Smartphone Apps

SeaPhoto App

Beachgoers can view a wealth of information about Central California marine life through the free Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary “SeaPhoto” app, the first of its kind for the National Marine Sanctuary System. The app includes natural history information and more than a thousand photos of marine life, some with detailed ecological information. In addition, SeaPhoto includes an extensive, searchable glossary of common and scientific names. Users can save their favorite photos and share them via social media.

Developed in partnership with Save the Earth Foundation, SeaPhoto is a mobile extension of the Sanctuary Integrated Monitoring Network photo library, containing thousands of digital images of animals, habitats, locations, and issues of Monterey Bay, Greater Farallones, and Cordell Bank national marine sanctuaries. These photos can be downloaded for free for non-commercial use.

The SeaPhoto app is available to download for free at the Apple App Store for iOS and Google Play Store for Android.

Ocean Alert App

Be an ocean citizen scientist! When you spot a whale, shark, turtle, or other marine animal, Ocean Alert lets you report that information to a network of resource managers, scientists, and the public. These sightings may be used in real time to alert others in the area to slow down or avoid a protected species; they will also be used by scientists to better understand where and when animals occur. All of this information makes it possible for people to use the ocean while helping to avoid harm to marine life.

Ocean Alert includes a full map of the National Marine Sanctuary System, other federal and state marine protected areas, and NOAA nautical charts.

Ocean Alert app is available to download for free at the Apple App Store for iOS and Google Play Store for Android.

CalTIP App

Report incidents of poaching and polluting using CalTIP (Californians Turn In Poachers and Polluters). Developed by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) in order to give Californians an opportunity to help protect the state's fish and wildlife resources, CalTIP is a confidential secret witness program that encourages the public to provide CDFW with factual information leading to the arrest of poachers and polluters.

You can also call CalTIP using 1-888-334-CALTIP (888-334-2258), which operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You do not have to give your name.

CalTIP app is available to download for free at the Apple App Store for iOS and Google Play Store for Android.

B4UFLY App

Recreational users and community-based organizations operating unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), including drones, quadcopters, and model airplanes, now have an improved app called B4UFLY to help show where you can and cannot fly with interactive maps.

The Federal Aviation Administration has partnered with Aloft to redevelop the Federal Aviation Administration's first mobile application to improve the user experience so that recreational flyers know whether it is safe to fly their UAS. The app provides situational awareness to recreational flyers and other UAS users. It does not allow users to obtain airspace authorizations to fly in controlled airspace, which are only available through the Federal Aviation Administration's Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability (LAANC).

The B4UFLY app is available to download for free at the Apple App Store for iOS and Google Play Store for Android.