New Reefs Added To Flower Gardens

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14 additional reefs and banks are officially part of Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary (FGBNMS). As of March 22, 2021, FGBNMS encompasses 17 reefs and banks located approximately 80-125 miles off the coasts of Texas and Louisiana. These banks are a combination of small underwater mountains, ridges, troughs, and hard-bottom patches.
The habitats associated with these banks range from thriving shallow water coral reefs and algal-sponge communities, to deeper mesophotic reefs alive with black corals, algal nodules, and octocorals. Although each bank is marked with its own separate boundaries, together these banks create a chain of protected habitats for ecologically and economically important species across the northwestern Gulf of Mexico.

Following is a selection of reefs and banks of the northwestern Gulf of Mexico, listed from west to east. Click on each bank name for more detailed information and images.

Horseshoe Bank – named by sanctuary staff for its shape

MacNeil Bank – named for F. Stearns MacNeil, a U.S. Geological Survey geologist

Rankin Bank – named for John L. Rankin of Minerals Management Service

28 Fathom Bank – named for its depth

Bright Bank – named for Thomas Bright, a Texas A&M University marine biologist

Geyer Bank – named for Richard A. Geyer, a Texas A&M University geophysicist

Elvers Bank – named for Douglas J. Elvers, a Minerals Management Service geophysicist

McGrail Bank (formerly 18 Fathom Bank) – named for David W. McGrail, a Texas A&M and Coast Guard oceanographer

Sonnier Bank (formerly Three Hickey Rocks or Candy Mountain) – named for Farley Sonnier, an offshore wildlife photographer

Bouma Bank – named for Arnold H. Bouma, an LSU geologist

Rezak Bank – named for Richard Rezak, a Texas A&M University oceanographer

Sidner Bank – named for Bruce Sidner, a Texas A&M University geologist

Parker Bank – named for Frances L. Parker, an oceanographer from Scripps

Alderdice Bank – named for Robert Alderdice, founder of the Flower Garden Ocean Research Center (FGORC)

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