Inventory
Atlas
Supplement 1a. NOAA’s
NOS/National Marine Sanctuaries Program Description and Status
Summary
Program Mission.
The mission of the National Marine Sanctuary Program is to
serve as the trustee for a national system of marine protected
areas (marine sanctuaries) in order to conserve, protect,
and enhance their biodiversity, ecological integrity and cultural
legacy.
Authorizing Legislation. The National Marine Sanctuary
Program was created by Title III of the Marine Protection,
Research and Sanctuaries Act of 1972, which was renamed The
National Marine Sanctuaries Act in 1992.
Under this Act, the Secretary of Commerce may designate any
discrete area of the marine environment as a national marine
sanctuary and promulgate regulations implementing the designation
if the Secretary--
(1) determines that the designation will
fulfill the purposes and policies of this title; and
(2) finds that--
(A) the area is of special national significance
due to its resource or human-use values;
(B) existing State and Federal authorities
are inadequate or should be supplemented to ensure coordinated
and comprehensive conservation and management of the area,
including resource protection, scientific research, and
public education;
(C) designation of the area as a national
marine sanctuary will facilitate the objectives in subparagraph
(B); and
(D) the area is of a size and nature that
will permit comprehensive and coordinated conservation
and management.
(top)
Management. Responsibility for managing
national marine sanctuaries rests with the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The legislation that
authorizes national marine sanctuaries requires “comprehensive
and coordinated conservation and management of these marine
areas, and activities affecting them, in a manner which complements
existing regulatory authorities.” The U.S. Coast Guard
and officers of the National Marine Fisheries Service enforce
sanctuary regulations.
Protection for natural resources varies among sanctuaries,
but generally, dredging, dumping, placing structures on the
seabed, mining, and oil and gas exploration and production
are restricted or prohibited in all sanctuaries. The removal
of historic artifacts and certain valuable natural resources
is not allowed without permits. Each sanctuary also has site-specific
resources tailored to its individual needs and resources.
Types of Areas Protected. The National Marine Sanctuary
Program sites are greatly diverse and vary in many respects.
The sanctuaries range in size from one-quarter square mile
in Fagatele Bay, American Samoa, to 5,300 square miles in
Monterey Bay, California. Together, the 13 sanctuaries encompass
more than18,000 square miles of ocean environment. The sanctuaries
are diverse in habitat, encompassing deep-ocean gardens, near-shore
coral reefs, whale migration corridors, and deep-sea canyons.
They also vary in resources protected, including everything
from shipwrecks in the Monitor and Thunder Bay sanctuaries,
to threatened species in the Hawaiian Islands, to coral reefs
in the Florida Keys, Fagatele Bay, and the Flower Garden Banks.
Inventory Status of Program Sites. The National Marine
Sanctuaries Program has 14 sites included in the inventory.
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