Science Reports and Documents | Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary

This page contains links to sanctuary reports that summarize our scientific research and monitoring efforts. A more comprehensive listing of scientific publications and articles associated with sanctuary research, is available on our Research Publications page.

Publications dated prior to January 20, 2025 were drafted, fully executed, and published prior to the issuance of Executive Order 14172, "Restoring Names That Honor American Greatness." Any new content produced by NOAA will reference the "Gulf of America."

Annual Research Reports

The purpose of these reports is to document the activities of the Flower Garden Banks Research Team during each fiscal year (October 1st to September 30th).

A mustard colored brain coral with several Christmas tree worms protruding from the surface

2023 Research Report

Photo: Tiffany Crumbley

Diver using a syringe to collect a mucus sample from a brain coral

2022 Research Report

2021 Research Report

2020 Research Report

Impact Reports

These reports provide a summary of pressures on sanctuary resources and the potential impacts of those pressures.

A yellow and purple fish swims past giant corals on the reef

Condition Report 2009-2021

(2024)

A derelict fishing net covered in marine growth lies draped across deep reef habitat

Marine Debris on Reefs and Banks in the Vicinity of Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary

(ONMS-23-02)

Strategy for Stony Coral tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD) Prevention and Response at Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary (ONMS-21-06)
- A plan to for research, prevention, education, preparedness, early warning, response, and intervention strategies for coping with SCTLD in the sanctuary, should it ever occur.

Increasing coral calcification in Orbicella faveolata and Pseudodiploria strigosa at Flower Garden Banks (2021)
- Climate monitoring data and coral cores show that two key coral species in the sanctuary have increased calcification in the past 45 to 57 years, indicating that these corals have actually benefited from warming ocean temperatures over the last few decades..

Biological Considerations of the Effects of Spearfishing
- A summary of research regarding the impacts of spearfishing on biological communities.

Long-Term Monitoring Reports: East and West Flower Garden Banks

These reports summarize fish and benthic community observations and water quality data collected from East Flower Garden Bank and West Flower Garden Bank long-term monitoring study sites. The annual long-term monitoring program began in 1989 and is funded by NOAA’s Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, with support from the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation.

For long-term monitoring reports prior to 2011, please visit the BOEM website.

A white and yellow butterflyfish with a black dorsal fin and elongated snout swims between corals

Long-term Monitoring at East and West Flower Garden Banks: 2023 Annual Report

(ONMS-25-01)

Close up view of a dark grey angelfish with yellow edges on its body scales, and a pale gray face.

Long-term Monitoring at East and West Flower Garden Banks: 2022 Annual Report

(ONMS-24-06)

Loggerhead sea turtle swims over the coral reef at West Flower Garden Bank

Long-term Monitoring at East and West Flower Garden Banks: 2020 and 2021 Annual Report

(ONMS-22-01)

National Coral Reef Monitoring Program FGBNMS 2020 Status Report (part of a series of reports on the status and trends of U.S. coral reefs)

Long-term Monitoring at East and West Flower Garden Banks: 2019 Annual Report (ONMS-21-02)

Long-Term Monitoring Reports: Stetson Bank

Stetson Bank is an uplifted claystone/siltstone feature located within Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, which supports a diverse benthic community of sponges and coral. Annual monitoring of the bank crest has been conducted since 1993. Surveys of the mesophotic zone surrounding the bank crest were added in 2015.