United States National Marine Sanctuary
Encyclopedia
A U.S. National Marine Sanctuary is a federally-designated area within United States
waters that protects areas of the marine environment with special conservation, recreational
, ecological
, historical, cultural, archeological, scientific, educational, or aesthetic qualities. The National Marine Sanctuary System consists of 14 marine protected area
s that encompass more than 150000 square miles (388,498.2 km²). Individual areas range from less than 1 to 137,792 square miles.
The National Marine Sanctuaries Program (NMSP), a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA) administers the 13 national marine sanctuaries. The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument is a marine protected area
but not a national marine sanctuary. The program began after the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill
off the coast of California
brought the plight of marine ecosystem
s to national attention. The United States Congress
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
ecosystems in Florida
, Hawaii
, and American Samoa
to shipwrecks in Lake Huron
and the wreck of the USS Monitor
. The Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, 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 and the State of Hawaii.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
waters that protects areas of the marine environment with special conservation, recreational
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 pleasure and are considered to be "fun"...
, ecological
Ecology
Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...
, historical, cultural, archeological, scientific, educational, or aesthetic qualities. The National Marine Sanctuary System consists of 14 marine protected area
Marine Protected Area
Marine Protected Areas, like any protected area, are regions in which human activity has been placed under some restrictions in the interest of conserving the natural environment, it's surrounding waters and the occupant ecosystems, and any cultural or historical resources that may require...
s that encompass more than 150000 square miles (388,498.2 km²). Individual areas range from less than 1 to 137,792 square miles.
The National Marine Sanctuaries Program (NMSP), a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration , pronounced , like "noah", is a scientific agency within the United States Department of Commerce focused on the conditions of the oceans and the atmosphere...
(NOAA) administers the 13 national marine sanctuaries. The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument is a marine protected area
Marine Protected Area
Marine Protected Areas, like any protected area, are regions in which human activity has been placed under some restrictions in the interest of conserving the natural environment, it's surrounding waters and the occupant ecosystems, and any cultural or historical resources that may require...
but not a national marine sanctuary. The program began after the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill
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 at the time, and now ranks third after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon and 1989 Exxon Valdez spills...
off the coast of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
brought the plight of marine ecosystem
Ecosystem
An ecosystem is a biological environment consisting of all the organisms living in a particular area, as well as all the nonliving , physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact, such as air, soil, water and sunlight....
s to national attention. The United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
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
Coral reef
Coral reefs are underwater structures made from calcium carbonate secreted by corals. Coral reefs are colonies of tiny living animals found in marine waters that contain few nutrients. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, which in turn consist of polyps that cluster in groups. The polyps...
ecosystems in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, and American Samoa
American Samoa
American Samoa is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the sovereign state of Samoa...
to shipwrecks in Lake Huron
Lake Huron
Lake Huron is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Hydrologically, it comprises the larger portion of Lake Michigan-Huron. It is bounded on the east by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the west by the state of Michigan in the United States...
and the wreck of the USS Monitor
USS Monitor
USS Monitor was the first ironclad warship commissioned by the United States Navy during the American Civil War. She is most famous for her participation in the Battle of Hampton Roads on March 9, 1862, the first-ever battle fought between two ironclads...
. The Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, 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 and the State of Hawaii.
List of U.S. National Marine Sanctuaries
- Channel Islands National Marine SanctuaryChannel Islands National Marine SanctuaryThe Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary is a reserve area off the Pacific coast of the United States, near California.Established in 1980, the sanctuary in the Santa Barbara Channel is an area of national significance because of its exceptional natural beauty and resources. It has an area of...
(PacificPacific OceanThe Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
) - Cordell Bank National Marine SanctuaryCordell Bank National Marine SanctuaryCordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary is a marine sanctuary located of the coast of California, at . It protects an area of of marine wildlife. The administrative center of the sanctuary is on an offshore granite outcrop by , located on the continental shelf off of California...
(Pacific) - Fagatele Bay National Marine SanctuaryFagatele Bay National Marine SanctuaryFagatele Bay National Marine Sanctuary is a national marine sanctuary in American Samoa. It is the smallest, yet one of the most important, marine sanctuaries as it is home to more fish and marine mammals than any other marine sanctuary...
(Pacific) - Florida Keys National Marine SanctuaryFlorida Keys National Marine SanctuaryThe 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 extensive mangrove forest and seagrass fields...
(AtlanticAtlantic OceanThe Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
, Gulf Coast) - Flower Garden Banks National Marine SanctuaryFlower Garden Banks National Marine SanctuaryThe Flower Garden Banks is a U.S. National Marine Sanctuary in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico, located roughly 105 miles south of Sabine Pass, Texas....
(Gulf Coast) - Gray's Reef National Marine SanctuaryGray's Reef National Marine SanctuaryGray'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 13 marine sanctuaries that make up the U.S...
(Atlantic) - Gulf of the Farallones National Marine SanctuaryGulf of the Farallones National Marine SanctuaryThe Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary is one of 13 marine sanctuaries in the U.S., found outside San Francisco's Golden Gate surrounding the Gulf of the Farallones-History:...
(Pacific) - Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine SanctuaryHawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine SanctuaryThe Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary is one of the world's most important whale habitats, hosting thousands of humpbacks each winter.-Sanctuary:The sanctuary encompasses in the islands' waters...
(Pacific) - Monitor National Marine SanctuaryMonitor National Marine SanctuaryMonitor National Marine Sanctuary is the site of the wreck of the USS Monitor, one of the most famous shipwrecks in U.S. history. It was designated as the country's first national marine sanctuary on January 30, 1975, and is the only one of the thirteen national marine sanctuaries created to...
(Atlantic) - Monterey Bay National Marine SanctuaryMonterey Bay National Marine SanctuaryThe Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary is a US Federally protected marine area offshore of California's central coast around Monterey Bay....
(Pacific) - Olympic Coast National Marine SanctuaryOlympic Coast National Marine SanctuaryThe Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary is one of 14 marine sanctuaries administered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration , an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce. It is located along the Olympic Peninsula of Washington state...
(Pacific) - Stellwagen Bank National Marine SanctuaryStellwagen Bank National Marine SanctuaryStellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary is an 842-square-mile federally protected marine sanctuary located at the mouth of Massachusetts Bay, between Cape Cod and Cape Ann...
(Atlantic) - Thunder Bay National Marine SanctuaryThunder Bay National Marine SanctuaryThe Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary and Underwater Preserve is a U.S. National Marine Sanctuary on Thunder Bay, part of Lake Huron, within the U.S. state of Michigan. The sanctuary and underwater preserve protects an estimated 116 historically significant shipwrecks ranging from nineteenth...
(Great LakesGreat LakesThe Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...
) - Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (Pacific)
External links
- National Marine Sanctuaries
- KeepOceansClean.org created by Animax EntertainmentAnimax EntertainmentAnimax Entertainment is an animation and interactive production studio based in Van Nuys, California. Animax's clients include Disney, ESPN, Warner Bros., National Geographic, Sesame Workshop, WWE and many others. Animax has a particular expertise in Adobe Flash animation and has produced work...