TEXAS GULF TREASURES - DIVING THE FLOWER GARDENS BANKS NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARY
TEXAS GEMS - FLOWER GARDEN BANKS NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARY
Site Description
Flower Garden Banks was designated as a National Sanctuary on January 17, 1992; Stetson Bank was added in October, 1996. It ia located approximately 110 miles south of the Texas / Louisiana border, the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary includes three banks: East Flower Garden, West Flower Garden, and Stetson. The Banks are perched atop salt domes rising above the ocean floor. The Flower Garden Banks harbor the northernmost coral reefs in the United States. Although not as biologically diverse as most tropical reefs, they are regional reservoirs of shallow-water Caribbean reef fishes and invertebrates in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Stetson Bank, 30 miles closer to shore, is a clay/siltstone bank dominated by sponges and fire coral. It supports an extraordinary fish community but is not a coral reef. Increased existing and potential impacts from anchor damage, oil and gas exploration / production /transportation, over fishing, and souvenir collecting prompted protection of the three banks.
Area of Influence:
The sanctuary is influenced by currents flowing around the Yucatan peninsula and northward along the coasts of Mexico and Texas. The area is also affected by eddies originating from the loop current in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. Although two-thirds of the United States drains into the Gulf of Mexico, negative impacts from major river systems such as the Mississippi and the Rio Grande have so far not been observed, probably because of the sanctuary's distance from the shore. Ecological and Cultural Characteristics
Habitat Type:
Flower Garden Banks - pelagic zone, coral reef (high diversity and low diversity zones), coral line algae, algae-sponge, brine seep chemosynthetic community (East Bank only), drowned reefs, sand bottom.
Stetson Bank - pelagic zone, clay/siltstone bedrock, fire coral/sponge community, scattered coral colonies.
Rare/Endangered Species:
The species best known to the sanctuary are the loggerhead sea turtles, the leatherback sea turtles, and the hawksbill sea turtles.
Breeding/Nursery Area:
All banks are breeding and nursery areas for many tropical reef fish species.
Recent research indicates that the Flower Gardens may also serve as a nursery area for juvenile manta rays.
Forage Area:
All three banks are thought to support a balance of trophic levels among reef fish species; larger species foraging in the area include manta rays, sea turtles (primarily loggerhead), and several species of sharks (including occasional whale sharks).
Migratory Species:
Hammerhead sharks - winter (Jan. - April) Spotted eagle rays - spring Adult Manta Rays - seen more frequently in winter months Sea turtle Geomorphic Features:
Salt domes (diapirs - all banks) Brine seep (East Flower Garden Bank) Coral reefs (East & West Flower Garden banks) Ecosystem Function:
Serves as a biological reservoir of Caribbean species in the northern Gulf of Mexico.
Uniqueness of Natural Community:
Average 50% coral cover at Flower Garden Banks More than 21 species of coral 175 species of fish More than 250 species of macro-invertebrates More than 80 species of algae
Although species diversity is less than that of most Caribbean coral reefs, the ecology of the Flower Garden Banks and Stetson Bank are considered to be well-balanced in terms of the structural and functional elements, which include critical trophic levels and species interaction. Archaeological and Cultural Significance:
The sanctuary does not include any known archaeological sites The Flower Gardens were discovered and named in the early 1900s by snapper fishermen. They pulled up bits of brightly colored sponges, corals and algae that snagged on their lines, which were responsible for the name Flower Gardens.
Flower Garden Banks Marine Sanctuary
Flower Graden Banks National Marine Sanctuary is located about 130 miles offshore from Freeport, TX in the Gulf of Mexico.
Flower Garden Banks Marine Sanctuary
about 100 miles offshore from Freeport, Texas. A short compilation of videos shot during our 7 dives with Fling Charters.
Flower Garden Banks - Scuba Dive
Dive trip with MV Fling Charters on 28-29 Mar which comprised of 7 dives in the Flower Garden banks south of Freeport, TX.
Baracuda Flower Garden Banks Texas Gulf
Baracuda hand around boats, looking for small fish. The may attack a shiny bracelet, so dont wear jewelry around them and you will be perfecly safe. In Bonaire, a 5ft baracuda likes to buddy dive with rebreather divers: He's like a big cute puppy, only with more teeth. From the surface, we could look 100ft down on Flower Garden Banks National Sanctuary. 110 miles from Freeport Texas. Video by Mike Hughes using a Sealife DC1400 vid/camera, Author of The Northwest Dive Guide. Kindle and Nook Books: To Kill A Diver. A murder mystery & Best Of Intentions. Government Spies and SDI. . mike hughes scuba.com, Travel Editor for Dive News Network
Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary
The FGBNM Sanctuary is a devision of NOAA and their mission is to observe and protect the Flower Garden Banks, a coral reef system in the Gulf of Mexico. It is the most pristine coral reef in the world.
NOAA Proposals To Expand The Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary.
Please visit the links to find out more.
sirpatrickpictures.com
Flower Gardens Diving '17
Interesting trip to the flower gardens this year, with Jellyfish being the main event. A lot of great photo and video opportunities while we were trying to dodge them and not get stung! Having my drone with me for the first time added a fun new element to the story.
Video & Editing: Daniel Summers
Photos: Arthur Borges
Music: music4yourvids.co.uk
Flower Garden Banks - ANIMAL COLLECTIVE & CORAL MORPHOLOGIC
It's a treat to share 'Flower Garden Banks', an Animal Collective X Coral Morphologic collaboration featuring Michael, Remember (Jam May 12, 2015), the first warm-up jam for Animal Collective upon getting together to practice for the first time in a year and a half. It features Avey Tare, Panda Bear, and Geologist, and was recorded at Drop of Sun Studios in Asheville, NC.
The accompanying underwater video was recorded in July 2014 within the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary over two nights by Colin Foord (Coral Morphologic), with additional camera and lighting by Deakin and Geologist (Animal Collective). The raw jam and video were later shared, and the resulting video was edited by Jared McKay (Coral Morphologic), October 2015 in Miami, FLA.
The Flower Garden Banks are located about 100 miles offshore Galveston, Texas in the Gulf of Mexico and are the northernmost coral reef formations in the continental United States. The reef begins at about 60’ deep and is characterized by massive brain coral heads and a lack of branching or soft corals. The corals were filmed with special blue wavelength lights and filters that capture the natural fluorescence of the colonies. While the evolutionary purpose that this fluorescence serves corals is still not fully understood, the directed application of the corals’ fluorescent proteins by geneticists was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2008 by serving to accelerate (and literally illuminate) the field of genetics and biochemistry.
Brian Weitz (Geologist) holds a masters degree in Environmental Policy, and briefly worked on ocean and climate change policy in Washington, DC. He and fellow Animal Collective member Josh Dibb (Deakin) have been SCUBA diving together for the last ten years, visiting such places as the Revillagegados, Mexico; Coiba, Panama; Poor Knights, NZ; and many others.
Coral Morphologic is a scientific art endeavor comprised of marine biologist Colin Foord and musician Jared McKay. With the radially-symmetric corallimorph polyp as their muse, they explore the visionary potential of living coral reef organisms via film, multi-media, and site-specific artworks from within their coral aquaculture laboratory in Miami, Florida.
myanimalhome.net
coralmorphologic.com
Flower Gardens and Kraken Dive 2017
I couldn't have done it without my dive buddies: Petra and Kathy! Thanks for dealing with my outa shape buns.
Filmed with Xiaomi Yi Action Camera and GoPro Hero 3 with red lens and Switchblade filter.
Booked with Fling Charters ( for the 2 day trip.
Just imagine what a 3 day trip would be like.
Music:
Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary
Texas Flower Gardens Diving
My trip on September 15th 2012 to the Texas Flower Gardens
It is a really nice place to dive, The Fling Crew really make you enjoy your trip, they are very friendly, food was never an issue, we had food after every dive.
We dove on the west and east bank of the flower gardens, we also did a rig dive and next day we dove on Stetsons Bank.
Scuba diving in Flower Gardens, Texas, Gulf of Mexico
Scuba diving in Flower Gardens, Texas, Gulf of Mexico on 4th and 5th of July 2013.
Gardens of the Gulf - Texas Parks and Wildlife [Official]
There's a 'flower garden' in the Gulf of Mexico, and it's 60 feet underwater. Learn what the Flower Gardens are, what research scientists are doing at these coral reefs, and why we should be concerned about the garden's health.
Flower Gardens Scuba
Dive Sites: East Bank (FG), West Bank (FG), Stetson Bank, Natural Gas Rig near FG
Location: Gulf of Mexico / Flower Gardens
Media: Daniel Summers (video & editing), Mickey Mueller (video), Arthur Borges (photography)
Music: Music4YourVids.co.uk
Aquatic Life: stringray, triggerfish, cowfish/trunkfish, Spotted Moray Eel, barracuda, jellyfish, silky shark, pufferfish, urchin, angelfish, lionfish,
Video Specs: Canon Vixia M41, dual L&M lights (usually set at 500 or 800 lumens)
Scuba diving Flower Garden Banks NMS (Stetson Bank)
Scuba dive at the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary (Stetson Bank) in the Gulf of Mexico off of Freeport, Texas on July 28, 2018.
Trip to The Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary
Visited the East Banks, rig 389A, West Banks, 376A and Stetson Banks in this order.
Mass Mortality Event - Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary
Initial Report:
Response Update:
0:00 - the brown coral on the left is healthy star coral. The two faded colors on the same coral (below center) are dying or dead coral, and you can see the tissue slouging off. We don't know whether the white mat caused the stress that killed the coral polyps. In this picture, it would appear not, unless a noxious chemical like hydrogen sulfide is coming from the mat or the sponge beneath it. Some think that there may be a mass mortality of sponges associated with this event. If the sponges are now rotting away, forming hydrogen sulfide, that could promotes the growth of the bacteria that may be forming that mat (it could be a genus called Beggiatoa, a sulfide oxidizing bacteria). But we are still investigating this idea.
0:21 - A dead brittle star lying among filamentous algae on the reef.
0:28 - A white mat that could be bacteria growing over a sponge and peeling off in places.
0:41 - A white mat that could be bacteria growing over another sponge and peeling off in places.
0:55 - Though the lower portion of this massive star coral appears to be bleached from a distance, it has actually lost its tissue. The camera is looking down into a sand-filled depression on the reef.
1:02 - A brain coral that has lost tissue next to a healthy star coral.
1:05 - This is an area with a high number of brain and star coral colonies that have lost tissue.
Flower Gardens National Marine Sanctuary - Gas Platform
Diving a Gas Platform in the Flower Gardens National Marine Sanctuary ~135 miles SSE of Freeport, TX.
Texas Flower Gardens Oil Rig Dive
Scuba divers exploring the life beneath an oil platform in the Texas Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary. To see more video from our adventures check out rig2reefexploration.org