The
Gerry E Studds Stellwagen
Bank National Marine Sanctuary
The Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary stretches between
Cape Ann and Cape Cod at the mouth of Massachusetts Bay and
is virtually the size of the state of Rhode Island. Its boundaries
include the submerged lands of Stellwagen Bank, all of Tillies
Bank and Basin, and the southern portions of Jeffrey's Ledge.
The Sanctuary protects 842-square miles in a topographically
diverse area geologists calculate was created some14,000 years
ago during retreat of the last Great Ice Age glaciers. Then,
Stellwagen Bank was emergent land and mastodons and wooly mammoth
roamed about.
Today,
whales swim where mastodons trod, and the Sanctuary has become
home to a wide variety of marine mammals, seabirds, fishes and
invertebrates. Notably, the Sanctuary is recognized as one of
the primary feeding grounds of the highly migratory humpback
whale in the North Atlantic. It is the part-time home of the
endangered northern right whale, of which 300 are estimated
to survive. Its varied seafloor topography supports a high diversity
of demersal fish species. It is one of only a few areas in the
Gulf of Maine (including Jeffreys Ledge and the Great SouthChannel)
that seasonally aggregate Atlantic bluefin tuna in large numbers.
And, it is an area of exceptionally high primary productivity
and production.
With
concentration of such great resource diversity and production
potential in one place, the Sanctuary attracts extensive commercial,
recreational, scientific and educational uses. Located in the
backyard of an estimated 6 million people living in the greater
Boston metropolitan area, it enjoys tremendous possibilities
for education and outreach. And, situated amidst literally dozens
of prestigious research institutions, highly regarded non-governmental
organizations and functionally related state and federal government
agencies, the Sanctuary has exceptional opportunities for partnership
and cooperation.
next
page
return to main menu
