In Photos: The Sea Creatures Lurking Off the Shores of Nantucket

The waters surrounding the Northwest Canyons and Seamount Marine National Monument, located about 130 miles southeast of Cape Cod, have been documented as hosting a remarkable diversity of marine life in recent aerial surveys conducted by the New England Aquarium.

The surveys, which took place this month, captured images of more than 2,000 individual animals, including four species of dolphins, humpback whales, manta rays, whale sharks, and endangered blue and fin whales. The protected area, designated as a marine national monument by President Barack Obama in 2016, spans over 4,900 square miles and encompasses underwater volcanoes and canyons.

"The diversity of sightings was truly remarkable and a testament to why the Monument is such a special habitat," said Katherine McKenna, an associate research scientist in the New England Aquarium’s Anderson Cabot Center, which conducted the survey, in a statement. "From regular visitors like dolphins and sperm whales, to large baleen whales drawn by aggregations of zooplankton and whale sharks and manta rays following warm Gulf Stream waters, the Monument brings together an incredible variety of marine life."

The marine national monument status granted extensive protections to the area, making it the first of its kind in the Atlantic Ocean. However, recent actions by the Trump administration have rolled back some of these protections, reopening the area to commercial fishing.

The images shared by the New England Aquarium provide a glimpse into the vibrant and diverse ecosystem that thrives within the monument. The abundance of marine life, from deep-sea corals and seabirds to marine mammals and abundant fish, underscores the ecological significance of the protected area.

Despite the rollback of some protections, the surveys serve as a reminder of the rich biodiversity that can be found in the waters surrounding the Northwest Canyons and Seamount Marine National Monument. The images captured by the New England Aquarium offer a visual testament to the area's ecological importance and the need for continued conservation efforts.