Webinar Series
The National Marine Sanctuaries Webinar Series provides educators, students, and the interested public with educational and scientific expertise, resources and training to support ocean and climate literacy. This series generally targets formal and informal educators that are engaging students (elementary through college) in formal classroom settings, as well as members of the community in informal educational venues (e.g. after school programs, science centers, aquariums, etc.). However, the series is open to anyone interested in the topics listed below.
For distance learning programs about marine mammals and other protected species in the wild, please visit our Wildlife Viewing Guidelines and the NOAA Fisheries Office of Protected Resources' Marine Life Viewing Guidelines to ensure you are aware of the regulations.
Upcoming Webinars
Catch and Release: Large Whale Entanglement Response and the Science that Goes with it
August 7, 2024 at 2 pm Hawai`i / 5 pm Pacific / 7 pm Central / 8 pm Eastern
Ed Lyman, Large Whale Entanglement Response Coordinator, NOAA’s Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary
Join Ed Lyman, the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary’s Large Whale Entanglement Response Coordinator, to learn about the risks posed by entanglement threat to one of our large whale species – the humpback whale, and the authorized network response to free them and other whales from life-threatening entanglements. Ed has been responding to entangled large whales for 30 years and has been involved in over a hundred entanglement response efforts. The talk will focus on sanctuary and nearby waters that are the humpback whales’ principal breeding/calving grounds in the North Pacific. Discover how trained and experienced responders free 40-ton entangled whales using cutting-edge tools, techniques and technologies through some exciting imagery. While freeing a whale is beneficial and rewarding, it is the science associated with the effort, such as the use of telemetry, drones, AI image recognition, and photogrammetry, that facilitates the response and helps us better understand the threat as to reduce it in the future for whales and humans alike.
Teaching Hope: Blue Carbon and Climate Change
August 22, 2024 at 12 pm Hawa`i / 3 pm Pacific / 5 pm Central / 6 pm Eastern
Sara Hutto, Conservation and Climate Program Coordinator and Jennifer Stock, Education and Outreach Coordinator, Greater Farallones Association and Greater Farallones and Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuaries
Drought, fires, floods, bleaching corals...as impacts from our changing climate become increasingly publicized, and with climate anxiety on the rise among our youth, it's critical that educators bring messages of hope into their classrooms. In this webinar, you'll learn from a NOAA educator and scientist about the inspiring role the ocean plays in mitigating the climate crisis as a carbon sponge. You'll learn about the role of "blue" carbon - the species and habitats that absorb and store carbon in the ocean - and how NOAA is working to better understand and protect these vital resources. You'll also hear about the new Blue Carbon Education and Communication Toolkit, so you can bring these messages into your classroom (or wherever you interact with young people!). Please join us to explore messages of hope in a time of a changing climate.
Tracking The Honda’s Hammers: Great Hammerhead Shark Recreational Fishery Interactions and Migratory Patterns in Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary
October 2, 2024 at 12 pm Hawaii / 3 pm Pacific / 5 pm Central / 6 pm Eastern
Dr. Grace Casselberry, Former Dr. Nancy Foster Scholar
Great hammerhead sharks (Sphyrna mokarran) are arguably one of the most iconic shark species to call Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary home and are globally classified as Critically Endangered by the IUCN Red List. Despite this, we know very little about what habitats are important to hammerheads while in the Keys and where they may go when they leave. Increasingly, recreational anglers are reporting interactions with great hammerhead sharks eating their hooked fish, an interaction called depredation, especially in the Atlantic tarpon (Megalops atlanticus) fishery in Bahia Honda. Rising tensions surrounding shark-angler interactions make understanding shark depredation and the spatial ecology of great hammerheads in the Florida Keys increasingly important to ensure continued viability of the tarpon fishery and shark conservation success. Join Dr. Grace Casselberry to learn how she used acoustic telemetry to explore the secret lives of The Honda’s Hammers.