Visitors to the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary often witness vignettes that make the kind of memories that last a lifetime. It might be the white flash of a gannet suddenly plummeting into the sea, or the majestic sight of a humpback whale breaching, barely visible in the fog-shrouded calm. The bank is a place where natural beauty is stark and prominent, unfettered by daily routines.
Fishermen empty their net on deck in preparation of sorting through the catch.
There is much more to this place than meets the eye, though. Middle Bank is one of a series of glacial ridges that serrate the floor of the Gulf of Maine. Fishermen came to know areas where the ocean floor was serrated because of the unusual productivity in the overlying waters. We know now that it is the upwelling of nutrient-rich currents which nurtures such bountiful sea life. As is the proclivity of discoverers, fishermen named all of these places.