Submerged NC Webinar Series

This webinar series presented by Monitor National Marine Sanctuary in collaboration with the North Carolina Office of State Archaeology highlights research conducted for over 45 years to honor and protect the hallmarks of North Carolina's underwater cultural heritage - shipwrecks. Join us each month as scientists and educators present a look into the unique underwater museum and memorials to generations of mariners who lived, worked, died, and fought off our shores.

5 images creating a banner; first image of Dr. Steve Gittings, second image of a white and orange striped fish with very flowing fins, the next of a prism like trap underwater with the same fish crowding around. The fourth image shows five younger people in red shirts, standing in a boat with hundreds of the orange fish at their feet, holding large, white cylinders. Last image shows a diver spearing the orange, striped fish and stuffing it into a gray and red cylinder with a thin spear.

Lionfish: An Ocean Tragedy in Three Acts

January 14, 2025 at 7am Hawaii / 10 am Pacific / 12 pm Central / 1 pm Eastern

Join Dr. Steve Gittings, Chief Scientist of NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, for a front-row seat to a 40-year saga of beauty, death, and survival. Act I: A brilliant new star, the Indo-Pacific lionfish, makes its dramatic debut in the Atlantic Ocean. Mesmerizing at first, it soon horrifies as it leaves disappearance in its wake. Act II: An ecological crisis ensues as native fish succumb to waves of these alien invaders, with no natural defenses to stop them. Act III: Humans enter the scene, combining innovation and brute force to offer Nature a helping hand while it seeks its own footing. Will this epic struggle find resolution? Is it the end of the ocean we know, or a new beginning? Learn how this drama unfolds and what the future holds.