Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Explained

Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary
Location:California's central coast, United States
Coordinates:36.8°N -122.5°W
Area Sqmi:6094
Governing Body:NOAA National Ocean Service

The Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (MBNMS) is a federally protected marine area offshore of California's Big Sur and central coast in the United States. It is the largest US national marine sanctuary and has a shoreline length of 276miles stretching from just north of the Golden Gate Bridge at San Francisco to Cambria in San Luis Obispo County. Supporting one of the world's most diverse marine ecosystems, it is home to numerous mammals, seabirds, fishes, invertebrates and plants in a remarkably productive coastal environment. The MBNMS was established on September 18, 1992,[1] for the purpose of resource protection, research, education, and public use.

Description

The Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (MBNMS) is one of the largest of a system of 14 National Marine Sanctuaries administered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), within the U.S. Department of Commerce. It stretches from Rocky Point in Marin County, just north of the Golden Gate Bridge, to the town of Cambria in San Luis Obispo County, and encompasses a shoreline length of 276miles and 6094sqmi of ocean surrounding Monterey Bay. Its seaward boundary is an average of 30miles offshore, and shoreward boundary the mean high tide. Its area is 6094sqmi. The deepest point is 10663abbr=offNaNabbr=off in the Monterey Submarine Canyon, which is deeper than the Grand Canyon. The average ocean surface temperature is 55°F.

The sanctuary provides habitat for 36 species of marine mammals, 94 species of seabirds, at least 525 species of fish, four of sea turtles, 31 phyla of marine invertebrates, and more than 450 species of marine algae.[2] Historical sites include 1,276 reported shipwrecks and 718 prehistoric sites. The MBNMS has major programs for research and monitoring, and another for education and outreach. Public recreation activities such as kayaking, scuba diving, and surfing are permitted, along with commercial fishing. Offshore oil drilling and seabed mining are banned to protect the sanctuary.[3] The sanctuary provides economic value via ecotourism as well as fishery resources, including the Dungeness crab and market squid.[4] Otter trawling has been shown to have a significantly negative impact on the benthic invertebrate biodiversity in areas where trawling is less restricted.[5] Despite its protection as a National Marine Sanctuary MPA, a study found microplastic concentrations were higher than the global average, with a higher amount closer to shore.

Visitor centers

A Coastal Discovery Center is located across California State Route 1 (the Pacific Coast Highway) from the Hearst Castle visitor center in San Simeon, California, near the William Randolph Hearst Memorial State Beach.[6]

The Monterey Bay Marine Sanctuary Exploration Center opened on July 23, 2012[7] at 35 Pacific Avenue in Santa Cruz, California.

Collaborations

MBNMS collaborations include:

Events and activities

A Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary event calendar lists meetings as well as volunteer events such as Snapshot Day, Urban Watch, First Flush (water quality monitoring programs), and TeamOCEAN (kayaker naturalist program).

The organization launched the Sanctuary Integrated Monitoring Network (SIMoN) website in 2003 to collect metadata for its various monitoring projects. In 2012, this information was released as an iOS application to allow visitors better access to the over 4,200 photos that have been collected.[8]

History

A Marine Sanctuaries Study Bill was first proposed in 1967 with lobbying efforts by the Sierra Club. The Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972 authorized the United States Environmental Protection Agency to monitor off-shore dumping. In 1975, the California Coastal Zone Conservation Commission recommended a marine sanctuary and in 1976 Santa Cruz County and Monterey County joined the lobbying effort. In 1983 the Ronald Reagan administration dropped the area from consideration as a sanctuary.[9]

In 1988 the United States Congress re-authorized the Sanctuaries Act and proposed a sanctuary in Monterey Bay. However, public hearings, with the memory of the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill, brought protests demanding a larger size. The first draft environmental impact statement was released in 1990, and a final management plan in June 1992 proposing the extended area. NOAA states both that it designated the sanctuary on September 18, 1992,[1] and also that on September 20, 1992, legislation proposed by U.S. Representative Leon Panetta authorized the sanctuary. At the time, it was the largest federal marine sanctuary in the continental United States.[9] [10]

Management

There have been five superintendents of the MBNMS since its inception:

  1. Terry Jackson (1992 to 1997):[11] Jackson was a NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps officer who was assigned to the MBNMS as its first manager in 1992. Over the next year, Jackson hired the first MBNMS staffers. As a NOAA Corps officer, Jackson's land-based assignment ended in 1997. Jackson retired from the NOAA Corps in 1998.
  2. Carol Fairfield (June and July 1997): A call for superintendent applicants went out in the spring of 1997. However, that process was ended by the chief of NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, Stephanie Thornton, because she "did not believe any of the current applicants had the skills she was looking for to be the MBNMS Superintendent."[12] The call for applicants was re-advertised, and Carol Fairfield (with NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service Protected Resources Program) was selected was selected in June 1997. Fairfield spent her first month at the National Marine Sanctuary headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland. Fairfield was reassigned on July 28, 1997, and Thornton said "Fairfield¹s reassignment is a personnel matter which cannot be discussed in detail."[13]
  3. Joanne Flanders (1997): At the time of Jackson's departure, Joanne Flanders (another NOAA Corps Officer) was Assistant Superintendent. Flanders was appointed acting superintendent for about six months.
  4. William J. Douros (1998 to 2006): In January 1998 William J. Douros, who had previously worked for Santa Barbara County, became superintendent.[14] In 2006 Douros was promoted to United States West Coast regional director for the National Marine Sanctuary Program.
  5. Paul Michel (2007 to Present): Paul Michel, who had worked at the Environmental Protection Agency since 1987, became superintendent.[15]

Management of northern section

Since the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary (GFNMS) had been established earlier and had a staff already, the section of MBNMS north of Año Nuevo Point near the San Mateo County line was managed by GFNMS from its office in San Francisco. By 1996, Terry Jackson of MBNMS requested that the management boundaries be adjusted to match the sanctuary boundaries. However, Ed Ueber of GFNMS opposed any change.[16]

Oil and gas reserves

There are oil and gas reserves off the coast, but exploration has not been permitted. In 1982, United States Secretary of the Interior James G. Watt proposed opening the outer continental shelf off the Central Coast of California to oil and gas exploration.[17] California residents and politicians strongly opposed the proposal and it was defeated.[18] In 1990, President George H. W. Bush used an obscure 1953 law to permanently ban oil and gas development in Monterey Bay. In late December 2016, President Barack Obama used the same law to ban oil exploration from Hearst Castle to Point Arena in Mendocino County, California.[19]

In July 2017, under the direction of Executive Order 13795[20] from President Donald Trump, the United States Department of Commerce began re-evaluating the protected status of the sanctuary, which includes the Davidson Seamount off the coast of Big Sur. The seamount, at 23nmi long, 7nmi wide, and 7480feet high, is one of the largest in the world. Many environmentalists and residents opposed opening the area to oil and gas exploration.[21]

Related protection areas

A large number of protected areas have overlapping jurisdictions. From roughly from north to south:[22]

See also

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Sanctuary Designations & Expansions . October 17, 2024 . NOAA.
  2. Web site: MBNMS: Quick Facts: The Sanctuary at a Glance. March 4, 2021. montereybay.noaa.gov.
  3. Web site: Overview of Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. March 4, 2021. montereybay.noaa.gov.
  4. Kashiwabara. Lauren M.. Kahane-Rapport. Shirel R.. King. Chad. DeVogelaere. Marissa. Goldbogen. Jeremy A.. Savoca. Matthew S.. April 1, 2021. Microplastics and microfibers in surface waters of Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, California. Marine Pollution Bulletin. en. 165. 112148. 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112148. 33610108 . 231979949 . 0025-326X. free. 2021MarPB.16512148K .
  5. Engel. Jonna. Kvitek. Rikk. December 1998. Effects of Otter Trawling on a Benthic Community in Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. Conservation Biology. 12. 6. 1204–1214. 10.1046/j.1523-1739.1998.0120061204.x. 1998ConBi..12.1204E . 44839667 . 0888-8892.
  6. Web site: Coastal Discovery Center at San Simeon Bay . March 31, 2010 . official web site . . December 5, 2010 .
  7. Web site: About Sanctuary Exploration Center. Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.
  8. King, C . Lonhart, S . "SeaPhoto:" Central California Marine Life Featured in New Free iPhone, iPad App . 2012 . In: Steller D, Lobel L, Eds. Diving for Science 2012. Proceedings of the American Academy of Underwater Sciences 31st Symposium. Dauphin Island, AL . https://archive.today/20131027095959/http://archive.rubicon-foundation.org/10308 . usurped . October 27, 2013 . October 26, 2013 .
  9. News: Milestones in MBNMS History . Fall 1997 . News from the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary . . 4 . December 5, 2010 .
  10. News: Monterey Bay Sanctuary-—Our Treasure . Fall 1997 . Leon E. Panetta . News from the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary . . 3 . December 5, 2010 .
  11. News: From the Captain's Chair . Fall 1997 . Terry Jackson . News from the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary . . 2 . December 5, 2010 .
  12. Quote from public memo issued by Thornton.
  13. Web site: Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council Meeting Minutes . August 1, 1997 . Lisa Ziobro . . December 5, 2010 .
  14. News: New MBNMS Superintendent: William Douros Takes the Helm . Spring 1998 . News from the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary . . 5 . December 5, 2010 .
  15. Web site: New Superintendent Named for Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary . April 5, 2007 . Press Release . . December 5, 2010 .
  16. News: Dispute Over County's Coastal Refuge / Jurisdiction of Monterey Bay Marine Sanctuary about to change hands . Michael McCabe . June 21, 1996 . . December 17, 2010 .
  17. Web site: Big Sur Coast Land Use Plan. February 11, 1981. Monterey County Planning Department. November 15, 2009. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20110606055838/http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/planning/docs/plans/Big_Sur_LUP_complete.PDF. June 6, 2011.
  18. News: Many on Coast Fight Oil Lease Move. Lindsey. Robert. May 11, 1982. New York Times. October 25, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171026054532/http://www.nytimes.com/1982/05/11/us/many-on-coast-fight-oil-lease-move.html. October 26, 2017. live.
  19. News: Will Obama's offshore drilling ban be Trumped?. Parenteau. Patrick. The Conversation. January 2, 2017. October 25, 2017. en. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20170925100251/http://theconversation.com/will-obamas-offshore-drilling-ban-be-trumped-70125. September 25, 2017.
  20. Web site: Executive Order 13795—Implementing an America-First Offshore Energy Strategy – The American Presidency Project. www.presidency.ucsb.edu.
  21. News: California's marine sanctuaries may face new drilling threat. San Francisco Chronicle. October 25, 2017. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20171026054135/http://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/California-s-marine-sanctuaries-may-face-new-11409436.php. October 26, 2017.
  22. Book: Guide to the Central California Marine Protected Areas: Pigeon Point to Point Conception . September 2007 . . 8 . December 5, 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100113165452/http://www.dfg.ca.gov/mlpa/pdfs/ccmpas_guide.pdf . January 13, 2010 .

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