Monterey Bay Aquarium

Siphonophores are champions of community collaboration. 🤝🏆

While they look like a single animal, these delicate, gelatinous creatures are actually a colony of individual animals called zooids. Each connected zooid has a specialized role—in swimming, feeding, or reproducing—that’s essential to the survival of all. From the orb-like swimming nectophores to the bright orange stinging tentacles, together, they accomplish an incredible daily feat. Every night, siphonophores migrate thousands of feet to the surface to eat before returning to the safety of the depths by day.

Proof that collaboration isn’t just powerful—it’s essential for thriving in a challenging world. There’s wonder in ocean life, and caring for it helps us all. 💙

5 days ago | [YT] | 722

Monterey Bay Aquarium

Everything we love can thrive if we work together on climate! If you’re local to the Monterey Bay area, check out these organizations that are engaged in climate action to get involved. For more ways to organize as a community, head to our website: mbayaq.co/4pF5LCs.

1️⃣ Regeneración Pajaro Valley
2️⃣ Communities for a Sustainable Monterey County
3️⃣ Watsonville Wetlands Watch
4️⃣ Monterey Bay Climate Justice Collaborative
5️⃣ Central Coast Climate Collaborative (C4)
6️⃣ MILPA Collective
7️⃣ Puentes

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1 week ago | [YT] | 831

Monterey Bay Aquarium

Happy World Fisheries Day—a time to celebrate all the ocean and fish that sustain us! Want to learn more about sustainable seafood? 🐟🦦

Then you otter meet Talley! As the outreach partnership lead at Seafood Watch, she’s responsible for collaborating with restaurants, zoos, and aquariums, in an effort to share the Aquarium’s mission of choosing sustainable seafood. And why are we talking about sustainable seafood inside an Aquarium? Because people and animals depend on this important global food source.

Join us for a day in Talley’s life, and follow along as she hangs out in the kitchen of the Aquarium, meets with chefs, checks in on the otters, and encourages the practice of sustainable fishing methods.

Choosing sustainable seafood protects the ocean and people who rely on it.

Learn more about Seafood Watch: mbayaq.co/4rgQcmf

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 70

Monterey Bay Aquarium

ES: Inteligente, hermoso y capaz de sorprender. El pulpo gigante del Pacífico usa el camuflaje, la propulsión a chorro y ocho brazos para cazar con precisión. Estos expertos en mariscos necesitan un océano saludable, ¡y nosotros también! 🐙

Elegir productos marinos sustentables ayuda a proteger el océano y a las personas que dependen de él.

EN: Brainy, beautiful, and built for surprise! The giant Pacific octopus uses camouflage, jet propulsion, and eight gripping arms to hunt with skill. These seafood connoisseurs need a healthy ocean–and so do we! 🐙

Choosing sustainable seafood protects the ocean and people who depend on it.

3 weeks ago | [YT] | 14

Monterey Bay Aquarium

A smack of jellies. A squadron of pelicans. A raft of otters. A galaxy of sea stars.

No matter your favorite collective noun, these groups of animals are a force to be reckoned with when they come together—a simple reminder of the beauty that blooms in community and the strength that grows in unity.

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3 weeks ago | [YT] | 1,156

Monterey Bay Aquarium

🌊📖 Let us tell you a hopeful tail of ocean conservation that did prevail.

✨ Once upon a tide, marine mammals like whales 🐋, otters 🦦, and seals 🦭 grew scarce. For centuries, people lived alongside them, but as demand for fur and oil rose, hunting expanded, and many ocean species declined.

🦸 In 1972, the Marine Mammal Protection Act came to the rescue.
It declared: no hunting, harassing, capturing, or selling of marine mammals in U.S. waters (except for carefully permitted scientific research to help protect them). It also made it illegal to import marine mammals and marine mammal products into the U.S. without a permit. In short, it asked humans to be kind to oceankind. 💙

This Act was one of the first to protect all marine mammals, and it’s still protecting them today. Thanks to it, the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary is a safe home for over 36 species of marine mammals, and we have seen populations recover from near-extinction (we’re looking at you, southern sea otters!).

So next time you spot a whale spout or a snoozing sea otter, thank the MMPA, and remember:
🐋 Stay at least 50 yards away (100 yards for whales)
🛥️ Slow down near kelp beds
🚫 Don’t surround or chase wildlife
📞 Report animals in distress

Because a healthy ocean story needs every character to thrive. 💫

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1 month ago | [YT] | 907

Monterey Bay Aquarium

🪼Happy World Jellyfish Day!

These brainless, boneless, and bloodless beauties play an important role in our ocean ecosystems.

We have a unique example right here in Monterey Bay:

Pacific leatherback sea turtles migrate across the Pacific Ocean all the way from Indonesia to feed on our local sea nettles.

There’s wonder in ocean life and caring for it helps us all. Our actions have ripple effects for the food web all the way across the ocean and beyond!

On this special day, we’re celebrating the jellies you can see on exhibit here at Monterey Bay Aquarium. Which one is your favorite? 💙

1 month ago | [YT] | 180

Monterey Bay Aquarium

We recently hosted our Educator Open House. This special after-hours event celebrated local teachers, educators, and administrators with fun activities, delicious food, and the opportunity to connect with colleagues and resources in their communities. Participants also slept over at the Aquarium and enjoyed the exhibits at their own pace.

Here’s what some of the educators had to say:

💙 “It was so much fun and very lovely to get to share the event with other educators! Getting to explore the Aquarium in the evening was such a peaceful experience.”

💙 “I felt very loved and celebrated. I felt like my only job was to receive the joy that was being poured over me and that happens so rarely in education. Thank you!!”

💙 “I felt that this was for me, as a person who desperately needed to nurture myself.”

💙 “It was super fun and made me feel really happy even though I had been feeling super burned out and discouraged with work lately. It gave me something to look forward to… I felt appreciated and celebrated and special.”

We’re dedicated to inspiring the next generation of ocean stewards, and that starts with educators and mentors. Learn more about educator development at the Aquarium: mbayaq.co/3L85h8Y

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1 month ago | [YT] | 385

Monterey Bay Aquarium

🌊 Before National Seafood Month swims away, join us for one last deep dive on LinkedIn Live! 🐟

Join us on Thursday, Oct. 30 at 9 a.m. PT for a conversation with Jenn Dianto Kemmerly, our VP of global ocean conservation.

For 14+ years, Jenn has been making waves at the Monterey Bay Aquarium—shaping the seafood sustainability movement and leading our Seafood Watch and Global Ocean Conservation teams. 🌎💙

We’ll chat about her journey connecting science, policy, and communities, and her inspiring vision for a more sustainable seafood future—from local shores to global waters. 🌍✨

👉 Save your spot and join the conversation at mbayaq.co/Jenn

1 month ago | [YT] | 386

Monterey Bay Aquarium

👻 G-g-ghost? Nope, s-s-snailfish! 🤍

Meet the mesmerizing new addition to our Into the Deep/En lo Profundo exhibit, rough snailfish! These ethereal charmers live in the benthic zone, a scientific term for the seafloor.

They use frilly fins on their chins to feel for prey like small crustaceans. 🦀 So don’t worry if you see a snailfish wriggling in place on exhibit—they’re just snacking or resting on the rocks like they would in their benthic home! 🖤

Fall’s the perfect time to cozy up to snailfish and other wondrous deep-sea animals. 🍂 Plan your visit to our Into the Deep/En lo Profundo exhibit: mbayaq.co/4oxW9Jl

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