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.

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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.