A multi-agency effort that began in 2003 with the first cruise to the Mariana Archipelago. The objective of MARAMP is to rapidly evaluate and map the shallow water reef habitats in the Mariana Archipelago. Scientists on board the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) research vessel Oscar Elton Sette use a variety of techniques to study the oceanography and coral, fish, algae, and benthic habitats around most of the islands and offshore banks of the archipelago .