Summer 2014

National Marine Sanctuaries

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

National Marine Sanctuary

NOMINATION PROCESS

WWW.NOMINATE.NOAA.GOV
YOUR CHALLENGE, 

THE OFFICE OF NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARIES is part of NOAA’s 

National Ocean Service. 1305 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 

20910 | Phone: 301-713-3125 | Web: http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov

SANCTUARY WATCH is a publication of the Education, Outreach and 

New Media Division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Office of National Marine Sanctuaries. NOAA is an 

agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

DIVISION CHIEF............ Kate Thompson

EDITORS ....................... Matt Dozier

 Letise LaFeir

DESIGN/LAYOUT .......... Matt McIntosh

COPY EDITORS ............. Matt Dozier

 Letise LaFeir

COVER IMAGE............... Matt McIntosh

CONTRIBUTORS

Matt Brookhart Michiko Martin

Kathy Broughton Shiva Polefka

Matt Dozier Annie Sawabini

Katie Holmes Lisa Symons

Rebecca Holyoke Kate Thompson

Letise LaFeir

 PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER

1 Your Challenge, Your Chance

2 Rising to the Challenge

3 Before & After Sanctuaries

5 The Road to Nomination

7 Sanctuaries: A vital Component

8 Sanctuary Success Stories

9 Of the People

9 Voices of Concern

11 Choose Sanctuaries

NOMINATION

IN THIS ISSUE

Photo Credits: Bottom left: Flickr/Tim Vrieling; 

top right: Flickr/Steve Dunleavy; all others: NOAA
 YOUR CHANCE 

Our nation was founded on the principles of 

community voice, citizen action and the sense 

that, as individuals, we can make a difference. 

Now, for the first time in nearly 20 years, the 

American people can nominate marine and 

Great Lakes places for consideration as national 

marine sanctuaries. We have not entered into 

this process lightly; rather, we have heard from 

communities and stakeholders, political leaders, 

and others across the country who want to secure lasting federal protection for and a voice in 

the management of their special ocean places.

This process will require a great deal from our 

staff, but we expect an equal amount from those 

communities interested in nominating a site for 

consideration. Nomination is only one part of 

what may be further years of work, evaluation, 

and public participation toward designation as a 

national marine sanctuary. 

You’ve heard the phrase “it takes a village.” In 

this case, it certainly does. It takes businesses, 

next-door neighbors, recreators, artists and students — people of every walk of life, background 

and political viewpoint to ultimately put forth a 

nomination. And that’s the way it should be. This 

is the American public’s process, and that journey is a central part of what makes our nation 

— and our national marine sanctuaries — strong. 

www.nominate.noaa.gov

By Daniel J. Basta

Photo: Jaime Windon

RISING TO THE 

CHALLENGE

“For the first time in years, the doors open to establish 

new national marine sanctuaries. I challenge everyone 

who cares about our nation’s ocean and coasts to make 

your voice heard. This isn’t just about the environment. 

It’s about taking a stand for the special places you hold 

dear. This is your chance to let America know — to let 

the world know — that this place matters to me. We 

have an opportunity to make a difference, and it’s up to 

all of us to take responsibility — for ourselves and 

for future generations.”

— Edward James Olmos

Summer 2014 Sanctuary Watch 2
Before & After

Sanctuaries Make a Difference

21,000 Yellowtail Snapper

POPULATION

in the Tortugas Ecological Reserve

The yellowtail snapper is the most economically important reef 

fish to the fishermen of the Florida Keys. It is also an excellent 

indicator species for the effectiveness of fisheries management. 

The population of yellowtail snapper has dramatically increased 

as a direct result of the establishment of the Tortugas Ecological 

Reserve in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.

Source: http://floridakeys.noaa.gov/scisummaries/reeffish.pdf 

Their population decimated by commercial whaling, humpback whales in the North Pacific Ocean 

numbered only about 1,400 in the mid-1960s. 

Through an international ban on commercial 

whaling and protections under the Endangered 

Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection 

Act, the North Pacific humpback whale population now numbers more than 21,000. About half 

of this population spends winter in and around 

the Hawaiian Island Humpback Whale National 

Marine Sanctuary, created by Congress in 1992 

to protect humpback whales and their habitat.

Source: http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/science/

condition/pdfs/hihw_condition_report

BEFORE

AFTER

Protected Humpback Whales 

BEFORE

AFTER

Each icon represents 1,400 whales

3 Sanctuary Watch Summer 2014
COMMUNITY REVITALIZATION

$0.00

A recent economic impact study found 

no short-term financial loss for commercial and recreational fisheries due to the 

implementation of the Tortugas Ecological 

Reserve in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary over a ten-year period. This 

finding sharply contrasts theoretical literature which projected short-term losses for 

those displaced from marine reserves. In 

fact, commercial catches in the region increased and continue to do so.

Source: http://ccma.nos.noaa.gov/ecosystems/coralreef/

TortugasAssessmentReport_final.pdf

Renovated from the defunct Fletcher Paper Mill, a 

victim of difficult economic times, the Great Lakes 

Maritime Heritage Center is now a popular destination for visitors of all ages. In 2013, the center welcomed over 82,000 visitors. Featuring a life-size replica of a portion of an 1800’s Great Lakes Schooner, 

a re-creation of a shipwreck site and an artifact lab, 

the center allows the public to experience and appreciate more than 200 shipwrecks in and around 

Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary.

Source: http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/science/condition/pdfs/tbnms_lowres.pdf 

MARINE DEBRIS REMOVAL

•22 tons of trash removed yearly by 800 volunteers in Olympic Coast NMS

•600 tons of debris removed from Papahānaumokuākea MNM over 10 years

•185 ton dock from Japan’s tsunami removed from Olympic Coast NMS

•7,000 feet of gear disentangled from 17 whales in Hawaiian Islands 

Humpback Whale NMS since 2002

Source: http://marinedebris.noaa.gov/ 

HABITAT RESTORATION

•500+ sites assessed for damages, totaling 1.3M square feet of seagrass, coral and hardbottom habitats since 2000

•$2M+ in fines assessed were used to restore damaged habitats in sanctuaries

•70+ seagrass and coral habitats successfully restored to date

Source: ONMS staff, unpublished personal communication

Infographic/Illustrations: Matt McIntosh

Summer 2014 Sanctuary Watch 4
Taking a Closer Look 

NOAA’s Initial Review

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Community Builds a Nomination

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4

The Road to Nomination

For the first time in two decades, NOAA invites communities 

across the nation to nominate their most treasured places 

in our marine and Great Lakes waters for consideration as 

national marine sanctuaries.

In response to ongoing widespread interest from the 

public, NOAA has launched a new, locally driven sanctuary

nomination process developed with input from more than 

18,000 public comments. Throughout the nomination process, 

NOAA will be available to answer questions and provide guidance to nominating communities and other interested parties. 

NOAA will also update nominators on the progress of the 

agency’s review of their nomination.

PLEASE NOTE: Nomination is not the same thing as sanctuary designation. Designation occurs as a separate process that, 

by law, is highly public and participatory and often takes several years to complete.

 
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2

SUPPORT

GOAL

INFO/DATA

5 Nomination Is Accepted

Community Submits

Nomination to NOAA

Nominated Area Added to Inventory

COMMUNITY BUILDS 

A NOMINATION 

A community gathers information and support for 

the special place it wishes to nominate, following 

the guidelines at www.nominate.noaa.gov.

COMMUNITY SUBMITS 

NOMINATION TO NOAA

Once ready, the community submits its nomination 

to NOAA.

NOAA’S INITIAL REVIEW

NOAA looks at whether or not the nomination 

meets the basic requirements. 

 TAKING A CLOSER LOOK

NOAA takes a closer look at everything that 

makes the nomination a potential candidate for 

sanctuary designation, while continually working 

with the community throughout this process.

NOMINATION IS ACCEPTED

NOAA will notify the community once all the requirements have been met and the nomination 

has been accepted.

NOMINATED AREA 

ADDED TO INVENTORY

NOAA will place successful nominations in an 

inventory of areas it could consider for potential 

designation as a national marine sanctuary.

PLEASE NOTE: 

Addition to the inventory does not guarantee sanctuary designation, which is a separate public process 

described in the National Marine Sanctuaries Act.

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PLEASE NOTE: Addition to the inventory does not guarantee 

that a nominated area will become a sanctuary.

SANCTUARY 

NOMINATION

PROCESS

Infographic/Illustrations: Matt McIntosh

Summer 2014 Sanctuary Watch 6
To insure that our coastal ocean 

waters are utilized to meet our 

total needs from the sea.”*

That’s how Rep. Charles 

Mosher of Ohio, speaking 

before his colleagues in Congress in 1971, described the idea behind the 

legislation that would eventually become the 

National Marine Sanctuaries Act. Those needs, 

he said, include “recreation, resource exploitation, the advancement of knowledge of the 

earth, and the preservation of unique areas...

[and] all are important.” 

Mosher saw this new legislation as a formal expression of the balance between those 

needs. Most importantly, he said, it addressed 

“our national concern over indiscriminate and 

thoughtless utilization of the oceans.” 

Earlier Efforts

This was not the first attempt by governmental leaders to make society’s interaction with 

Sanctuaries: A Vital Component of the U.S. Ocean Management Mosaic

usher in this paradigm, including the creation 

of a unique system for protecting America’s extraordinary offshore resources — cultural and 

ecological, Great Lakes and marine. 

Elevated Protection

Today, an array of policy tools exists to help 

protect special offshore places and conserve marine resources, ranging from place-based designations like marine reserves to effective federal 

laws like the Magnusson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the Endangered Species Act and the Clean Water Act. 

Yet within this legal and regulatory mosaic, 

the National Marine Sanctuary System has come 

to serve a unique and important role in ocean 

and Great Lakes management. Like other relevant laws and designations, sanctuaries confer 

an elevated level of protection for the resources 

they encompass, bringing the unparalleled scientific and enforcement capabilities of the federal government to bear on their protection. 

the ocean more sustainable. Efforts to curb indiscriminate exploitation of marine resources 

date as far back as the early 1850s, when California passed state laws to manage oyster harvest and protect salmon runs. Likewise, a 1911 

treaty between the U.S., Great Britain, Japan 

and Russia attempted to control rampant fur 

seal hunting — and became the world’s first international agreement on wildlife.

Unfortunately, these early, valiant efforts 

failed to counterbalance the world’s skyrocketing demand for marine resources. By the early 

1970s, ocean health was in rapid decline. Garbage dumping, devastating offshore oil spills, 

and rapacious industrial whaling, among other 

issues, focused the American consciousness on 

the seas and motivated broad, bipartisan consensus for a new paradigm of ocean management. 

Though environmental challenges old and 

new continue to plague the world’s oceans today, the spirit and the substance of the efforts 

by Rep. Mosher and his colleagues helped 

By Shiva 

Polefka, 

Research 

Associate for 

Ocean Policy, 

Center for 

American 

Progress

*Representative Mosher (OH). “Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act of 1971.” 117 Congressional Record at 30855.
Stakeholder Empowerment

However, unlike these other programs, national marine sanctuary designation today represents empowerment of local stakeholders in 

the management of the offshore environments 

they cherish and depend on. Sanctuary advisory councils provide a channel for citizens, 

public interest organizations, businesses and 

local governments to directly influence sanctuary management and elevate priorities for 

consideration within NOAA. This influence 

manifests as site-specific management plans 

and regulations, tailored to the unique needs, 

vulnerabilities and activities of each site.

Furthermore, by regularly and formally convening local stakeholders, sanctuaries provide a 

crucial vehicle for coordinating the multitude 

of uses of the space and resources in and around 

these special places. The very features that attract 

fishermen, scientists, environmentalists and the 

public to sanctuaries can often produce competition and even conflict among these interests. 

Success via Collaboration

By providing a legally sanctioned forum, 

sanctuaries facilitate open discussion, foster 

understanding and even collaboration among 

stakeholder groups. For instance, after years of 

contention between fishermen and environmentalists related to state fishing policy, representatives for these two groups in the Channel 

Islands National Marine Sanctuary Advisory 

Council found significant common ground on 

the emerging threat of ocean acidification. This 

common ground led to collaborative research, 

and then in 2008 to the completion of a report 

and management recommendations for the 

sanctuary superintendent that was unanimously adopted by the full council.

Similar collaboration-driven success has 

occurred at sites throughout the sanctuary 

system, leading to benefits for the offshore 

environment, coastal communities and 

coastal industries. These victories came to 

pass because of national marine sanctuaries. Sanctuaries themselves have succeeded 

because of federal collaboration with the 

local stakeholders, who care for and depend on our country’s oceans and Great 

Lakes, day in and day out.

Building on the Foundation

Forty-three years ago, Rep. Mosher and 

his colleagues established a system intended to improve balance among coastal and 

ocean uses, toward a national approach for 

offshore resources that is sustainable rather 

than “indiscriminate.” Today, the combination of federal management capacity and 

local stakeholder engagement that defines 

and energizes national marine sanctuaries is 

helping fulfill the promise of their foundational efforts. 

The National Marine Sanctuary System 

continues to evolve, and will require significant growth through designation of 

new sites where elevated resource protection is warranted and sought after by local 

communities, in order to realize the system’s full potential. But sanctuaries today 

are indispensable — no other marine natural resource policy tool has the breadth 

and adaptability to balance the complex, 

overlapping interests invested in our nation’s extraordinary offshore heritage.

SANCTUARY 

SUCCESS STORIES

Nationwide, America’s most extraordinary marine natural and cultural resources and the 

coastal communities dependent on them have 

reaped tremendous benefits from this unique 

combination of federal protection and empowered local influence. A few examples include:

STOCKS RESTORED

Key West fishermen saw the value of their total 

annual catch rise by 40 percent over 10 years — 

from $40 million in 2001 to $56 million in 2011 

— after Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary 

worked with local scientists, conservationists 

and fishermen to implement a no-fishing zone 

to restore depleted populations of grouper and 

snapper species.

THE SANCTUARY CITY

Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary, the 

sole site within the Great Lakes and home to 

dozens of historical shipwrecks, has become an 

engine for economic diversification and stability 

for the city of Alpena, Mich., which now hosts 

more than 82,000 sanctuary visitors yearly.

FEWER WHALE STRIKES

Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, 

which protects the biodiversity critical to a 

whale-watching industry worth about $26 million per year to the New England economy, led a 

successful multi-year effort in collaboration with 

the shipping industry to reroute shipping lanes 

away from key whale habitat, thereby reducing 

ship collisions with humpback, fin, and critically 

endangered North Atlantic right whales.

Photo: Flickr/Michael Matti

Summer 2014 Sanctuary Watch 8
OF THE

BY THE

FOR THE

PEOPLE

PEOPLE

PEOPLE

Voices 

of Concern

The call for action has come, in part, 

because of the negative impacts 

communities are seeing in their waters. 

These are just a few examples of why 

people want better protection in the 

areas they hold dear.

HABITAT DESTRUCTION

Jody McCaffree – North Bend, OR

When I was younger, my family spent most 

of our summer vacations camping on the 

south coast of Oregon, while my dad fished 

for salmon. It wasn’t until I was older that I 

realized how fortunate we were to always 

have fresh native fish on hand. Unfortunately, due to many years of industrial development in the Coos Bay area, the health of our 

estuarine ecosystems has been compromised, and several species of salmon are 

now on the endangered list. We have a duty to do what we can to 

preserve and protect these waters for future generations. 

From school teachers to senators, people across the nation have been asking for the chance 

to nominate new national marine sanctuaries. We’ve been listening.

For the first time in more than two decades, NOAA has reopened the door to protect new

areas of America’s marine and Great Lakes waters as national marine sanctuaries. In this 

issue of Sanctuary Watch, we explored the who, what, why and how of the new sanctuary 

nomination process, including a step-by-step nomination guide and a personal challenge from 

actor Edward James Olmos. Here are excerpts from the thousands of comments submitted 

by people from all walks of life in support of new national marine sanctuaries!

9 Sanctuary Watch Summer 2014
“We are pleased that NOAA has sought public input on its sanctuary nomination 

and designation criteria, and that the revamped process will strengthen the ability of 

communities and other interested parties to actively participate.”

“Sanctuaries are a key component of our nation’s commitment to conserve our 

ocean and Great Lakes for future generations, and we very much support efforts 

to reinvigorate the National Marine Sanctuary System.” 

“This process is an important first step toward filling a gap in protection for many 

of our coastal waters. I value clean beaches, clean water, and healthy fish and 

wildlife. We need to take steps now to protect our ocean for future generations.”

POPULATION DECLINE

Jeanette Davis – Baltimore, MD

I’m pursuing my Ph.D. in marine molecular 

biology, with a research focus on the Hawaiian sea slug Elysia rufescens, a species of 

photosynthetic sea slug that could be useful 

in developing anticancer drugs. This species, which gathers in Hawaii’s Black Point 

Bay in large numbers once a year to mate, 

was once nearly overharvested because 

of its medical potential. It is so important to 

protect creatures like this, and the marine 

habitats they depend on, both for the health of the ocean and the 

benefits they could have in saving human lives.

POLLUTION

Samuel Janis–Governors Is., New York, NY

When it rains, I watch from my office on 

Governors Island as a stream of floating 

garbage pours into a small cove. This is the 

reality of living along New York Harbor, the 

nation’s most urbanized estuary. When it 

rains more than a quarter-inch in 24 hours, 

our city’s wastewater mixes with street runoff 

and overflows into the harbor, disrupting the 

ecological balance and hampering natural 

restoration and recovery. We, the people of 

New York City, urgently need to address this issue if we want to live 

in a city with swimmable, fishable, healthy waters. 

— Congressional letter of support signed by 26 Members of Congress, 

including Sen. Barbara Boxer and Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California

— Joint letter of support signed by 120+ non-governmental organizations, 

businesses and academic institutions 

— Excerpt from comments submitted by 16,000+ Sierra Club Members
WHAT 

WILL 

YOU

 DO?

CHANGE THE FUTURE OF THE OCEAN 

CHOOSE SANCTUARIES

 WWW.NOMINATE.NOAA.GOV