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Research & Data > Monitoring & assessment > Puget Sound & marine monitoring > Eyes Over Puget Sound

Eyes Over Puget Sound

Seaplane coming in for a landing on the water with mountains in the background.

Eyes Over Puget Sound, or EOPS, is a project that expresses the importance and beauty of the Salish Sea through science and art. During spring to fall, we take to the air to document local marine waters from a unique vantage point. Our mission is to provide visual documentation and information on what is happening in the waterways around Puget Sound using community photo submissions and aerial photography via seaplane and drone flights.

Eyes Over Puget Sound empowers you to:

  • See what is currently happening in Puget Sound.
  • Use Eyes Over Puget Sound as free educational material.
  • Contribute photos of Puget Sound marine observations.
Aerial view of a large harbor with a purple algae bloom in the background and a red-brown algae bloom near a marina in the foreground.

Latest EOPS edition

Our July StoryMap includes aerial observations from our July 29, 2025 flight and community submitted observations.

During our flight, we saw smoke from the Bear Gulch wildfire, algae blooms of multiple colors, and lots of decaying organic debris floating throughout Puget Sound.

Community members sent us a photo of an algae bloom near West Seattle and provided algae cell count data from a bloom in Quartermaster Harbor, Vashon Island.

To check out our July 2025 Eyes Over Puget Sound StoryMap, click the photo above.

Related links

Contact information

Eyes Over Puget Sound
EOPS@ecy.wa.gov