The Stellwagen Bank is a vast submarine plateau that stretches across the mouth of Massachusetts Bay from just north of Cape Cod to just south of Cape Ann. Its shallow waters support rich growth of invertebrates and planktonic organisms that, in turn, attract many fish and marine mammals. In 1992 it was designated a National Marine Sanctuary. Surprisingly, this sanctuary status offers no special protections for marine organisms! In fact SBNMS includes some of the most heavily exploited waters in the US. OGL will join forces with the SBNMS to create a Marine Genome Reserve to preserve and focus attention on the genetic and biological resources of the Stellwagen Bank and to help build consensus for establishing fisheries protections within the sanctuary.

"The Frozen Aquarium" is a project created by OGL to tap the genetic diversity of marine organisms contained in public marine aquariums and marine parks around the world. The New England Aquarium (NEA) has agreed to be the first of these organizations to join the program. Bud Ris, president, and Greg Stone, vice president for global operations, have approved a pilot project that will allow OGL to obtain specimens from a large variety of unusual marine organisms and to gain experience and develop protocols for working with aquarium scientists and staff. This pilot program will set the stage for larger scale scientific projects with the NEA and other marine aquariums.