WHY MARlNE SANCTUARlES?
"IN THE PART'S OF THE WORLD where no protective actions have been taken, the life thriving in marine waters
has waned. Along some parts of our country's ocean coast, sea life has been smothered by human pursuit of off
shore oil and mineral deposits. And without catch limits or seasonal closures to control the takings, many local
populations of shellfish, fish, and marine mammals have disappeared. At other sites, the very constituents of
underwater habitats-limestone, for instance, from tropical coral reefs-have been taken for construction and
road-building projects. Even where other sources of building materials are available, reefs have suffered: the
Florida Department of Natural Resources estimates that, in the recent past, more than three tons of live coral
and coral-encrusted rock were leaving Miami International Airport each day, bound for home aquariums and pet shop
displays.
"Just as detrimental to shoreline and offshore habitats are the pollutants stemming from land-based activities: the
litter and debris from shipyards and marinas, contaminated runoff from roads and farmlands, toxic residues from
the lawn- and garden-care products sold for home use. In many large coastal cities, outmoded sewer systems still
mix wastewater with rainwater. These systems aren't big enough to carry the volumes that collect during strong
storms, so some of the effluent (and along with it, everything from insulin syringes to Styrofoam cups) pours into
the ocean without treatment. Added to this flow of pollution are the barge loads of residential garbage and
occasional barrels of nuclear waste that humankind intentionally dumps into the sea.
"Confronted by this vast assortment of environmental threats, the scientists and policy-makers of several nations
began to explore ways to save the worlds oceans. Inspired by the existing network of national parks and preserves,
they quickly embraced one solution: the establishment of marine sanctuaries, within 'Which the impacts to ocean
resources could be carefully monitored and controlled.
"What better place to test this new concept than the Great Barrier Reef of Australia, the most massive coral
cathedral on the face of the earth? Created
in 1975, this 135,000-square-mile marine sanctuary off the coast of Queensland is the home to six different
species of sea turtles, over 1,500 species of fish, 240 species of birds and 350 species of hard coral. This
unrivaled abundance lures visitors, as many.as a thousand a day, from all comers of the globe. Other world
powers have followed Australiašs lead, compiling a rich roster of where underwater communities can thrive with
minimal interference from among the most recently protected locales are the crenelated coral of Tunku Abdul Rahman
National Park in Malaysia, the sunken hillocks of Kenyas Shimoni Marine Park, the submerged plateau of Tubbataha
the Philippines, and the isolated islands of the Galapagos.
"In the United States, the first federally established marine sanctuaries were in 1975, the same year that
Australians celebrated the birth of their magnificent marine park. One of a pair of new federal protected
areas, the USS National Marine Sanctuary was little more than a dot on the map-one nautical mile off the coast
of North Carolina. Within this small reserve, which remains under the care of the federal government, are the
rusted remains of legendary Civil War-era ironclad warship. The nations second marine protected the 100-square-mile
Key Largo National Marine Sanctuary off the coast of was considerably larger, bestowing protection on a sizable
chunk of the reef in the world. In recent years, this sanctuary and its sister preserve, Looe Key National Marine
Sanctuary, have merged, extending their protective boundaries over the full length of Florida's barrier reef, a
distance of 220 miles (350 kilometers).
"Guided by the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act and working from a master list of prospective
sites, the U.S. Congress enacted legislation to create additional national marine sanctuaries, one or two at a
time, off the coasts of California, Massachusetts, Texas, Georgia, Washington, Hawaii, and American Samoa. In 2000,
Thunder Bay in Michigan became the thirteenth national marine sanctuary. The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral
Reef Ecosystem Reserve is in the designation process, and would become the fourteenth.
"Responsibility for the National Marine Sanctuary program lies within the Sanctuaries and Reserves Division of
the Office of Ocean and Coastal Resources Management, a branch of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA). This division is also responsible for the overall management of sites once they become national marine
sanctuaries. Written goals of the program encourage staff to "support and promote scientific research," "enhance
public awareness," and "coordinate conservation and management of these regulatory authorities-protecting the
conservation, recreational, ecological, educational, and aesthetic values of these important marine areas."
"To be included in the sanctuary program, a site must possess certain natural or cultural resources. These can
include unique or unusual natural habitats, sensitive or endangered animal species, and the presence of shipwrecks
or other archaeological relics. It must also be determined that the protection and use of these resources will
benefit from the comprehensive planning and management that sanctuary status brings. The socio-economic effects
of sanctuary designation and the overall manageability of the site must also be explored.
"As with nearly all federal programs, the principal user groups and the public at large are invited to participate
at various stages in the decision-making process. Naturally; not everyone shares the same vision for a prospective
marine sanctuary; indeed, some individuals and interest groups may be actively opposed to such a notion, fearing
that sanctuary regulations may place restrictions on fishing, seaweed or shellfish harvesting, and other commercial
or recreational uses of a site.
"Surprisingly, such views only strengthen the designation process, for it is only after all of the environmental
and economic concerns are adequately addressed that a new national marine sanctuary can be born.
"Sanctuary personnel prefer to speak softly but they can carry a big stick. The new rules they create seldom
place limits on fishing or other existing uses of a sanctuary's resource (an exception is the Florida Keys
National Marine Sanctuary, whose regulations prevent treasure hunters from removing relics from archaeologically."
Quoted from:
A Natural History of the Monterey Bay
NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARY
Monterey Bay Aquarium Foundation - 2006
Marine Sanctuary