We protect the wildlife, habitats, and cultural resources of one of the most diverse and bountiful marine environments in the world, an area of 3,295 square miles off the northern and central California coast. The waters within Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary are a nationally significant marine ecosystem, and support an abundance of life, including many threatened and endangered species.
With one-third of the Climate Adaptation Plan's strategies focusing on better understanding and managing sediment along the coast as an effective tool for increasing climate resilience, the Sanctuary developed the Coastal Resilience Sediment Plan, a comprehensive and collaborative approach to climate-informed sediment management along the North-central California coast.
The Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary seeks applicants for three Advisory Council positions in Conservation and Youth seats. The council advises the sanctuary on priority issues and connects local communities with the sanctuary, while providing opportunities for information exchange on issues affecting the health of the sanctuary. Members represent a variety of interests, from fishing to science to conservation. Learn more and apply.
October 2018 marked 25 years of data collection through the Beach Watch project. Beach Watch is the National Ocean Service flagship citizen-science program, which documents live and dead birds and mammals, human activities and oil pollution along our coast. With sanctuary biologists, over 150 specially trained volunteer surveyors, monitor sanctuary beaches every two weeks. Watch this award winning video to learn more (16th Annual San Francisco International Ocean Film Festival, 2019 Citizen Science Award).
Bolinas Lagoon is an internationally recognized tidal estuary with complex habitat types that support a myraid of plant, bird, terrestrial, and marine species. Just 15 miles north of San Francisco, the Lagoon faces current and future environmental challenges from flooding, erosion, and sea level rise, that threaten its surrounding natural and built environments. Learn more about how Greater Farallones and GFA are working together to help this important ecosystem adapt to these changes so that people, plants, and animals can continue to enjoy the beautiful landscape of Bolinas Lagoon.
Beach Watch is the National Ocean Service flagship citizen science program, developed in 1993 to document changes along the California coast. With sanctuary biologists, hundreds of specially trained members of the community conduct surveys to monitor the sanctuary shoreline.
Beach Watch is recruiting volunteers to monitor southern Sonoma and San Mateo beaches. Click here for more information.
As the winds slow or reverse direction in the fall, the ocean 'relaxes,' upwelling ceases, and warm surface waters shift back toward the coast. Larval fish and invertebrates are swept inshore to settle and grow. Seabird rookeries fall quiet as the last chicks fledge. The water becomes clearer, inviting white sharks to delectable seal meals.
Artist Andrea Fischer explored the five West Coast national marine sanctuaries this past summer and created a unique painting for each.
Deep-sea corals and sponges are some of the oldest animals on Earth, living for hundreds of years at depths that defy direct human observation. Coral, sponge, and fish communities thrive in the cold, deep waters off California's coast, but are rarely – if ever – visited or studied.
The ocean takes care of us; let's return the favor. Visit Thank You Ocean.
The Greater Farallones Association (GFA) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to protect the Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary habitats and wildlife through the development of a diverse community of informed and active ocean stewards.
Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary