NOAA Discovers Nine New Deep-Sea Sponge Species Off the Alaskan Coast

Advocates for expanded deep-sea mining view the Alaskan seafloor as a necessary and untapped strategic reserve of nickel, copper, and other critical minerals required for advanced technology and military supply chains. Marine ecologists and fisheries managers look at the exact same benthic zone and see a fragile, slow-growing architecture that sustains the region's commercial seafood stocks—an ecosystem so largely uncharted that its foundational species are still being discovered. That baseline conflict over what the ocean floor is for frames the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's September 10, 2026 announcement that researchers have identified nine previously unknown species of deep-sea sponges in the Gulf of Alaska and the Aleutian Islands.[1][2]

The specimens were collected during annual bottom-trawl surveys conducted by the Alaska Fisheries Science Center, which monitor the condition of groundfish and shellfish stocks. Researchers analyzed samples gathered over a 14-year period dating back to 2012, describing the new species across two recent scientific publications. The discoveries raise the total number of known sponge species in Alaska to 232, highlighting the Aleutian Islands as a global hotspot for marine biodiversity.[1][4]

Microscopic and genetic analyses revealed that the nine species span six orders of demosponges, including Stelletta plana and Polycapus rubrum. One of the newly identified sponges is so unique that scientists had to create an entirely new genus to classify it, while another represents a group never before seen outside of the tropics.[1]

Often described as living water pumps, sponges are among Earth's earliest multicellular animals, with an evolutionary history dating back more than 600 million years. They lack brains, complex organs, and distinctive external features like fins, making them difficult to distinguish visually. Instead, they filter seawater and rely on microscopic silica skeletons to maintain their shape.[2][4]

Their ecological role functions as critical infrastructure on the seafloor. “Sponges are ecologically important,” said Sean Rooney, a fisheries biologist and co-author at NOAA's Alaska Fisheries Science Center. “They aren't plants, but like trees in a forest, they provide complex structure along the seafloor that creates habitat and refuge for commercially important fish and crabs.”[2][3]

These structures, sometimes referred to as "glass castles" because of their silica composition, slow ocean currents and create sheltered cavities. Young rockfish and crabs hide within these formations to evade predators. Some sculpin even lay their egg masses inside the sponge cavities, where the constant flow of filtered water supplies oxygen and the sponge's chemical defenses help protect the developing embryos.[3]

Because sponges are so difficult to identify by sight, researchers rely heavily on genetic material. Meredith Everett, a biologist at NOAA's Northwest Fisheries Science Center, noted that this process is technically demanding. Because sponges are filter feeders, their tissue often contains foreign DNA and compounds that inhibit testing. “But despite the challenges, we successfully developed several new barcodes for Alaskan species,” Everett said.[3][5]

The research team mapped the genetic codes for the new species and deposited the DNA barcodes into GenBank, a public marine genetic library. These reference sequences will allow scientists to use environmental DNA (eDNA) sampling in the future. By simply testing a sample of seawater for suspended genetic material, researchers can detect the presence of these species and estimate population abundances without repeatedly disturbing the fragile seafloor habitats.[1][3]

The taxonomic work of naming these species carries direct regulatory weight. NOAA designates dense sponge communities as "essential fish habitat," a classification that dictates which areas require protection from physical disturbance to maintain sustainable commercial fisheries.[3]

That protection is increasingly contested. The Trump administration has proposed expanding deep-sea mining for critical minerals across millions of hectares of Pacific ecosystems, alongside continued bottom trawling in the region. Environmental groups argue that this extractive push threatens to erase irreplaceable seascapes for short-term profit, noting that the physical damage from mining equipment destroys the very habitats that support the seafood industry.[2]

The timeline for recovery in these environments is measured in centuries, not seasons. Deep-sea glass sponges grow extremely slowly in the cold, dark waters of the North Pacific, and some species can live for thousands of years. A single pass by a bottom trawl or a mining dredge can obliterate structures that have been growing since the Roman Empire, and natural regrowth cannot quickly repair the damage.[2][3]

The discovery of these nine species confirms that the Alaskan seafloor remains largely unmapped. As the push for critical minerals accelerates, the regulatory decisions made in the coming months will dictate whether these benthic ecosystems are preserved as foundational fisheries infrastructure or opened for extraction before their full biological inventory is even recorded.[2][6]