| Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary | |
|---|---|
 Big Sur coastline looking north to Bixby Canyon Bridge. Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. | |
 Map of the sanctuary | |
| Location | California'scentral coast,United States |
| Coordinates | 36°48′N122°30′W / 36.8°N 122.5°W /36.8; -122.5 |
| Area | 6,094 sq mi (15,780 km2) |
| Established | September 18, 1992; 33 years ago (1992-09-18) |
| Governing body | NOAA National Ocean Service |
| montereybay | |
Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (MBNMS) is afederally protected marine area offshore ofCalifornia'sBig Sur andcentral coast in the United States. It is one of the largest US national marine sanctuaries and has a shoreline length of 276 miles (444 km) stretching from just north of theGolden Gate Bridge atSan Francisco toCambria inSan Luis Obispo County. Supporting one of the world's most diverse marineecosystems, it is home to numerousmammals,seabirds,fishes,invertebrates andalgae in a remarkably productivecoastal environment. MBNMS was designated on September 18, 1992,[1] for the purpose of resource protection, research, education, and compatible public use.
Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary is administered by theNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)Office of National Marine Sanctuaries (ONMS), within theU.S. Department of Commerce. It stretches from Rocky Point inMarin County, just north of theGolden Gate Bridge, to the town ofCambria inSan Luis Obispo County, and encompasses a shoreline length of 276 miles (444 km) and 6,094 square miles (4,602 sq nmi; 15,783 km2) of ocean along the Central California coast. Its seaward boundary is an average of 30 miles (26 nmi; 48 km) offshore, and shoreward boundary the meanhigh tide. Its area is 6,094 square miles (4,602 sq nmi; 15,783 km2). The deepest point is 12,743 feet (3,884 meters) in theMonterey Submarine Canyon, which is deeper than theGrand Canyon. The average ocean surface temperature is 55 °F (13 °C).
The sanctuary provides habitat for at least 36species ofmarine mammals, 94 species ofseabirds, 525 species offish, four species ofsea turtles, 31phyla ofmarine invertebrates, and 450 species ofmarine algae.[2] Historical sites include 1,276 reportedshipwrecks and 718prehistoric sites. MBNMS has programs for research and monitoring, resource protection, and education and outreach. Public recreation activities such askayaking,scuba diving, andsurfing are permitted, along withcommercial fishing.Offshore oil drilling andseabed mining are banned to protect the sanctuary.[3] The sanctuary provides economic value viaecotourism as well asfishery resources, including theDungeness crab andmarket squid.[4]Otter trawling has been shown to have a significantly negative impact on thebenthicinvertebratebiodiversity in areas wheretrawling is less restricted.[5] Despite its protection as a National Marine Sanctuary, a study foundmicroplastic concentrations were higher than the global average, with a higher amount closer to shore.[4]
The Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Coastal Discovery Center is located acrossCalifornia State Route 1 (the Pacific Coast Highway) from theHearst Castle visitor center inSan Simeon, California, at theWilliam Randolph Hearst Memorial State Beach.[6]
TheMonterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Exploration Center opened on July 23, 2012[7] at 35 Pacific Avenue inSanta Cruz, California. It is located near theSanta Cruz Beach Boardwalk andSanta Cruz Wharf, developed in partnership with the City of Santa Cruz.
MBNMS collaborations include:
A Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary event calendar on itswebsite lists advisory council meetings and volunteer opportunities such as Snapshot Day and First Flush (water quality monitoring programs), as well as Bay Net and Team OCEAN (naturalist programs).
TheSanctuary Integrated Monitoring Network (SIMoN) website was launched in 2003 to collectmetadata for various monitoring projects in Monterey Bay, Greater Farallones, Cordell Bank, and Channel Islands national marine sanctuaries. In 2012, this information was released as aniOS app called SeaPhoto to allow users access to over 5,000 photos of local marine life.[8]
A Marine Sanctuaries Study Bill was first proposed in 1967 with lobbying efforts by theSierra Club. TheMarine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972 authorized theUnited States Environmental Protection Agency to monitor off-shore dumping. In 1975, theCalifornia Coastal Commission recommended a marine sanctuary and in 1976Santa Cruz County andMonterey County joined the lobbying effort. In 1983 theRonald Reagan administration dropped the area from consideration as a sanctuary.[9]
In 1988 theUnited States Congress re-authorized the Sanctuaries Act and proposed a sanctuary in Monterey Bay. However, public hearings, with the memory of the1969 Santa Barbara oil spill, brought protests demanding a larger size. The first draftenvironmental 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 byU.S. RepresentativeLeon Panetta authorized the sanctuary. At the time, it was the largest federal marine sanctuary in thecontinental United States.[9][10]
As part of the 2008 management plan for MBNMS, a boundary change included the Davidson Seamount Management Zone (DSMZ), which surroundsDavidson Seamount, a pristine undersea mountain habitat located 80 miles to the southwest of Monterey and 75 miles west of San Simeon. The boundary change added a 775 square mile area to MBNMS, increasing the sanctuary to 6,094 square miles.
There have been six superintendents of MBNMS since its designation:
MBNMS was established in 1992 with only one staff member being assigned shortly thereafter. SinceGreater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary (GFNMS) was designated in 1981 and had established staff, GFNMS had taken on administrative jurisdiction over the northern portion of Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary from the San Mateo/Santa Cruz County line (Año Nuevo Point) northward to the existing boundary (Rocky Point) between the two national marine sanctuaries.
There areoffshore oil and gas reserves in the United States, but exploration has not been permitted in MBNMS since inception. In 1982,United States Secretary of the InteriorJames G. Watt proposed opening theouter continental shelf off theCentral Coast of California tooil and gas exploration.[15] California residents and politicians strongly opposed the proposal and it was defeated.[16] In 1990,PresidentGeorge H. W. Bush used an obscure 1953 law to permanently ban oil and gas development in Monterey Bay. In late December 2016, PresidentBarack Obama used the same law to ban oil exploration from Hearst Castle toPoint Arena inMendocino County, California.[17]
In July 2017, under the direction ofExecutive Order 13795[18] from PresidentDonald Trump, theUnited States Department of Commerce began re-evaluating the protected status of the sanctuary, which includes theDavidson Seamount off the coast of Big Sur. Theseamount, at 23 nmi (43 km; 26 mi) long, 7 nmi (13 km; 8.1 mi) wide, and 7,480 feet (2,280 m) high, is one of the largest in the world. Manyenvironmentalists opposed opening the area to oil and gas exploration.[19]
A large number of protected areas have overlapping jurisdictions. From roughly from north to south:[20]
