A collaboration of coastal community members to learn more about the seasonal occurrence of expatriated tropical and subtropical fish along the east coast of North America.

Gathering Information

The seasonal phenomenon of Gulf Stream Orphan arrivals creates a fascination shared by a large community of nature observers, divers, aquarists, and research scientists. The Gulf Stream Orphan Project hopes to provide a common place for members of this community throughout the region to contribute to a comprehensive understanding of their occurrence and environmental impact. These sightings are rare, so a large collaborative network is needed to assemble enough data to make significant inferences into the phenomenon.

Improving Sustainability

Aquariums and other marine research institutions can benefit from the information gathered by the GSOproject. Assembling regional sighting data regarding species diversity and distribution of GSOs will help these organizations improve data collection efforts and enhance the stewardship of our local ecosystems. Several U.S. institutions are also able to collect and display specimens in aquaria. Public display of these fascinating creatures that would otherwise perish each winter helps to engage the general public in conservation efforts of critical habitat and provide a sustainable source of exhibit specimens. 

Understanding Our Oceans

Gulf Stream Orphans (GSOs) arrive on the Northeastern U.S. coastline through the swirling of warm water eddies of Gulf Stream and warm core rings (WCRs). These large bodies of water split off from the Gulf Stream and migrate north to New England while maintaining habitable water conditions for planktonic larval and juvenile fish. By learning more about GSOs and their distribution, we can better understand our coastal ecosystems and potential changes in the biogeography of species along the east coast of North America.