Connecting You to America's Ocean and Great Lakes Treasures

National Marine Sanctuaries Webinar Series

Seaside Chats

Successful Partnerships: How to Remove 1,700 Pounds of Marine Debris from the Twilight Zone

February 18, 2026

2:30 pm Hawaii | 4:30 pm Pacific | 6:30 pm Central | 7:30 pm Eastern

From June 27–July 2, 2025, an unlikely group of partners came together to remove over 1,700 pounds of debris (including 18 ghost nets and three trawling sledges) from Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary. Staff from NOAA, the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, Moody Gardens, Georgia Aquarium, T&T Salvage LLC, and Anchor Diving joined forces and expertise aboard a Bordelon Marine vessel to conduct this unique operation. Commercial divers were employed to complete the necessary underwater tasks, using specialized equipment to reach the seafloor, and breathing a gas mix that allows them to dive deeper than recreational depths.

Join us for a journey into the heavy lift of commercial diving in a national marine sanctuary, and learn about additional projects underway to support the health of the ocean for future generations.

Seaside Chats is an annual speaker series about ocean science and conservation topics associated with Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary. These presentations take place on Wednesday evenings in February, from 6:30-7:30 p.m. (Central Time).

The National Marine Sanctuaries Webinar Series provides formal and informal educators, students, and the interested public with educational and scientific expertise, resources, and training to support ocean literacy in the classroom. You can also visit the archives of the webinar series to catch up on presentations you may have missed here.

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. The Webinar ID is 594-603-979.