There are almost 40 species of dolphin in 17 genera. They vary in size from 1.2 metres and 40 kg (Heaviside's Dolphin), up to 7 metres and 4.5 tonnes (the Killer Whale). Most species weigh between about 50 and about 200 kg. They are found worldwide, mostly in the shallower seas of the continental shelves, and all are carnivores, mostly taking fish and squid.

MMS Pacific OCS Region

In the Pacific OCS Region, twenty-four oil and gas production facilities have been installed in Federal waters. All of these facilities are located off the coast of California. Twenty-two of these facilities were installed to produce oil and gas; two others were installed as processing facilities. With one exception, all of these facilities are still in operation. As of March 2003, these facilities have produced a total of over 1 billion barrels of oil and 1.3 trillion cubic feet of gas. Currently, six companies are operating offshore oil and gas facilities in the Pacific Region. Information about these facilities has been organized by operator and by platform.

The Minerals Management Service (MMS) has an extensive, detailed inspection program to ensure the safety of offshore oil and gas operations. This program places MMS inspectors offshore on drilling rigs and production platforms on a daily basis to check operator compliance with extensive safety and environmental protection requirements.  

Kids

Teachers

     Pinnipeds, seals and sea lions, are an important part of the marine life of southern California. Four species of non-endangered pinnipeds occur in this area: the California sea lion, northern fur seal, northern elephant seal, and harbor seal. Two other species, the Guadalupe fur seal and Steller sea lion, are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.
 

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Disability
Friendly

Disability Friendly

 SCUBA is an acronym for Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus. In short, scuba diving is an underwater activity practiced with the help of equipment worn by the diver which provides a supply of breathing gas allowing the diver to remain underwater for long periods.
Geology is the science and study of the earth, its make-up, structure, physical properties, history, and the processes that shape it. The word was first used in this sense by Jean-André de Luc (1727 - 1817) in the year 1778 and introduced by Horace-Bénédict de Saussure (1740 - 1799) in the year 1779 as a fixed term.         MMS has worked with fisherman, scuba divers, coastal communities and offshore industry to address their concerns about the impact of oil and gas structures on the marine environment. After much research and assessment, MMS adopted a national Rigs-to- Reefs policy that encourages the reuse of oil and gas structures for offshore artificial reef developments.
     
The Minerals Management Service Pacific Region has a long-standing commitment to work with local educators and students to improve access to scientific information and to increase interest in and an understanding of math and science.

As America's offshore energy resource manager, the MMS partners with educators to: promote an understanding of renewable and nonrenewable offshore energy sources and the role MMS plays in identifying, recovering and regulating our offshore oil and natural gas resources; inform the community about the geological complexities of oil and natural gas formation and the wealth of geologic, engineering, environmental, economic, political and regulatory considerations for safely obtaining these resources; promote an understanding of conflict resolution practices used in managing America's offshore energy resources; and provide career role models and support in science and math.

  Starfish or sea stars are animals belonging to phylum Echinodermata, class Asteroidea. The name starfish is also used for the closely related brittle stars, which make up the class Ophiuroidea. They exhibit a superficially radial symmetry, typically with five or more "arms" protruding from a central body (pentaradial symmetry). In fact, their evolutionary ancestors are believed to have had bilateral symmetry, and sea stars do have some remnant of this body structure. Garibaldis are renowned for their brilliant orange color and grow up to 35 centimetres in length. They live at depths of up to 30 metres, usually in association with reefs, and typically over rocky sea-bottoms. They feed mainly on invertebrates that they remove from the rocks. Adult Garibaldis maintain a home territory; the male clears a sheltered nest site within his territory, and the female then deposits eggs within it, the male subsequently guarding them.
  The United Nations declared 1998 as the International Year of the Ocean (YOTO) and the Department of the Interior’s Minerals Management Service (MMS) participated in a year-long initiative to recognize the importance of the world’s oceans. This designation is an opportunity to promote public awareness of the importance the ocean plays in our lives and to initiate changes needed to sustain the marine resources on which we depend. The MMS Intertidal Team, or MINT, is one of nine monitoring teams that collect data for MARINe , the Multi-Agency Rocky Intertidal Network MARINe.gov. MINT biologists team up with biologists from five university campuses (UC Santa Cruz, UC Santa Barbara, UCLA, UC Davis, and California State University Fullerton) to monitor mussels, sea stars, algae, and other intertidal plants and animals along the coast. Seabirds are birds that spend much of their lives, outside the breeding season at least, at sea. Some species, such as the albatrosses and petrels are truly pelagic, breeding on sea cliffs and small islands, and wintering on the open ocean. They are totally dependent on the sea for food. Many of these deep water species can barely walk on land.

Last Updated: 9/24/04             Pagemaster: Nollie Gildow-Owens
Last Published: 9/24/04