Part
2, Sec. 2
The
Sanctuary Setting
The
most important factors to be considered in developing a management
plan for the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary are its
location; its physical characteristics, environmental conditions,
and biological resources; its human uses; and the roles of the
agencies with management responsibilities in the proposal area.
These factors are summarized below to provide the background
context necessary for understanding the management plan.
The
Regional Context
Stellwagen
Bank is located in the southwestern Gulf of Maine, which is
formed by the bight of the northwest Atlantic coastline between
Cape Cod, Massachusetts and Cape Sable, Nova Scotia (Figure
2). Roughly rectangular in shape, the Gulf of Maine measures
about 200 miles (321.8 km) long by 120 miles (193.1 km) wide.
A series a shallow banks forms its southern border and isolates
it from deeper waters of the North Atlantic, except at the Northwest
Channel, where Gulf depths attain 270 meters. The Gulf and its
offshore banks constitute a geographic entity that has maintained
its integrity for at least the last 13,000 years (Campbell,
1987).
Between
Cape Ann and Cape Cod, in the southwest corner of the Gulf,
is Massachusetts Bay, 75% enclosed by land. The Bay's most prominent
submarine feature is Stellwagen Bank, which lies at the Bay's
eastern edge and partially blocks its mouth. The Stellwagen
Bank is a shallow, glacially-deposited, primarily sandy feature,
curving in a southeast-to-northwest direction for almost 20
miles. Water depths over and around the Bank range from 65 feet
to more than 300 feet. Seaward of the Bank, the seafloor slopes
to depths of 600 feet or more.
1.
Location and Boundary of Sanctuary
The
Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary is located approximately
25 nautical miles east of Boston, Massachusetts, at the eastern
edge of Massachusetts Bay. The site is also located approximately
3 miles north-northwest of Race Point (Provincetown), Massachusetts;
and 3 miles southeast of Cape Ann (Gloucester), Massachusetts.
The Bank feature itself measures 18.75 miles in length, and
roughly 6.25 miles across at its widest point, at the southern
end of the Bank. The Sanctuary boundary occurs entirely within
Federal waters, i.e., beyond the three-mile limit of Commonwealth
jurisdiction. The Sanctuary boundary surrounds the entirety
of the Stellwagen Bank feature, as well as Tillies Bank (situated
to the northeast), and southern portions of Jeffreys Ledge (situated
to the north). The Sanctuary's southern border follows a line
tangential to the seaward limit of Commonwealth jurisdiction
adjacent to the Commonwealth-designated Cape Cod Bay Ocean Sanctuary;
and is also tangential to waters designated by the Commonwealth
as the Cape Cod Ocean Sanctuary. The northwest border of the
Sanctuary coincides with the Commonwealth-designated North Shore
Ocean Sanctuary.
The
Sanctuary boundary is marked by the following coordinates, which
indicate the northeast, southeast, southwest, west-northwest,
and north-northwest points: 42_45'59.83"N x 70_13'01.77"W (NE);
42_05'35.51"N x 70_02'08.14"W (SE); 42_07'44.89"N x 70_28'15.44"W
(SW); 42_32'53.52"N x 70_35'52.38"W (WNW); and 42_39'04.08"N
x 70_30'11.29"(W) (NNW). The Sanctuary boundary encompasses
approximately 638 square nautical miles, or 842 square miles
(Figure 3).
2. Regional
Access
Resources
of the Stellwagen Bank area have traditionally supported an
active commercial fishing industry, which reaches the Bank's
fishing grounds primarily from Gloucester (approximately 12
miles northwest of the north end of the Bank), and Provincetown
(approximately 6 miles south of the southern end of the Bank)
(Figure 2). Additional fishing ports using the area include
Boston, Chatham, New Bedford, Plymouth, Scituate, Hyannis, Fall
River, Manomet, Falmouth, Wellfleet, Barnstable, Beverly, Salem,
Ipswich, Rockport, Dartmouth, Westport, Fairhaven, Cuttyhunk,
Duxbury, and Onset. Out-of-state fishing vessels also visit
the Bank area from New Hampshire (primarily Portsmouth), Maine,
and (less frequently) Connecticut. Currently, there are approximately
280 commercial fishing vessels fishing regularly in the Stellwagen
Bank region. (Kellogg, 1990).
Recently,
the number of both commercial and recreational vessels using
the Bank for whalewatching activities has increased. These vessels
operate primarily out of Provincetown and Gloucester. Overall,
commercial whalewatch vessels using Stellwagen Bank seasonally
number approximately 40. (MacKenzie, 1986).
next
section
|
