Management Plan Review State of the Sanctuary Report The National Marine Sactuary Program

The National Marine Sanctuary Program:

The National Marine Sanctuary Program, a network of 13 marine protected areas,
encompasses marine and freshwater resources from Washington State to the Florida
Keys, from Massachusetts to American Samoa, and from Lake Huron to the Gulf of
Mexico. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Ocean Service has managed marine sanctuaries since passage of the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972. Title III of the Act is now also known as the National Marine Sanctuaries Act.

Today, our marine sanctuaries contain kelp forests and deep ocean gardens, near-shore coral reefs, areas for whale feeding, reproduction and migration, deep-sea canyons, and underwater archaeological sites. They range in size from one-quarter square mile in Fagatele Bay, American Samoa, to more than 5,300 square miles off Monterey Bay, California - one of the largest marine protected areas in the world. Together, these sanctuaries protect nearly 18,000 square miles of coastal, open ocean and Great Lake waters and habitats.

While some activities are managed to protect resources, certain multiple uses, such as recreation, commercial fishing and shipping, are allowed to the extent that they are consistent with a sanctuary's resource protection mandates. Research, education and outreach activities are other major components in each sanctuary's program of resource protection.

The National Marine Sanctuary Program is a world leader in ocean management placing a primary emphasis on the protection of our nation's living marine and submerged cultural resources.


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