ACCESS Oceans

Successful start to the 22nd season of ACCESS! The 76th cruise of Applied California Current Ecosystem Studies has wrapped up aboard the Bell M. Shimada. For two weeks, sanctuary scientists worked alongside partners from Point Blue Conservation Science and Greater Farallones Association to collect ecosystem data throughout Greater Farallones, Cordell Bank, and Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuaries. ACCESS data help assess whale entanglement and ship strike risk, identify important seabird foraging hotspots, evaluate management measures, & monitor ecosystem health. The program also partners with UC Davis and MBARI to investigate ocean acidification and environmental DNA (eDNA). For only the second time since 2005, the ACCESS team sampled the northernmost portion of Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary. The region was alive with wildlife: seabirds, humpback whales, Dall’s porpoise, harbor porpoise, and superpods of northern right whale dolphins and Pacific white-sided dolphins. The team also encountered storm-petrels, albatross, and two pods of killer whales. One pod was actively foraging on fish and may have included an endangered population of killer whales for which these sanctuaries provide critical habitat. Most net tows contained lots of krill, an encouraging indicator of a productive and healthy ecosystem. After 22 seasons, ACCESS continues to provide the long-term data needed to understand a changing ocean and support the protection of some of the most biologically rich waters on the West Coast. @ACCESS_Oceans @pointblue_conservationscience @farallonescordellnms @noaasanctuaries @farallonesnews #ILoveMySanctuary #TheMoreYouNOAA 📷For the love of science! Photo: NOAA/Point Blue/ACCESS, L.Krigsman 📷Data recording. Photo: NOAA/Point Blue/ACCESS, J.Roletto 📷Humpback whale calf, breaching. Photo: NOAA/Point Blue/ACCESS, J.Roletto 📷Night time Tucker trawl. Photo: NOAA/Point Blue/ACCESS, H.Jariwala 📷Laysan albatross. Photo: NOAA/Point Blue/ACCESS, J.Roletto 📷Northern fulmar. Photo: NOAA/Point Blue/ACCESS, J.Roletto 📷Humpback whale & Pacific white sided dolphins. Photo: NOAA/Point Blue/ACCESS, R.Wallen 📷Final group shot (minus photographer) LK

So small. So cute. So many legs. This tiny octopus was spotted during a nighttime Tucker trawl. It was simply too adorable not to share with all of you. Some fun facts about our tiny ship visitor: * Female octopuses lay eggs in a benthic den, carefully tending to them throughout their incubation period. * Once hatched, baby octopuses drift as part of the plankton community. * Of the thousands of eggs laid, only a small percentage survive. But those that do return to the seafloor or the kelp beds to grow into some of the ocean’s most intelligent and remarkably adaptable predators. @ACCESS_Oceans @pointblue_conservationscience @farallonescordellnms @noaasanctuaries @farallonesnews #ILoveMySanctuary #TheMoreYouNOAA 📷Larval Octopus Photo credits: NOAA/Point Blue/ACCESS, L. Krigsman

A Tale of a Sail Velella velella, also known as By-the-Wind Sailor, are important clues about changing ocean conditions in our region. In years with good to average upwelling, we may see some by-the-wind sailors offshore. During poor upwelling or warmer-water years, however, they can become especially abundant in our samples and observations. And on this cruise… we have seen SO many by-the-wind sailors! By-the-Wind Sailors are floating colonies of carnivorous polyps related to jellies. When offshore colonies are ready to reproduce, they produce tiny jellyfish-like buds that sink into deeper waters and release larvae. Those larvae eventually return to the surface and grow into the sail-bearing colonies we see drifting across the ocean. Their small S-shaped sails catch the prevailing northwest upwelling winds, and when conditions align, large numbers can drift into the sanctuaries and wash ashore on local beaches. While they do not sting as strongly as jellies, it’s still best not to touch them. Accidentally rubbing your lips or eyes before washing your hands may cause irritation. Curious dogs that eat too many may also get sick and vomit up their beach-found treasures. While your dog should avoid these abundant animals, there is one fish out there having the time of its life right now: the ocean sunfish (Mola mola), which is busy slurping up these gelatinous delicacies all along the California coast. Have you seen high numbers of by-the-wind sailors at a beach near you? Drop us a note in the comments and let us know where! @ACCESS_Oceans @pointblue_conservationscience @farallonescordellnms @noaasanctuaries @farallonesnews #ILoveMySanctuary #TheMoreYouNOAA 📷By-the-Wind Sailor (and small octopus) captured from the Tucker trawl Photo credits: NOAA/Point Blue/ACCESS, L. Krigsman 📷Millions of by-the-wind sailors (and dolphins, by the hundreds) seen off the side of the R/V Shimada Photo credits: NOAA/Point Blue/ACCESS, L. Krigsman 📷SO MANY By-the-Wind Sailors! Photo credits: NOAA/Point Blue/ACCESS, R. Pound 📷Hungry mola slurping up by-the-wind sailors Photo credits: NOAA/Point Blue/ACCESS, J. Roletto 📷Beachwatch PtReyesBeach Photo credits: NOAA/Point Blue/ACCESS,

Why are the waves so purple? Doliolids are a tiny gelatinous zooplankton, related to tunicates (which are also the closest invertebrate related to humans). They have a purple-blue hue and often appear in our ACCESS net tows during warmer-water periods offshore, before upwelling winds transport them closer to shore. We are currently seeing pulses of upwelling throughout the region from Point Arena to Pescadero, so the presence of doliolids may signal warmer waters occurring offshore. They move with a jumpy swimming pattern that may help them evade predators such as Sapphirina copepods, which can bore through their outer surface and feed on their internal organs. Nature can be brutal. @ACCESS_Oceans @pointblue_conservationscience @farallonescordellnms @noaasanctuaries @farallonesnews #ILoveMySanctuary #TheMoreYouNOAA 📷Purple doliolid captured from the Tucker trawl Photo credits: NOAA/Point Blue/ACCESS, L. Krigsman 📷 Purple doliolid captured from the Tucker trawl Photo credits: NOAA/Point Blue/ACCESS, L. Krigsman 📷 Sapphirina captured from the Tucker trawl Photo credits: NOAA/Point Blue/ACCESS, L. Krigsman 📷 Sapphirina captured from the Tucker trawl Photo credits: NOAA/Point Blue/ACCESS, J. Janhncke

A fun surprise! We don’t normally encounter Pacific white-sided dolphins or northern right whale dolphins during our ACCESS cruises, but they truly put on a show for us this trip. Over several days, we observed both species feeding and bow riding — even in Beaufort 6 winds! For those unfamiliar with this wind scale, Force 6 is a strong breeze, with speeds between 22–27 knots (25–31 mph, 39–49 km/h). On land this would make large branches move or make it hard to use an umbrella. While at sea it produces large waves around 9 to 13 ft in height. Finding mammals in these conditions can be a challenge, especially with extensive white foam crests. On one calm day, with gentle swells and light winds, we encountered more than 2,000 individuals! In the Gulf of the Farallones and Cordell Bank regions, these fast-moving dolphins migrate both nearshore and offshore throughout the year, making sightings like these especially memorable. We were incredibly lucky to catch them this season. @ACCESS_Oceans @pointblue_conservationscience @farallonescordellnms @noaasanctuaries @farallonesnews #ILoveMySanctuary #TheMoreYouNOAA 📷 Northern right whale dolphins playing by the ship Photo credits: NOAA/Point Blue/ACCESS, H. Jariwala 📷 One of many Pacific white-sided dolphins swimming by the ship Photo credits: NOAA/Point Blue/ACCESS, H. Jariwala 📷 Not a reflection, that is two (of MANY), Pacific white-sided dolphins racing the Shimada Photo credits: NOAA/Point Blue/ACCESS, L. Krigsman

What can a scoop of seawater reveal? eDNA stands for Environmental DNA, and is helping scientists move toward a future of non-fishing ocean sampling. Tiny traces left behind in the water — like skin cells, mucus, scales, and waste — can help identify what animals were recently in the area, even if they’re nowhere in sight. The current state-of-the-art using eDNA, only tells us about presence or absence of wildlife in the water. We still need net sampling and visual observations to determine the numbers of each species in order to assess if species are trending upwards or downwards. On this cruise, Hemali (NOAA Volunteer) and Maggie (Point Blue Intern) are processing water samples collected from the Niskin bottles on the CTD. The samples are run through special filters that capture microscopic particles, which will later be analyzed at MBARI for evidence of eDNA. Scientists then compare the results against known voucher species in a national database to help identify the organisms present in the ecosystem. Every drop of seawater has a story to tell! What ocean animal would you hope to detect using eDNA? Let us know in the comments below. @ACCESS_Oceans @pointblue_conservationscience @farallonescordellnms @noaasanctuaries @farallonesnews #ILoveMySanctuary #TheMoreYouNOAA 📷 Flying Bridge view of the CTD Photo credit: NOAA/Point Blue/ACCESS, K. DeForest 📷 Water samples for eDNA taken from the CTD Photo credit: NOAA/Point Blue/ACCESS, R. Wallen 📷 Water samples being processed in the wet lab for eDNA Photo credits: NOAA/Point Blue/ACCESS, R. Pound

Birds Running Sooty shearwaters have been the most abundant birds we’ve spotted during this cruise! Like northern fulmars and many other tube-nosed seabirds, they must run into the wind to take off. Once airborne, they skillfully use updrafts from ocean winds and swells to glide effortlessly across the sea. Sooty shearwaters are incredible travelers breed in the Southern Hemisphere before making an epic journey across the Pacific to forage in the California Current and our national marine sanctuaries. Northern fulmars, on the other hand, breed on islands in the high Arctic and Bering Sea — another remarkable seabird adapted to soaring above the open ocean. Share your favorite bird pun in the comments below! Here’s one to get you started: “Is your tube-nosed running?” @ACCESS_Oceans @pointblue_conservationscience @farallonescordellnms @noaasanctuaries @farallonesnews #ILoveMySanctuary #TheMoreYouNOAA 📷 White northern fulmar taking off with a few Velella for company Photo credit: NOAA/Point Blue/ACCESS, J. Roletto 📷 Sooty shearwater ready and running for take-off Photo credit: NOAA/Point Blue/ACCESS, J. Roletto 📷 Sooty shearwater - ready! Photo credit: NOAA/Point Blue/ACCESS, J. Roletto 📷 Sooty shearwater - set! Photo credit: NOAA/Point Blue/ACCESS, J. Roletto 📷 Sooty shearwater - off and running and ready to go! Photo credit: NOAA/Point Blue/ACCESS, J. Roletto

Plankton and Fishes, and Krill Oh My! Fun things, big and small, come from the ocean! During daytime and nighttime Tucker trawls, we get to see all kinds of marine life drifting beneath the surface. Here are just a few highlights of the animals we’ve encountered so far: medusa fish, pteropods, krill, doliolids, shrimp, rockfish, flatfish, squid, and more! @ACCESS_Oceans @pointblue_conservationscience @farallonescordellnms @noaasanctuaries @farallonesnews #ILoveMySanctuary #TheMoreYouNOAA 📷 A glimpse of krill, copepods, shrimp, squid, and fish that come out of a Tucker trawl. Photo credit: NOAA/Point Blue/ACCESS, L. Krigsman

Science doesn’t sleep—and neither do the scientists aboard the R/V Shimada. On the ACCESS Ocean expedition, teams work around the clock to understand life in the California Current. By day, they track seabirds and marine mammals while collecting ocean data and sampling the water column. By night, the work continues with specialized net tows that reveal what’s happening beneath the surface after dark. Why does this matter? Because the ocean is constantly changing—and understanding those changes helps protect marine ecosystems, fisheries, and the health of our planet. From sunrise to midnight, every sample and observation brings us closer to seeing the full picture, one Tucker trawl and CTD cast at a time @ACCESS_Oceans @pointblue_conservationscience @farallonescordellnms @noaasanctuaries @farallonesnews #ILoveMySanctuary #TheMoreYouNOAA 📷- Shimada crew deploy the CTD for nighttime sampling of water temperature and environmental DNA. Photo credit: NOAA/Point Blue/ACCESS, L. Krigsman 📷 SFSU graduate student and nighttime science deck lead, Laila SanAhmadi, shows us her catch from the nighttime Tucker trawl. The cod end is overflowing with krill! Photo credit: NOAA/Point Blue/ACCESS, L. Krigsman 📷 Graduate students, Amanda Nolen and Allie Johannsen, begin to process the phytoplankton samples. At the end of the cruise, these samples will be shipped to the state’s Department of Public Health Services to detect if there is the presence of diatoms that produce domoic acid poisoning or paralytic shellfish poisoning. NOAA/Point Blue/ACCESS, J. Howar 📷 Observers from NOAA/Pt. Blue Conservation Science/Greater Farallones Association look for and count birds, mammals, and vessels for 10-12 hours per day Photo credit: NOAA/Point Blue/ACCESS, L. Krigsman 📷 Tucker Trawls happen day and night. Laila SanAhmadi and Lisa Krigsman will be up for a while, prepping that very full net! Photo credit: NOAA/Point Blue/ACCESS, H. Jariwala 📷 A glimpse of krill and copepods that come out of a Tucker Trawl. Photo credit: NOAA/Point Blue/ACCESS, L. Krigsman 📷 Ship side operations, Hoop net and CTD. Photo credit: NOAA/Point Blue/ACCESS, J. Howar

Here we go again! The 76th ACCESS research cruise is officially underway off the California Current. Our team of scientists from Greater Farallones and Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuaries, along with Point Blue Conservation Science, has set sail aboard the NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada. Over the next two weeks, we’ll be sharing life at sea—from seabirds soaring overhead to whales, krill, and everything in between. Follow along here and on Facebook (ACCESS Oceans) for a behind-the-scenes look at the science in action. @ACCESS_Oceans @pointblue_conservationscience @farallonescordellnms (this is the new one!)  @noaasanctuaries (NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries) @farallonesnews #ILoveMySanctuary #TheMoreYouNOAA Photo Credit: NOAA/Point Blue/ACCESS, J. Jahncke Photo Credit: NOAA/Point Blue/ACCESS, J. Roletto

This week we completed our 75th ACCESS research cruise — a big milestone for Greater Farallones & Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuaries and our partners at Point Blue. Since 2004, we’ve been out at sea over 420 days, sampling 25,000+ km of ocean to better understand the health of our waters and the animals that depend on them. 🔹 2025 in a snapshot: June & July brought abundant krill, schooling fish, seabirds, and whales along the shelf break. September revealed signs of an offshore marine heat wave, with warm-water krill species and fewer krill-eating birds and whales. Observations of krill-dependent species like Cassin’s auklets and blue whales were below average. Most of the humpback whales seen throughout 2025 were across the shelf and nearshore, feeding on schooling fish. Their nearshore distribution placed them directly in shipping lanes, making them more vulnerable to collisions with ships. Our science helps sanctuary managers protect whales, reduce entanglement risks, and track how a changing ocean shapes this sanctuary ecosystem. 💙 Gratitude to all our partners, scientists, and volunteers who make ACCESS research possible. A very special thank you to Captain @Ryan Shamburger and First Mate @Kaelyn DeYoung of the R/V Fulmar — your steady hands, skill, and good humor made every cruise safer and brighter. We couldn’t do this without you! Here’s to building on 20+ years of ACCESS science as we head into 2026! 📸 An immature humpback whale, breaches near the shipping lanes, just west of San Francisco, CA. Photo credit: NOAA/Point Blue/ACCESS, K. DeYoung 📸Middle Farallon Island is often a safe haul-out location for sea lions and cormorants. Photo credit: NOAA/Point Blue/ACCESS, D. Devlin 📸ACCESS scientists prepare the Tucker trawl net, which will capture zooplankton at three different depths. Photo credit: NOAA/Point Blue/ACCESS, D. Devlin 📸 Krill sample with Pyrosomes captured in net. Photo credit: NOAA/Point Blue/ACCESS, D. Devlin 📸 Humpback whale fluke slap. See you next season friends! Photo credit: NOAA/Point Blue/ACCESS, D. Devlin 📽️ Frolicking Humpback Whales. Video: NOAA/Point Blue/ACCESS, J. Jahncke

ACCESS scientists are seeing signs of the offshore marine heat wave in our waters. At our western stations, beyond 400 meters depth, we’re finding warm-water krill species like Nematoscelis difficilis along with salps—species more typical of equatorial waters than California’s upwelling coast. This shift in the food web may help explain why we’re seeing fewer baleen whales than usual. The humpbacks we counted were closer to shore, feeding on fish instead of krill. Along Line 4 today, we found very little krill overall, but plenty of gelatinous plankton like jellies and ctenophores. We had notable observations of a few red phallaropes, cassin’s auklets, rhinocerous auklets, a couple pink pink-footed shearwaters, and a Buller’s shearwater.  Off effort, we had a couple of South Polar skuas.  Throughout the day, we saw numerous Aurelia jellyfish (moon jellies). 📸Warm water krill, Nematoscelis difficilis, found at our western Tucker trawl station. NOAA/Point Blue/ACCESS, J. Jahncke   📸 ACCESS scientists prepare the Tucker trawl to be launched 30 miles west of Marin County. This net is designed to capture zooplankton at three different depths. NOAA/Point Blue/ACCESS, D. Devlin   📸 ACCESS scientists prepare the Tucker trawl to be launched 30 miles west of Marin County. This net is designed to capture zooplankton at three different depths. NOAA/Point Blue/ACCESS, D. Devlin 📸 Point Blue interns, Lala Movsesian and Amanda Nolan, are on board at sunrise, in preparation for net sampling this morning. NOAA/Point Blue/ACCESS, D. Devlin #@ACCESS_Oceans   @pointblueconservationscience #EarthIsBlue @farallonesnews #ILoveMySanctuary #TheMoreYouNOAA  @GreaterFarallones @CordellBank #noaasanctuaries