Craving a jelly doughnut for #NationalDessertDay? For a low-cal option, we throwback to this “dinner plate” jelly, spotted in the bay this past spring!

Hey Google+! We have a quick message for California voters, from us at the Aquarium and Makana, the Laysan albatross: Please vote Yes on Prop 67—and No on Prop 65—for a plastic-free ocean! That is all, thanks for your time!

When the world seems uninspiring, be like a coral and find nourishment from within—preferably with symbiotic algae: http://mbayaq.co/2egkTHJ

White shark tagging season has kicked off, and we’ve already spotted a familiar face, er, fin! “Middle Notch” is a 15-foot white shark first seen by researchers over 15 years ago.

Greetings from the newest addition to our Tentacles exhibit—a cadre of juvenile stumpy-spined cuttlefish! These youngsters will grow into small but mighty hunters that blend in with their environment to ambush prey.

The noble nautilus has a knack for navigating at night—a superb sense of smell serves this seafarer well as the only cephalopod still surviving with a shell!

There's also some great news for nautiluses worldwide: CITES voted to regulate international chambered nautilus trade, giving them some much needed protection. These splendid animals have been on the planet for hundreds of millions of years—let’s keep them around! http://mbayaq.co/2e1HrrP



The purple-striped jelly is a stunner, in more ways than one. But not all sea life is sensitive to its sting—mola molas have been seen eating these jellies in the bay!

Thank you to staffer Jim Perdue for the photo!

A juvenile great blue heron hunting opaleye at dawn. A good start to another day on the wild Monterey Bay! 

You're not seeing double! While African penguins may look alike, individuals have unique spot patterns on their belly you can use to tell them apart. http://mbayaq.co/1SbNqpT

Our current Kelp Forest-cast? Cloudy with a 100% chance of dinoflagellates! A non-toxic bloom of Akashiwo sanguinae phytoplankton is coursing through the Monterey Bay's kelp forests—including our own!

The Aquarium is run on an open-seawater system, making our Kelp Forest exhibit a literal extension of the bay. Our current hazy, greenish-amber water is due to trillions of phytoplankton in the water—like a large puff of pollen. On days like today, you get to experience what it's actually like to dive in the kelp forest right off our back deck!

Happy World Octopus Day! The giant Pacific octopus explores its world using touch and smell, thanks to the thousands of chemical receptors and millions of texture receptors that line the rims of its suckers.

Happy Friday! Seize the day like an octopus pouncing on its prey.