely timed event designed for maximum reproductive success. The scale of these mass spawning events is staggering, creating what divers often describe as an underwater snowstorm of pink and white particles floating through the water column.
The sheer volume of these spawning events serves multiple critical purposes. First, it allows for extensive genetic mixing between coral colonies, promoting genetic diversity within coral populations. Second, the massive number of gametes increases the likelihood that enough larvae will survive to establish new coral colonies elsewhere on the reef.
The Perfect Timing: When Nature Sets Its Calendar
At Flower Garden Banks, coral spawning follows a predictable yet fascinating schedule. The mass spawning typically occurs 7-10 days after the full moon in August, but nature keeps scientists on their toes with occasional variations.
When a full moon appears in early August or late July, or when two full moons occur within August, the spawning event may shift to September. This lunar dependency reflects the complex environmental cues that corals use to coordinate their reproductive efforts across the entire reef system.
Remarkably, this timing varies significantly from reef to reef around the world, suggesting that local environmental conditions play crucial roles in determining optimal spawning windows for different coral populations.
Two Strategies for Underwater Romance
Hermaphroditic Spawners: The Self-Sufficient Approach
Most broadcast spawning corals at Flower Garden Banks are hermaphroditic, meaning each coral polyp contains both male and female reproductive organs. These remarkable organisms release bundles containing both eggs and sperm simultaneously.
These gamete bundles rise through the water column toward the surface, where they break open to allow mixing and fertilization. This strategy maximizes the chances of successful reproduction by ensuring that both eggs and sperm are released in close proximity.
Gonochoric Spawners: The Specialized Strategy
Some coral species, including Great Star Coral (Montastraea cavernosa) and Blushing Star Coral (Stephanocoenia intersepta), employ a different reproductive strategy. These gonochoric species maintain separate male and female colonies.
Female colonies release bundles containing only eggs, while male colonies create distinctive smoky white clouds of sperm that drift through the water. The egg bundles float toward the surface and break open to mix with the sperm, creating fertilization opportunities across the reef.
The Cast of Characters: Seven Species in Perfect Synchrony
Seven coral species participate in the annual mass spawning event at Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary:
Hermaphroditic Species:
- Colpophyllia natans (Boulder Brain Coral)
- Orbicella annularis (Lobed Star Coral)
- Orbicella faveolata (Mountainous Star Coral)
- Orbicella franksi (Boulder Star Coral)
- Pseudodiploria strigosa (Symmetrical Brain Coral)
Gonochoric Species:
- Montastraea cavernosa (Great Star Coral)
- Stephanocoenia intersepta (Blushing Star Coral)
Each species contributes to the spectacular display, releasing millions of gametes that create visible streams of pink and white particles at the water’s surface. The combined effect generates a distinctive sheen on the ocean surface and produces a characteristic odor that experienced researchers have learned to recognize.
A Discovery That Changed Marine Science
The first documented observation of coral spawning at Flower Garden Banks occurred on August 13, 1990, when divers aboard the dive vessel Fling witnessed this remarkable phenomenon. This discovery launched decades of systematic research and documentation that continues today.
Since that initial observation, sanctuary researchers have meticulously documented each spawning event, accumulating precise data on timing patterns and species participation. This long-term dataset has become invaluable for understanding how coral reproduction responds to changing environmental conditions.
The Mysteries That Remain
Despite decades of observation and research, significant mysteries surrounding coral spawning persist. Scientists have yet to determine the exact environmental cues that trigger spawning to begin, though they suspect a complex combination of factors including:
- Lunar cycles
- Solar radiation patterns
- Water temperature fluctuations
- Chemical signals in the water
- Light intensity changes
Perhaps even more intriguing is the question of coordination: How do multiple coral colonies of the same species synchronize their spawning efforts so precisely? This level of coordination suggests sophisticated communication mechanisms that researchers are still working to understand.
Conservation Implications and Future Research
Understanding coral spawning patterns has become increasingly critical as coral reefs face unprecedented threats from climate change, ocean acidification, and human activities. The timing and success of spawning events directly influence coral populations’ ability to recover from disturbances and maintain genetic diversity.
Research at Flower Garden Banks provides crucial baseline data for understanding how changing ocean conditions might affect coral reproduction. This information helps marine protected area managers develop strategies to protect critical spawning habitats and maintain the conditions necessary for successful coral reproduction.
Experiencing the Wonder
For those fortunate enough to witness coral spawning in person, the experience is transformative. Divers describe swimming through clouds of gametes, watching the water column come alive with reproductive activity, and witnessing one of nature’s most essential processes unfold in real time.
The event serves as a powerful reminder of the ocean’s incredible biodiversity and the complex natural processes that maintain marine ecosystems. It also highlights the importance of protecting these fragile environments for future generations.
Taking Action for Coral Conservation
The spectacular coral spawning at Flower Garden Banks represents hope for coral reef conservation worldwide. These healthy, reproducing coral populations demonstrate that with proper protection and management, coral reefs can continue their essential ecological functions.
Marine conservation organizations like SEVENSEAS Media work to educate the public about these remarkable phenomena and advocate for policies that protect critical coral habitats. Understanding and appreciating events like coral spawning helps build the public support necessary for effective marine conservation.
Every August, as corals at Flower Garden Banks prepare for their annual reproductive spectacle, they remind us of the ocean’s incredible capacity for renewal and regeneration. By supporting marine protected areas, reducing our carbon footprint, and advocating for ocean-friendly policies, we can help ensure that future generations will witness these underwater snowstorms for years to come.
The mysteries of coral spawning continue to unfold, offering new insights into marine reproduction and ecosystem function. As research progresses, each spawning event brings scientists closer to understanding the intricate mechanisms that sustain one of Earth’s most diverse and important ecosystems.
Through continued observation, research, and conservation action, we can work to protect these magnificent displays of natural wonder and the reef ecosystems that depend on them.
Written by: Junior Thanong Aiamkhophueng.
Image Credits: All photographs courtesy of NOAA Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary. Original article: Coral Spawning. Public domain images used under U.S. government publication guidelines. Images resized for web display.
About the organizations
From daily weather forecasts, severe storm warnings, and climate monitoring to fisheries management, coastal restoration and supporting marine commerce, NOAA’s products and services support economic vitality and affect more than one-third of America’s gross domestic product. NOAA’s dedicated scientists use cutting-edge research and high-tech instrumentation to provide citizens, planners, emergency managers and other decision makers with reliable information they need, when they need it.
Situated 80 to 125 miles off the coasts of Texas and Louisiana, the Flower Garden Banks sanctuary includes thriving shallow water coral reefs, algal-sponge communities, and deeper mesophotic reefs full of black coral, octocoral, and algal nodule habitats. The sanctuary protects portions of 17 separate reefs and banks in the northwestern Gulf. These banks are a combination of small underwater mountains, ridges, troughs, and hard bottom patches along the continental shelf, created by underlying salt domes. Together, they create a chain of protected habitats for ecologically and economically important species across the northwestern Gulf.
Art & Culture
Celebrating World Glaciers & Water Days with Science and Art
UNESCO will celebrate the World Day for Glaciers and the World Water Day at its
Headquarters in Paris on 18-19 March 2026, launching the new Decade of Action for
Cryospheric Sciences (2025-2034) with dedicated sessions and side events including
five outlined in this article that highlight the vital links between cryosphere, water,
climate and social equity.
These days aim to drive forward Sustainable Development Goal 6 (water and sanitation
for all) and promote sustainable, equitable water management during the year America
is celebrating its 250th anniversary—or semiquincentennial.
Havre de Grace Maritime Museum – America at 250 Exhibition
The cryosphere, including glaciers, ice sheets, permafrost, sea ice and snow, stores
around 70% of Earth’s freshwater, yet it is shrinking fast. Glaciers are losing over 273
billion tonnes of ice annually, with significant acceleration in the last decade, severely
impacting global water security, infrastructure, and raising sea levels. Nearly 2–3 billion
people rely on seasonal melt for water, while rising seas threaten 1 billion people in
coastal areas. The cryosphere’s rapid, often irreversible, collapse disrupts ecosystems,
triggers disasters, and accelerates global warming.
The “Glacier Flag” a side event for World Day for Glaciers in Paris created by award
winning artists Alfons Rodriguez and Fatma Kadir that is on exhibit at the America at
250 Art Show hosted by the Havre de Grace Maritime Museum from January 31 too
July 5 th , 2026. It draws attention to strengthening research, monitoring, education and
policy action on cryospheric change.
Sofia Fonseca, the founder of Teiduma explained “This art show is a collective
exhibition, connecting USA’s maritime heritage, environmental consciousness, and
artistic interpretation of flags and landmarked lighthouses in a powerful celebration of
250 years of American history.
The exhibition brings together the work of Alfons Rodríguez alongside an international
group of artists and colleagues: Semine Hazar, Ian Hutton, Fatma Kadir, Maria
Krasnopolsky, Selva Ozelli, Ilhan Sayin, and Mary Tiegree.
The exhibition offers a reflective and visually compelling dialogue on USA’s history,
identity, landscape, and shared futures at this significant milestone.
Alfons Rodríguez‘s contribution, including works from The Melting Age series, situates
environmental awareness on melting glaciers within broader historical and cultural
narratives—reminding us that national anniversaries are also moments to reflect on
responsibility, resilience, and continuity.”
America at 250 at Havre de Grace Maritime Museum
Concord Point Lighthouse by Semine Hazar the second-oldest lighthouse in MD which is located across the street from Havre de Grace Maritime Museum
America at 250 is also host to “Lighthouses” by Semine Hazar and the “Paradise Flag“
by Ian Hutton and Selva Ozelli which are side events for World Water Day in Paris
drawing attention to sustainable water management including groundwater and
freshwater flows.
The Havre de Grace Maritime Museum and its integrated Environmental Center serve
as a hub for both maritime heritage and regional water sustainability efforts. Located at
the confluence of the Susquehanna River and the Chesapeake Bay, the museum
actively promotes environmental stewardship through art exhibitions, citizen science,
habitat restoration, and water quality monitoring. A meet the artists event will be hosted
by the museum on April 25 th .
Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University (LDEO) – Where
Science Meets Art
The Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO) is a world-renowned research
institution at Columbia University, founded in 1949 to study Earth’s natural systems.
LDEO scientists were among the first to map the seafloor, provide proof for the theory of
plate tectonics, continental drift, and develop a computer model that predicted El Niño
events. LDEO’s research covers everything from formation of the Earth, moon, and
solar system, as well as the movement of carbon and other materials through the Earth
System, including its atmosphere, oceans, and land, using different types of Earth
materials from sediments to cave deposits to tree rings to identify past climate shifts and
changes.
On March 25 th in celebration of World Glaciers and Water Days LDEO’s Interim
Director; Higgins Professor, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences,
Columbia University Dr. Steven L. Goldstein is hosting a public lecture series event
titled:
“Climate and Ice: From Rising Seas to Shrinking Mountain Glaciers”
Professor Joerg M. Schaefer LDEO Geochemistry, Department of Earth and
Environmental Sciences & Columbia Climate School, Columbia University will explore
how fast ice is melting, where it is changing most rapidly, and how we can respond to
these challenges with LDEOs cutting-edge research including Greenland
Rising/Kalaallit Nunaat qaffappoq, a recent National Science Foundation–funded
collaborative project of LDEO, the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources (GINR),
and local Greenland communities that is vital for understanding these shifts and how
applying this science today can help build a safer, more sustainable future.
Time: 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Place: Monell Building, 61 Route 9W, Palisades, NY 10964
[REGISTER HERE]
Phone: (212)853-8861
Email: events@ldeo.columbia.edu
LDEO is also hosting the “Paradise” art show by Ian Hutton and Selva Ozelli and the
“Ocean Lovers – To the Core Flag CCL” by Selva Ozelli that are a side events for World
Water Day in Paris. The Ocean Lovers – To the Core Flag CCL is designed based on
core research by LDEO scientists as follows:
- Dr. Dorothy Peteet is a prominent Senior Research Scientist at
the NASA/Goddard Institute for Space Studies and an Adjunct Professor
at Columbia University who specializes in the paleoecology of wetlands and
lakes. She directs the New Core Lab at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory,
where she utilizes sediment cores to reconstruct past climates and study modern
carbon sequestration; and - Drs William Ryan, Walter Pitman, Petko Dimitrov, and their colleagues who first
proposed that a catastrophic inflow of Mediterranean seawater into the Black
Sea freshwater lake occurred around 7,600 years ago, c. 5600 BCE with, rising
Mediterranean waters breaching the Bosphorus strait, catastrophically flooding a
freshwater lake and creating the modern, salty Black Sea potentially influencing
ancient flood myths. Drs Ryan and Pitman cited submerged shorelines,
preserved dunes, and marine fossils found in deep core samples. While the event
is recognized, the speed and magnitude of the flood are still debated.
Ocean Lovers – To the Core Flag by Selva Ozelli for LDEO
National Lighthouse Museum (NLM)
The National Lighthouse Museum in Staten Island, NY, preserves maritime history at
the former U.S. Lighthouse Service General Depot. It focuses on sustainability through
educating the public on eroding shorelines and “super storms”. The museum promotes
coastal resilience and supports initiatives like the Waterfront Alliance and the Living
Breakwaters project to protect coastal communities.
Aligning with broader goals of World Water Day, on March 4, 2026, NLM will participate
in the Waterfront Alliance City of Water Day kick-off info session (1–2 PM ET) to
discuss this year’s theme centered on expanding the capacity of New York and New
Jersey communities to promote green infrastructure, water quality, and habitat
restoration for resilient, accessible waterfronts that support better water quality for
marine life.
This initiative and NLM’s harbor initiatives such as the March 29, tour of the New York
harbor with Author of over 100 books Bill Miller – Mr. Ocean Liner emphasize protecting
vital coastal and freshwater ecosystems through sustainable practices, fostering climate
resilience, and engaging in community-driven environmental solutions.
NLM is also hosting a meet the artist event titled Lighthouses are for [Ocean] Lovers
and Friends High Tea on March 14 th for the Ocean Lovers – Angel Fish Flag by Selva
Ozelli that is a side event for World Water Day in Paris drawing attention to sustainable
water management.
Ocean Lovers – Angel Fish Flag CCL by Selva Ozelli for NLM
The America at 250 exhibition along with the Flag CCL series of Selva Ozelli has been
endorsed by Freedom 250 which is a national initiative launched by President Donald
Trump to lead the celebration of the 250th anniversary of American independence on
July 4, 2026. It is a public-private partnership aimed at honoring U.S. history, preserving
historic sites, fostering patriotism, and highlighting innovation.
World Water Day Flag CCL Series
Written by: Selva Ozelli
Conservation Photography
Guy Harvey Documentary Claims Closing Night at Fort Lauderdale Film Festival
The 65-foot research vessel cuts through Caribbean waters while a man with a PhD in marine biology leans over the stern, watching a tagged bull shark disappear into the blue. On deck, watercolor palettes wait beside satellite tracking equipment. This is the contradiction at the heart of Guy Harvey: a scientist who abandoned academia for art, only to discover his paintings could accomplish what peer-reviewed journals could not.
After four decades of transforming marine wildlife into cultural currency, Harvey’s story finally arrives on screen. Guy Harvey, directed by 22-time Emmy Award winner Nick Nanton and produced by Astonish Entertainment, will close the 40th Annual Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival with its world premiere on February 28 at 6:30 p.m. at the Museum of Discovery and Science. The screening includes a Q&A with cast and crew, followed by a celebratory reception.
The Artist Who Rebuilt Billfish Populations With Brushstrokes
Harvey never intended to become a conservation icon. Born in Jamaica with a British Army father, he earned his doctorate from the University of the West Indies in 1984, fully prepared for a life of academic marine biology. Then came 1988, when he set up a modest booth at a Fort Lauderdale boat show to sell his fish paintings.
What happened next reshaped marine conservation funding in ways traditional nonprofits still study. Harvey’s scientifically accurate depictions of marlin, sailfish, and sharks resonated with the sportfishing community at a visceral level. His T-shirts became ubiquitous along coastal America. That revenue stream, now reaching over one million followers across social platforms, generates ongoing support for the Guy Harvey Foundation and Guy Harvey Research Institute at Nova Southeastern University.
Consider the scope: over $800,000 in marine science scholarships funded, 2,168 teachers trained in marine science education as of late 2024, curriculum reaching an estimated 50 million students globally through partnerships with Discovery Education and Florida Virtual School. Research projects span from 22-year stingray population surveys in the Cayman Islands to groundbreaking billfish tracking studies proving catch-and-release sustainability.
“Guy Harvey bridges worlds: he’s as much a scientist as he is an artist, and his work has changed how millions of people see the ocean,” Nanton explains in the film’s press materials. “This film celebrates not just his achievements, but the movement he’s inspired to preserve our planet’s most vital resource.”
Nanton’s Lens: Where Biography Meets Cultural Archaeology
Nanton brings complementary credentials to Harvey’s story. Dubbed “America’s Biographer” by Larry King, the Orlando-based director has spent two decades documenting how individuals catalyze cultural change. His 60-plus documentaries cover everyone from Notre Dame’s Rudy Ruettiger to XPRIZE founder Peter Diamandis, collecting 43 Emmy nominations and 22 wins along the way.
Nanton’s filmmaking philosophy rejects hagiography in favor of what he calls “connection through contradiction.” His subjects succeed not despite their complexities but because of them. For Guy Harvey, this meant filming across the Cayman Islands, Panama, California, and Florida, capturing not just the artist at his easel but the diver photographing free-swimming billfish at depths most people avoid, the scientist collaborating with Tropic Star Lodge researchers on sailfish migration patterns, the educator developing STEAM curriculum for elementary schools.
The director assembled a production team matching the subject’s scope. Underwater cinematographer Carlo Alberto Orecchia captures what Harvey sees before he paints it. The film features fellow marine artist Robert Wyland, wildlife sculptor Kent Ullberg, photographer Jim Abernethy, Harvey’s children Alex and Jessica Harvey (the latter now serving as Guy Harvey Foundation CEO), and dozens of scientists whose research Harvey funds.
Fort Lauderdale: The Only Logical Stage
Lisa Grigorian, Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival president and CEO, notes the fitting symmetry of hosting Harvey’s premiere: “As the fishing capital of the world, Fort Lauderdale is the perfect home for a film that celebrates marine life, conservation, and the legacy of one of the most iconic ocean artists of our time.”
The 40th anniversary festival (February 20-28) represents one of America’s longest-running film celebrations, founded in 1986 by the Broward County Film Society. Over four decades, FLIFF has hosted everyone from Audrey Hepburn to Matt Damon across venues including the historic Savor Cinema art house and Cinema Paradiso. The festival showcases 100-plus films annually, maintaining its reputation as a crucial test market for American independents and international cinema while operating year-round programming through its arthouse theaters.
Harvey’s journey mirrors the festival’s timeline almost exactly. They emerged together in the mid-1980s, when South Florida’s cultural infrastructure was finding its voice, and both survived the transition from analog to digital, from local to global. Each proved that regional institutions could achieve international impact through authenticity and relentless quality.
The Foundation’s Living Laboratory
While Harvey became famous for his art, the Guy Harvey Foundation and Research Institute conduct the science justifying conservation policy. Recent research demonstrates that a commercially harvested billfish generates $50-60 in value, while the same fish in recreational catch-and-release fisheries produces $2,000-plus in economic impact and can be caught repeatedly, creating both ecological sustainability and economic multiplier effects.
The Foundation’s current projects include monitoring Nassau grouper spawning aggregations in the Caribbean (among the last remaining), tracking shortfin mako sharks (classified as vulnerable to extinction), studying how juvenile bull sharks function as nutrient pumps between Everglades habitats, and maintaining the world’s longest-running wildlife interactive zone study at Stingray City in Grand Cayman.
Jessica Harvey, who leads the Foundation after years conducting fieldwork in the Cayman Islands Department of Environment, recently expanded educational reach through the Guy Harvey Conservation Education Program. The initiative provides free professional development in environmental STEAM education, turning participants into certified Guy Harvey Conservation Educators with grants and resources for classroom enhancement.
“It is our collective responsibility to preserve our marine environment and maintain the biodiversity of this planet,” Harvey states in the film. “But it takes cash to care.” His model proved that conservation could be self-sustaining if it connected emotionally with people who love the ocean, even if they never publish research papers.
Measuring Impact Beyond Gallery Walls
Harvey’s cultural penetration extends far beyond marine biology circles. His distinctive style appears on everything from Tervis tumblers (which donate $1 per product to the Foundation) to Norwegian Cruise Line partnerships to Florida Lottery scratch-off games funding marine science education. The Guy Harvey brand operates across the U.S., Caribbean, and Central America, with solar-powered manufacturing in El Salvador producing sustainable apparel that funds research.
International recognition followed: Panama’s Order of Vasco Núñez de Balboa Grand Officer (the nation’s highest honor for non-Panamanians), induction into the International Game Fish Association Hall of Fame, NOGI Award from the diving industry, Wyland ICON Award, and Artists for Conservation honors. He’s been inducted into fishing, scuba diving, and swimming halls of fame, a trifecta reflecting his multi-disciplinary approach.
The documentary captures this scope by filming Harvey in his natural habitats: underwater photographing subjects before painting them, aboard research vessels deploying satellite tags, visiting classrooms where teachers use his curriculum, and in his studio where scientific observation transforms into art that funds more science.
The Closing Night Convergence
Guy Harvey screens February 28 at 6:30 p.m. at Fort Lauderdale’s Museum of Discovery and Science, with tickets available through the FLIFF website. The post-screening Q&A and reception provide attendees access to filmmakers and potentially Harvey himself, offering rare insight into four decades of conservation work that rewrote the relationship between art, commerce, and environmental protection.
For Nanton, the film represents something larger than biography: a case study in how individual passion scales into movement. That movement includes the 2,000-plus teachers trained in marine science, the graduate students receiving Guy Harvey Fellowships through partnerships with Florida Sea Grant, the commercial fishermen adopting sustainable practices after seeing research funded by T-shirt sales, and the millions of people who wear Harvey’s art as a declaration of alliance with healthy oceans.
The documentary arrives as marine ecosystems face compounding threats: warming waters, overfishing, and accelerating habitat loss. Harvey’s model offers something conventional conservation often lacks: a bridge between scientific rigor and popular culture, between research journals and everyday life, between understanding marine ecology and actually caring enough to protect it.
When Harvey set up that booth at the Fort Lauderdale boat show in 1988, he was just trying to sell paintings. He created something more durable: proof that art could fund science, that commerce could serve conservation, and that one person’s obsession with accurately painting fish could help ensure those fish survive for future generations to see.
Event Details:
- Film: Guy Harvey (World Premiere)
- Date: Saturday, February 28, 2026
- Time: 6:30 p.m.
- Venue: Museum of Discovery and Science, Fort Lauderdale
- Festival: 40th Annual Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival
- Post-Screening: Q&A with cast and crew, followed by reception
- Tickets: Available at fliff.com
Written by: Junior Thanong Aiamkhophueng
Attribution: This article draws on information from an Astonish Entertainment press release; details on the Guy Harvey documentary directed by Nick Nanton; research and educational programs by the Guy Harvey Foundation and Guy Harvey Research Institute at Nova Southeastern University; Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival programming for the 40th anniversary celebration; and biographical information on Dr. Guy Harvey’s marine conservation work spanning Jamaica, the Cayman Islands, Panama, and Florida waters.
ABOUT THE ORGANIZATIONS
With a focused mission to better understand and conserve the ocean environment, the Guy Harvey Foundation (GHF) collaborates with local, national and international organizations to conduct scientific research and provides funding to affiliated researchers who share this objective The GHF also develops and hosts cutting-edge educational programs that help educators to foster the next era of marine conservationists, ensuring that future generations can enjoy and benefit from a properly balanced ocean ecosystem. www.GuyHarveyFoundation.org
Conservation Photography
North Atlantic Right Whale Entanglement Threatens Juvenile Named “Division”
A North Atlantic right whale sighted off Georgia with a serious entanglement is facing uncertain survival, experts say, highlighting the ongoing threats facing this critically endangered species.
An aerial survey team from Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) first sighted “Division” (Catalog #5217, named for his callosity pattern that looks like a division sign) entangled off Jekyll Island, Georgia, on Dec. 3. The 3-year-old male had fishing line wrapping his head and mouth cutting into this blowhole and embedded in his upper jaw. NOAA Fisheries biologists have categorized the case as a “serious injury.” Scientists in the Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life at the New England Aquarium assessed the impact of the entanglement on the whale’s health, and what they saw was concerning.
“Division’s entanglement is significant and life-threatening,” said Heather Pettis, Senior Scientist in the Aquarium’s Anderson Cabot Center. “There are multiple indicators that Division has been entangled for some time and that the entanglement has led to a worrisome decline in his overall health. Aggregations of whale lice on the head, body, and tail, a pronounced decline in body condition, and a section of remaining rope that is deeply embedded in the top of the whale’s head leave us very concerned for this whale’s welfare and survival.”
Trained responders from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, in collaboration with FWC and Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute, were able to remove some of the fishing gear from the whale. Further response efforts will depend on the whale’s condition, weather, and resightings, according to NOAA.
Division was born to mother “Silt” (Catalog #1817) in 2022 and has been regularly sighted in the waters of New England and the Gulf of St. Lawrence. He was last seen gear-free in July 2025 in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
North Atlantic right whales are one of the most endangered large whale species in the world, with an estimated population of about 380 and only 72 reproductive females. This case marks the first right whale entangled with attached gear detected in 2025. Despite a relatively quiet year for right whale injury detections, researchers have noted that the low number may not represent accurate levels of events being experienced by the population, and it will take more time to determine if this reduction is real. The late fall and winter are not uncommon months for new entanglements to be detected for this population.
“Last year, there were four detected entanglement events in December, and so sighting this whale in its current state, while incredibly disheartening, was not a complete surprise,” Pettis said. “We are grateful for the extraordinary efforts that went into trying to free this whale from the gear and hold out hope that Division can overcome the odds stacked against him.”
Entanglements and vessel strikes remain the leading causes of death and injury for North Atlantic right whales. From 1980 to the present, scientists have documented over 1,800 entanglement events involving over 85 percent of the right whale population. Serious injuries and deaths of right whales caused by entanglements are preventable and highlight the importance of broad-scale adoption of ropeless or “on-demand” gear and weaker ropes. Without adequate protection measures implemented throughout the right whale’s range in U.S. and Canadian waters, combined with significant funding support, entanglements and vessel strikes will continue to threaten the survival of the species.
ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION
The New England Aquarium is a nonprofit research and conservation organization that has protected and cared for our ocean and marine animals for more than 55 years. We provide science-based solutions and help shape policies that create measurable change to address threats the ocean faces. We inspire action through discovery and help create engaged, resilient communities.
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