Happy 40th Birthday National Marine Sanctuaries Act!

True or False? The oceans are vast and inexhaustible in resources.  While not too long ago scientists believed this to be true, it is resoundingly false.  While the oceans are vast, the resources they provide the planet must be managed effectively to ensure a healthy planet and healthy people.  No matter where we live, whether it is on the coast or hundreds of miles inland, the ocean affects our everyday life.  The ocean provides much of the oxygen for planet Earth through the photosynthesis of phytoplankton, algae, and other aquatic plants;  the ocean regulates the planet’s weather and climate; we rely on the ocean for transportation of goods; the ocean provides us with food; the ocean floor provides us with natural resources including oil and natural gas; the ocean provides other resources that are used in medicine.  If the ocean is not healthy, we are not healthy.

From http://geology.com/articles/what-is-earth-science/earth-science.jpg

Over the last two centuries, the human population has exploded and technology has advanced at breakneck speed.  This made areas once remote and inaccessible to people within reach.  Coastal development contributed to pollution of estuaries and near shore areas.  The need for food caused a gold rush of sorts to the coast where fishers exhausted fisheries to the point of collapse.  Something needed to change, and proactive measures needed to be taken to ensure that our ocean resources could endure for generations.

1972 was a good year for environmental legislation.  The Clean Water Act (CWA) and the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) are two well known pieces of legislation that passed into law in 1972.  They were landmarks for conservation, giving agencies the obligation to regulate clean water and punish individuals or organizations that harm marine mammals, many of which are threatened or endangered.  However, another act was also passed that same year.  It is just as important as the CWA or MMPA.  It addresses some of the challenges described above and the goal of this act is to ensure that future generations can enjoy the cultural, economic, and ecological benefits of the marine environment:  The National Marine Sanctuaries Act (NMSA).

The NMSA gives authority to the Secretary of Commerce to designate areas of the marine environment as national marine sanctuaries.  These areas may be selected based on conservation needs, economic or ecological benefits they provide, or their cultural archaeological or educational qualities they possess.  Currently, there are 14 National Marine Sanctuaries in U.S. waters, and each protects a precious resource for us and for future generations.  Sanctuaries may protect a significant archaeological site from degradation, nursery areas for commercially important fish, breeding grounds for fish and marine mammals, or may have a high diversity of organisms in that area.

Currently the NMSA is under reauthorization.  This means that the Act may be updated so that it can adapt to current management regimes for marine resources,  In addition, it may also allow for more sanctuaries to be added to the national system.  More sanctuaries means more areas where fish and other marine animals can escape from intense pressures from people.  More marine sanctuaries means healthier oceans:  future harvest for fishers, scenic places for divers and snorkelers to enjoy, and refuges for marine animals.  

Yellowtail Snapper on a coral reef.  From http://celebrating200years.noaa.gov/magazine/coral_spills/sanc0201_650.jpg

Marine Sanctuaries, the National Forests of the Oceans

As little as 150 years ago, some scientists believed that there was no way that humans could significantly impact the ocean.  Fish stocks appeared so healthy that they believed there would always be enough fish in the sea.  However, by the time Huxley uttered his famous quote in the 1890s (“I believe...all the great sea fisheries are inexhaustible"), some fisheries had already collapsed and industries were beginning to boom and pollute waterways.  Advances in technology resulted in bottom trawls and dredges to catch mussels and bottom dwelling organisms.  In 1993, the cod fishery in New England collapsed, one of the fisheries Huxley considered immune. In addition, as the demand for fuel and natural gas rose, so did the exploitation of the ocean,  with 4,000 oil platforms currently in the Gulf of Mexico alone (see figure).  The Deepwater Horizon spill of 2010 had major environmental impacts and brought to the limelight to potential harmful effects of these oil platforms on the ocean and coastal environment.

From http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/06mexico/background/oil/media/platform_600.html

However, nestled in these platforms is the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary off the coast of Texas.  National marine sanctuaries are the crown jewel of America’s marine conservation efforts.  Similar to the goal of National Forests’ to preserve wilderness for multiple uses, marine sanctuaries were created to ensure that future generations can enjoy the ecological and cultural resources our ocean provides.  The first sanctuary created was Monitor off Cape Hatteras in North Carolina in 1975.  Protection at each sanctuary varies and is regulated by the Sanctuary staff and the Advisory Council.  At some sanctuaries, boats are prohibited from anchoring, while at others, diving and some recreational fishing may be allowed.  Sanctuaries are crucial, not just for protecting marine habitat, but for our commercial fisheries as well because they serve as spawning grounds for commercially important species like tuna or swordfish; closing North Atlantic Swordfish spawning grounds was one of the keys to the population’s recovery in the late 1990s after catches had decreased by 50%.

Sanctuaries are also a great place to go diving and see relatively pristine habitat.  Despite being surrounded by oil platforms, Flower Garden Banks is one of the healthiest reefs in the world and diving is very popular.  Sea turtles, large grouper, sharks, and a high diversity of colorful reef fish live with a significantly diminished threat from fishermen. 

You may have been to a Marine Sanctuary and not even have known it!  The Florida Keys are all in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary which protects 3,000 nautical miles extending from Miami to the Tortugas.

Marine sanctuaries receive recommendations for their management by advisory councils made up of people from different backgrounds, including government agencies, fishermen, and academics.  Our director at TNACI, Anna George, is currently serving on the council for Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary as a conservation representative.  This is one of the largest near shore live reefs in the southeastern U.S. and is located 16 miles off the coast of Georgia.  Part of the sanctuary is accessible to divers and recreational fishermen, but a portion of it is closed for research only.  This ensures that scientists can monitor the health of the reef and the animals that call it home.

Do you know where your nearest marine sanctuary is?  Go to www.sanctuaries.noaa.gov to find out!