A U.S. National Marine Sanctuary is a zone within United States waters where the marine environment enjoys special protection. The program began in 1972 in response to public concern about the plight of marine ecosystems. A U.S. National Marine Sanctuary is a federally designated area within

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

waters that protects areas of the marine environment with special conservation,

recreation Recreation is an activity of leisure, leisure being discretionary time. The "need to do something for recreation" is an essential element of human biology and psychology. Recreational activities are often done for enjoyment, amusement, or plea ...

al,

ecological Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overlaps wi ...

, historical, cultural,

archeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landsca ...

, scientific, educational, or aesthetic qualities. While National Marine Sanctuaries are multiple-use areas, the NMSA emphasizes that one of the express purposes of a sanctuary is to “maintain the natural biological communities” and to “protect and, where appropriate, restore and enhance natural habitats, populations, and ecological processes.” The National Marine Sanctuary System consists of 15

marine protected area Marine protected areas (MPA) are protected areas of seas, oceans, estuaries or in the US, the Great Lakes. These marine areas can come in many forms ranging from wildlife refuges to research facilities. MPAs restrict human activity for a con ...

s that encompass more than . Individual areas range from less than .National Marine Sanctuary Frequently Asked Questions
/ref> The Office of National Marine Sanctuaries (ONMS), a division of the

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (abbreviated as NOAA ) is an United States scientific and regulatory agency within the United States Department of Commerce that forecasts weather, monitors oceanic and atmospheric conditi ...

(NOAA), administers the 15 national marine sanctuaries. The program began after the

1969 Santa Barbara oil spill The Santa Barbara oil spill occurred in January and February 1969 in the Santa Barbara Channel, near the city of Santa Barbara in Southern California. It was the largest oil spill in United States waters by that time, and now ranks third afte ...

off the coast of

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

brought the plight of marine

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syst ...

s to national attention. The

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...

responded in 1972 with the Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act which allowed for the creation of marine sanctuaries. The resources protected by U.S. national marine sanctuaries range from

coral reef A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of Colony (biology), colonies of coral polyp (zoology), polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, wh ...

ecosystems in

American Samoa American Samoa ( sm, Amerika Sāmoa, ; also ' or ') is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the island country of Samoa. Its location is centered on . It is east of the Internatio ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

, and

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

, to shipwrecks in the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...

and the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

. The

Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument The Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (PMNM) (roughly ) is a World Heritage listed U.S. National Monument encompassing of ocean waters, including ten islands and atolls of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. It was created in June ...

, while not a U.S. national marine sanctuary, is also jointly administered by the NMSP, in conjunction with the U.S.

Fish and Wildlife Service The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. The mission of the agency is "working with othe ...

and the State of Hawaii.

Scope of protection

Designation as a National Marine Sanctuary does not automatically prohibit fishing and other activities. Recreational and commercial fishing is allowed in some sanctuaries. It is possible to restrict consumptive or destructive activities through the initial designation process and NMSP actions. There are restrictions in some sanctuaries that are enforced by other governing agencies. For example, current regulations restricting fishing in

Stellwagen Bank Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary (officially the Gerry E. Studds Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary) is an 842-square-mile (638-square- nautical-mile) federally protected marine sanctuary located at the mouth of Massachusetts Bay ...

were not issued by the NMSP, but rather by

NOAA Fisheries The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), informally known as NOAA Fisheries, is a United States federal agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that is responsible for the ste ...

and the New England Fishery Management Council, which have jurisdiction in federal waters off the New England coast generally. The private non-profit

Marine Conservation Institute Marine Conservation Institute (formerly Marine Conservation Biology Institute) is a tax-exempt nonprofit Marine conservation, ocean conservation organization working to identify and protect vulnerable ocean ecosystems worldwide. The organization i ...

has compiled fact sheets for each sanctuary listing activities which are directly regulated by the NMSP.

Designating Sanctuary Sites

Site selection is done under the auspices of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Regional teams of marine scientists identify geographically representative sites for potential marine sanctuaries. NOAA then selects candidate sites and meets with state resource managers and/or the governor's staff to determine the interest level. If there is mutually satisfactory interest, the candidate sites are evaluated through a process of public and legislative review and validated by congressional, state, and territorial governments. NOAA initiates the designation by the preparation of a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) and a proposed management plan. Notice is published in the Federal Register. Regional meetings and public hearings are held to gather comments. Congress receives the draft statements and may conduct hearings. A Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) that addresses the concerns raised in the DEIS process is prepared and distributed for comment. The Secretary of Commerce, upon approval of the US President, designates the area as a National Marine Sanctuary. The US Congress and the governor of the state or territory may formally object to or appeal against the designation.

List of U.S. National Marine Sanctuaries

Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary The Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary is a sanctuary off the Pacific coast of Southern California. The National Marine Sanctuary program is under the administration of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Established ...

(

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

) *

Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary is a marine sanctuary located off the coast of California. It protects an area of of marine wildlife. The administrative center of the sanctuary is on an offshore granite outcrop by , located on the cont ...

(Pacific) * National Marine Sanctuary of American Samoa (formerly Fagatele Bay) (Pacific) *

Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary The Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary is a U.S. National Marine Sanctuary in the Florida Keys. It includes the Florida Reef, the only barrier coral reef in North America and the third-largest coral barrier reef in the world. It also has ex ...

(

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United ...

) *

Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary The Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary (FGBNMS) is a United States National Marine Sanctuary located offshore of Galveston, Texas, in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico. It contains the northernmost coral reefs in the United States. Und ...

(Gulf of Mexico) *

Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary is one of the largest near shore live-bottom reefs in the southeastern United States. The sanctuary, designated in January 1981, is located off Sapelo Island, Georgia, and is one of 14 marine sanctuaries and m ...

(Atlantic) *

Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary The Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary (formerly Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary) protects the wildlife, habitats, and cultural resources of one of the most diverse and bountiful marine environments in the world, an area ...

(formerly Gulf of the Farallones) (Pacific) * Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary (Pacific) *

Mallows Bay National Marine Sanctuary Mallows Bay is a small bay on the Maryland side of the Potomac River in Charles County, Maryland, United States. The bay is the location of what is regarded as the "largest shipwreck fleet in the Western Hemisphere" and is described as a "ship gr ...

(Atlantic) * Monitor National Marine Sanctuary (Atlantic) *

Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary The Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (MBNMS) is a federally protected marine area offshore of California's Big Sur and central coast in the United States. It is the largest US national marine sanctuary and has a shoreline length of ...

(Pacific) *

Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary The Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary is one of 15 marine sanctuaries administered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce. Declared in 1994, the sanctuary encompasses of t ...

(Pacific) *

Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary (officially the Gerry E. Studds Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary) is an 842-square-mile (638-square- nautical-mile) federally protected marine sanctuary located at the mouth of Massachusetts Bay ...

(Atlantic) *

Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary and Underwater Preserve is a United States National Marine Sanctuary on Lake Huron's Thunder Bay (Michigan), Thunder Bay, within the Northern Michigan, northeastern region of the U.S. state of Michigan. It pr ...

(

) *

Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary The Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary is one of 15 United States National Marine Sanctuaries administered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), an agency of the United States Department of Commerce; NOA ...

(Great Lakes)

Proposed

*Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary (Great Lakes) *Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary (Pacific)

Notes

External links

Sanctuaries.noaa.gov: Official National Marine Sanctuaries website
{{authority control * National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Marine Sanctuary Marine protected areas (MPA) are protected areas of seas, oceans, estuaries or in the US, the Great Lakes. These marine areas can come in many forms ranging from wildlife refuges to research facilities. MPAs restrict human activity for a conser ...

Coasts of the United States