ALASKA’S DEFACTO MPAs

STATE OF THE NATION’S DE FACTO

MARINE PROTECTED AREAS

RIKKI GROBER-DUNSMORE, DAVE CANNY, MIMI D’IORIO, 

CHARLES WAHLE, LAUREN WENZEL, LISA WOONINCK

MAY 2008
This report is the first synthesis of information on the location, purpose, and restrictions for all federal 

de facto marine protected areas (DFMPAs) in the United States. This report reveals important trends in 

how areas that are established for purposes other than conservation are used, and describes whether and 

how these areas limit access or restrict human activities (such as fishing and recreation). This is viewed 

as a first step towards assessing how these areas contribute to conservation of marine resources nationwide. 

National Marine Protected Areas Center Project Team: Rikki Grober-Dunsmore, Dave Canny, 

Mimi D’Iorio, Charles Wahle, Lauren Wenzel, Lisa Wooninck

Contributing Staff and Partners: This report is made possible through the dedicated efforts of many 

people who helped build the de facto Marine Protected Areas inventory, particularly federal marine 

resource programs and agencies. We are especially indebted to Bob Allen, Annie Berlin, Robin Brake, 

Kelly Chapin, Camille Destaffney, Monica Diaz, Charles Dooling, Bill Dougherty, Greg Fondran, Judson 

Gatch, Chris German, Nicholas Jarboe, Claudia Makeyev, Mark Matzsu, Sheila Murray, Kelly Stirling, 

Lisa Tinker, and Gloria Wilson. Graphic design by Courtnay Perry.

Citation: National Marine Protected Areas Center 2008. State of the Nation’s De Facto Marine Protected Areas, 

(R. Grober-Dunsmore and L. Wooninck, editors). Silver Spring, Maryland.

Photos: All photos are from U.S. government collections and illustrate DFMPAs around the nation.

For more information contact mpainfo@noaa.gov 

To download this report, please visit: www.mpa.gov

Executive Summary 1

Introduction 3

National Perspective 6

Regional Perspective 16

Glossary 78

Appendices

1. Methods and Classification Scheme 79

11. Acronyms 81

 TABLE OF CONTENTS

For more information 

about the National 

Marine Protected 

Areas Center, please 

visit www.mpa.gov
 ALASKA’S DEFACTO MPAs EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Marine ecosystems nationwide 

are experiencing the loss of key 

habitats, declines in recreationally 

and commercially important fish and shellfish 

populations, and undesirable changes in the 

composition of marine communities. Consequently, 

scientists and managers are increasingly interested 

in comprehensive ecosystem-based approaches to 

marine conservation, including the use of placebased management tools such as marine protected 

areas (MPAs). However, some stakeholders have 

raised concerns about the use of MPAs as a 

conservation tool since they, by definition, restrict 

human activities. The degree to which human 

activities are affected by MPAs is largely unknown 

because there has been no comprehensive national 

assessment of the use of this conservation tool. 

Furthermore, there is a perception among some 

stakeholders that large areas of the ocean are already 

“off limits” for reasons other than conservation 

(e.g., as military training areas, shipping lanes, 

etc.). Such areas are commonly referred to as 

de facto Marine Protected Areas (DFMPAs). 

To provide more information about these areas, 

and contribute to a better understanding of their 

contribution to marine spatial management in 

the United States, the National Marine Protected 

Areas Center (MPA Center) undertook the firstever nationwide inventory and analysis of de facto 

MPAs. 

DFMPAs are areas of the ocean where 

access and/or use are restricted for reasons other 

than conservation, although they may provide 

conservation benefits. This report gives the first 

nationwide view of the number, size, type, and 

purpose of DFMPAs in the U.S. It answers the 

question, “How many DFMPAs exist and how are 

they currently being used?” This work complements 

work by the MPA Center to assess the status of 

Marine Managed Areas (MMAs), places in the 

marine environment set aside for conservation 

purposes. Together, these analyses provide the 

first national perspective on the use of various 

types of place-based marine management. 

More than 1,200 DFMPAs are located in and 

cover 3 percent of U.S. waters, which extend 

from the coastline to 200 nautical miles offshore. 

DFMPAs range in size from less than one acre to 

more than 40,000 km2, with the vast majority at the 

smaller end of this spectrum. Most of the small 

sites were created to provide places for vessels to 

anchor safely. There are several extremely large 

DFMPAs in the country; most of these provide 

dedicated training and operation areas for various 

branches of the U.S. military, or facilitate the 

transfer of oil and gas to moored tanker vessels 

(also known as lightering). 

DFMPAs occur in every region of the country. 

While the Mid-Atlantic has the greatest number, 

the Gulf of Mexico has, by far, the largest area of 

the nation’s DFMPAs, most established to ensure 

the safe transfer of oil and gas. Alaska ranks second 

nationally with 13% of its regional waters in a few 

large DFMPAs. These are primarily international 

security and military training stations, situated 

between Alaska and Russia. 

Human activities can occur in nearly all of U.S. 

waters, including areas within MPAs and DFMPAs. 

The total area that is closed to public access in 

DFMPAs (about 1,500 km2) is roughly equivalent 

to the marine area closed for conservation 

purposes (about 1,700 km2). For the entire U.S., 
from military exercises, including target ranges 

and mine-laying and detonation practice. The U.S. 

Marine Corps, Environmental Protection Agency, 

National Aeronautical & Space Administration 

(NASA), U.S. Navy, Army Corps of Engineers and 

National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration 

(NOAA) each administer a small number of 

DFMPAs. 

This survey of DFMPAs reveals important 

insights into the nature and magnitude of access 

and use restrictions in areas established for reasons 

other than conservation. Thus far, we know little 

about the contribution of DFMPAs to conserving 

important marine resources and habitats or 

the effects of these areas on human activities. 

However, results from this analysis suggest that 

restrictions on human uses are generally minor 

and/or intermittent. The vast majority of this area 

is open access and restrictions are primarily geared 

toward reducing potential accidents or conflicts 

of use in congested areas. The contribution of 

DFMPAs to conservation goals could be greatly 

enhanced by including them in broader networks 

of MPAs, and working across agencies to manage 

areas to achieve shared conservation objectives. 

an area roughly equivalent to the Great Salt Lake 

is off-limits to public use in DFMPAs and MPAs 

combined. 

No analysis of the contribution of DFMPAs 

to conserving specific habitats and important 

marine resources has yet been conducted. The 

contribution of individual sites will vary depending 

on their location and resources. For example, 

some DFMPAs are located in highly productive 

fisheries in Alaska, or isolated Pacific Island coral 

reef ecosystems, while others are located in heavily 

industrialized and polluted coastal waters. Further 

analysis and research will be required to ascertain 

the conservation potential of individual DFMPA 

sites to marine conservation in the U.S. 

While the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Air Force, U.S. 

Navy and U.S. Army all manage DFMPAs in the 

U.S., the U.S. Coast Guard manages more DFMPAs 

than any other agency. Coast Guard DFMPAs 

typically help regulate shipping and anchoring 

and separate traffic to provide safe navigation in 

our nation’s waters. The U.S. Air Force and Army 

control much of the remaining DFMPA area in 

danger zones, restricted areas and security areas. 

Here, activities can be limited to protect the public 

SUMMARY
 ALASKA’S DEFACTO MPAs INTRODUCTION

recreational boating. 

Presidential Executive Order 13158, signed on 

May 26, 2000, directs the National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the 

Department of the Interior to work with other 

federal agencies and states, territories, tribes, 

and the public to develop a scientifically-based, 

comprehensive national system of MPAs in the 

U.S. As a first step towards creating a national 

system, the National Marine Protected Areas 

Center (MPA Center) is synthesizing information 

on all existing place-based marine spatial 

management efforts in the country, including 

those that were not implemented specifically 

for conservation purposes. This report gives the 

first nation-wide view of the number, size, type, 

and purpose of DFMPAs in the United States. It 

answers the question, “How many DFMPAs exist 

in the United States, and how are they currently 

being used?” This work complements an analysis 

of areas established for conservation purposes, 

called MMAs. Together, these reports give a 

national perspective of various forms of placebased marine management in U.S. waters. 

Methods

An inventory of the location, purpose, jurisdiction, 

level and types of restrictions within federal 

DFMPAs was created using the publicly available 

Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). The CFR is the 

codification of the rules published in the Federal 

Register by the executive departments and agencies 

of the Federal Government. Data are current as of 

September 2005. Supplementary documentation 

and information was gathered from Department 

of Defense websites and information on specific 

Marine protected areas (MPAs) are 

increasingly used to conserve 

biodiversity, replenish important fish 

stocks, protect exploited species and improve 

ecosystem function in the United States (U.S.). At 

the same time, various stakeholder groups have 

raised concerns that large portions of the ocean 

will be “off limits” to human use. One way to 

determine how much of the ocean is effectively 

closed to human uses (e.g., fishing and recreation) 

is to evaluate the full range of marine areas that 

restrict human activities. This requires examining 

de facto MPAs (see Box 1) and areas set aside 

for conservation purposes (see Box 2). This will 

provide a national perspective of how much U.S. 

marine habitat is protected and assess how much 

of the ocean is off limits to important economic 

and recreational activities. 

Areas that are set aside for reasons other than 

conservation, such as economic, human health or 

safety, and protection of government or private 

property are called de facto MPAs (DFMPAs). 

These are places where activities are restricted by 

law for reasons other than conservation or natural 

resource management. Familiar examples include: 

safety, security, and danger zones, restricted areas, 

prohibited lightering areas , some anchorage 

grounds, and traffic separation schemes. Such 

areas may function similarly to traditional 

conservation-based MPAs by limiting activities 

that may damage marine populations or habitats 

or reducing access to ecologically-sensitive areas. 

Other DFMPAs do not affect people’s day to day 

activities, and place few or no limits on fishing or 

. Lightering is the transfer of oil or other hazardous materials at sea
sites was collected using publicly available websites 

and phone interviews. Various state and federal 

agencies including the Minerals Management 

Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, NOAA and 

U.S. Coast Guard provided relevant information. 

Shapefiles for nearly every DFMPA (96% of 

all sites) were created by the MPA Center using 

information collected from the CFR or from 

publicly available websites. For more details on 

methods and data sources, refer to Appendix I. 

Spatial analysis in geographic information systems 

(GIS) was conducted nationally and regionally, 

using a classification system developed for this 

analysis. Sites that are used as warning areas by the 

military were not included in this analysis. For a 

description of the guidelines adopted for creating 

the marine boundaries of sites in this report, 

please refer to Appendix I.

How to Use this Report

This report analyzes the number of DFMPAs 

located in U.S. waters, regional patterns in 

DFMPAs, their intended purpose, and the degree 

of protection they provide. It does not evaluate 

the effectiveness of these sites. The report 

includes analytical results of the number and 

total area protected within DFMPAs for various 

classifications (see Box 3). These two ways of 

describing DFMPAs distribution often provide 

very different perspectives, and when reported 

together provide a more thorough picture of how 

DFMPAs are managed. For purposes of clarity, 

summary results are consistently provided with 

number of DFMPAs in parentheses, and area 

presented in percentages within figures. 

This report includes national and regional 

summaries of DFMPA distribution, followed 

by purpose and type of site. It also includes the 

management agency that authorizes the DFMPA 

and the date of establishment. Level of access and 

types of fishing restrictions are then summarized, 

since it is important for stakeholders and managers 

to understand how the various types of DFMPAs 

affect user activities differently. Evaluated together, 

these characteristics contribute to providing an 

accurate picture of the effect of a DFMPA on 

human uses, and its role in contributing to the 

conservation of healthy ecosystems. 

Within each regional section, text boxes 

Box 1 What is a De Facto MPA?

De facto MPA An area of the ocean where 

access or activities are restricted by law for 

reasons other than conservation or natural 

resource management. Various types of areas 

are considered de facto MPAs (see Box 2) and 

these areas are often established to protect 

public health and safety, provide training 

areas for the military or protect public and 

private infrastructure. Examples of DFMPAs 

include military installations, anchoring sites, 

navigational channels, oil and gas transfer 

areas, safety, security and restricted areas 

(e.g., power plants). To be considered a de facto MPA a site must meet the 

following criteria: 

Area Must have legally defined boundaries 

Reserved Established by or currently subject to law or regulation 

Marine An area of ocean or coastal waters or the Great Lakes

Restrictions Access and activities are more highly regulated or 

restricted within the area than surrounding waters

Duration Restrictions enacted for a mimimum of ten years duration. 

Within a calendar year, a minimum of three days restriction (does 

not need to be continuous)

Box 2 What is a Marine Managed Area (MMA)? 

MMA The term MMA is used to describe the full range of areas that are set 

aside for conservation purposes, and is more inclusive than the term marine 

protected areas (MPAs). MMAs can include fisheries management areas, 

marine parks, no-take reserves, and recreation areas. The MPA Center 

defines an MMA as any area that has the following characteristics: 

Area Must have legally defined boundaries

Marine An area of ocean or coastal waters or the Great Lakes

Reserved Established by or currently subject to law or regulation

Lasting Provide year-to-year protection for a minimum of two 

consecutive years

Protection Have existing regulations that afford increased 

protection specifically to natural and/or cultural resources and 

qualities within the site

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provide case studies of individual DFMPAs. 

These case studies give detailed information on 

the purpose, location and context of individual 

DFMPAs. Examples of individual DFMPAs are 

used throughout the text of the regional sections 

to provide insights into how specific DFMPAs 

potentially affect access, human activities and 

conservation of marine resources.

To assess the potential contribution of 

DFMPAs to the conservation of marine 

resources, each regional section is concluded 

with a description of the total area and number 

of sites that are effectively off limits to fishing 

on a year round basis. Determining the potential 

contribution of DFMPAs to conserving marine 

resources is difficult. In some cases these areas are 

used for target practice by aircraft, ground troops 

and missiles. The impacts of these uses have rarely 

been assessed, but in many areas impacts are 

thought to be minimal, since many areas are rarely 

used. Because little information on the status of 

marine resources inside DFMPAs is available, this 

report summarizes how much area is no access, 

but does not examine the status of resources 

within these areas. 

Box 3 A Note on Terminology

This report uses the terms marine managed areas, de facto marine protected areas, no-take reserve 

and no access year round de facto marine protected areas throughout the text. Marine managed 

areas, in the broadest sense, are geographic areas established to conserve or manage resources 

within the marine environment. The National MPA Center refers to a site as a marine managed area, 

if the site was established for conservation purposes. Marine managed areas exist in various shapes, 

sizes and forms. Examples of sites that are considered marine managed areas include national 

marine sanctuaries, fishery management zones, national seashores, national parks, state reserves, 

critical areas, national estuarine research reserves, aquatic preserves, areas of critical concern, 

and essential fish habitat areas.

A site is referred to as a de facto marine protected area when a geographic marine area is 

designated for purposes other than conservation- such as for military or human health and safety 

purposes. 

A no-take marine reserve is a type of marine managed area where all forms of extractive harvest 

are prohibited. Other terms for a no-take reserve include marine reserve, no-take reserve, and 

exclusion zone.

A no access year round DFMPA is a type of DFMPA where all forms of extractive harvest are 

prohibited, as access is completely prohibited. 



INTRO
 ALASKA’S DEFACTO MPAs NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE

A T A G L A N C E

1,234 DFMPAs exist in the U.S.

The vast majority (94%) do not restrict human activities

DFMPAs cover 3% of U.S. waters 

The Gulf of Mexico has more area in DFMPAs than any other region, but the Mid-Atlantic has the greatest 

number of DFMPAs

Danger zones cover more area than any other type of DFMPA

The U.S. Coast Guard controls more area than any other management agency 

About 1,500 km2

, an area three times the size of Lake Tahoe, is contained in no access DFMPAs

The area of DFMPAs in no access zones is about the same as the area designated as no take reserves in 

the U.S. 

•

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•

More than 1,200 DFMPAs (1,234) are 

located in U.S. waters (0-200nm). These 

sites cover 3% of the U.S. waters, (0-

200 nautical miles offshore), which includes the 

Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), Territorial Sea, 

and state waters (Map 1; Graph 1). DFMPAs range 

in size from less than one acre to more than 40,000 

km2, though the vast majority is at the smaller end 

of this spectrum. Most of the small sites were 

created to provide places for vessels to anchor 

safely. Most of the large sites provide dedicated 

training and operation areas for various branches 

of the U.S. military, or facilitate the transfer of oil 

and gas to moored tanker vessels (Map 2). 

De facto MPAs occur in every region of the 

country (Graph 2; Table 1). While the Mid-Atlantic 

has the greatest number, the Gulf of Mexico has, 

by far, the most DFMPA area compared to any 

other region, most of it to ensure the safe transfer 

of oil and gas. Alaska ranks second nationally with 

13% of its regional waters in a few large DFMPAs. 

These are primarily international security and 

military training stations, situated between Alaska 

and Russia. 

The South Atlantic, West Coast and MidAtlantic each have many individual DFMPAs, but 

these cover a relatively small portion (5 -7%) of 

the regional waters. The South Atlantic DFMPAs 

are predominately military sites; the largest are 

air to air combat training areas located off the 

coast of Florida and Georgia. The West Coast is 

dominated by areas that assist vessels in navigating 

safely through heavy shipping traffic. Large swaths 

of the Pacific Ocean near Seattle, Los Angeles 

and San Francisco are designated to help boaters 

navigate through these highly congested areas. 

While the South Atlantic has half the number of 

sites as the West Coast, the areas are comparable, 

in large part because the South Atlantic has some 

of the nation’s largest danger zones (see Box 4). 

While the Mid-Atlantic has more sites than any 

other region, most of these are small anchorage 

areas and cover only a modest area. 

Minor portions (1–2%) of New England, the 
Great Lakes and the Pacific and Caribbean Islands 

regional waters are contained in DFMPAs. New 

England’s DFMPAs almost exclusively control 

shipping and help ensure that small boating is safe 

amidst some of the nation’s busiest ports. In the 

Great Lakes, most of the DFMPA area is contained 

within a single site –Volk Field Air National Guard 

Station – though the marine portion is rarely 

used. Military installations also mark the Pacific 

and Caribbean Islands regions. Here, air to air 

combat training occurs and historically these areas 

have been used for small arms target practice and 

missile launches. Many of the sites in the island 

states and territories have been decommissioned, 

and are no longer in use, although the sites still 

exist legally in the Code of Federal Regulations 

(CFR). Several of these “defunct” DFMPAs 

occur in some of the best coral reef ecosystems 

in the U.S., and in several cases new MPAs have 

been established to conserve the valuable marine 

habitats and resources within these areas. 

Map 1 

Number and percentage area of each 

region’s waters (0-200 

nm) in DFMPAs. The 

number of individual 

sites is given below the 

name of each region. 

The percentage of 

each region’s waters in 

DFMPAS (0-200 nm) is 

given above each pie. 

Individual pie charts are 

scaled to the number of 

DFMPAs by region.

Graph 1 (Below L) 

Percent total of area of 

U.S. waters (0-200nm) 

in DFMPAs.

Graph 2 (Below R) 

Percent of total DFMPA 

area in the U.S. by 

region.

NATIONAL
Map 2

Distribution of DFMPAs 

within the continental 

U.S. and the 

islands and territories 

within U.S. jurisdiction. 

DFMPA boundaries are 

indicated in yellow. The 

black line indicates the 

200 nm limit. Maps 

are shown at the 

same spatial scale for 

comparison. Bottom left 

is the Hawaiian Island, 

Bottom Right is the 

Caribbean Islands. 
What types of DFMPAs exist in the U.S.?

There are twelve different types of DFMPAs in 

the U.S., including danger zones, restricted areas, 

and anchorage grounds (see Box 4). The type of 

DFMPA is determined by each managing agency 

when the site is established. 

Danger zones are the most common type 

of DFMPA (Graph 3; Table 2). These are 

typically large military training grounds where 

missiles are tested, air craft are flown in combat 

training missions and troops prepare for active 

fighting. These zones frequently are strategically 

placed in regions at the periphery of the nation. 

Consequently, the Caribbean and Pacific Island 

territories and Florida, Alaska and the Great 

Lakes have considerable portions of their waters 

in this type of DFMPA. Only a few, relatively 

small danger zones exist in New England, the 

West Coast and the Gulf of Mexico. However, the 

specific regulations within this type of DFMPA 

vary from region to region. For example, in the 

Gulf of Maine Pemaquid Point danger zone, 

human activities are allowed unimpeded except for 

immediately prior to and during the period when 

sonobuoys are being dropped. Then an escort 

NATIONAL

Percentage of total 

DFMPA area in U.S. 

by region

Number of DFMPAs Total Area (km2

) in 

DFMPAs (overlap 

included)

Gulf Mexico 64% 217 215,653

Alaska 13% 31 44,411

South Atlantic 7% 117 29,522

West Coast 6% 274 30,547

Mid-Atlantic 5% 285 16,719

New England 2% 164 7,621

Great Lakes 2% 69 4,674

Pacific Islands 1% 59 1,605

Caribbean <1% 22 829

Note: Bold indicates the region with the greatest amount for each column.

Danger 

Zone

Lightering 

zone

Vessel traffic 

service areas

Restrict/Safety 

Prohibit

Shipping 

safety fairway

Regulated 

Navigation Area

Traffic 

separation 

scheme

Anchorage

New England 1 0 0 <1 25 <1 61 12

Mid-Atlantic 14 0 <1 <1 11 43 24 3

South Atlantic 85 0 <1 1 <1 13 0 <1

Gulf of Mexico 36 35 10 13 8 <1 <1 <1

Caribbean 96 0 0 <1 0 <1 0 4

Pacific Islands 86 0 0 9 0 2 0 1

West Coast 4 0 40 <1 <1 42 10 2

Great Lakes 73 0 23 <1 0 3 <1 <1

Alaska 63 0 7 20 8 <1 <1 <1

NOTE: Bold indicates the greatest area for each type. To reduce the number of categories, danger zones, restricted areas and security zones were classed together, and anchorage grounds, shipping 

anchorages, and special anchorage areas where classed together. 

Table 1

Percentage of total 

DFMPA area, number, and total area 

in de facto MPAs by 

region. Overlap among 

DFMPAs is included 

in calculations of total 

area.

Table 2 (Below) 

Area of DFMPAs 

by type and region 

(percent area of each 

region’s total DFMPA 

area). 

Graph 3

Number and percentage area of the nation’s 

DFMPAs by type. The 

number of individual 

es for each type is indicated in the bar graph.
vessel or naval aircraft is in the vicinity to ensure 

that no persons or vessels are in the testing area. 

Prohibited areas are DFMPAs where the 

transfer of oil is not allowed, in order to protect 

sensitive coral and sponge habitats. Lightering is 

then allowed to occur in adjacent areas. Only three 

prohibited areas exist in the Gulf of Mexico, yet 

are the second most extensive type of DFMPA, 

since these areas are extremely large. For example, 

one prohibited area is larger than several states in 

the nation. 

Various types of DFMPAs exist to prevent 

collisions along the approaches to major harbors, 

reduce damage to waterfront facilities, and protect 

harbors, ports, the environment and human lives. 

Regulated navigation areas, vessel traffic service 

areas, traffic separation schemes, and shipping 

safety fairways are all used to help ships move 

safely and quickly through congested ports and 

marine highways. Fundamentally, these various 

types of DFMPAs function similarly, but different 

regions use different types, as the differences 

among the various types are inconsequential. In 

the West Coast and Great Lakes regions, vessel 

traffic service areas are most prominent. As the 

West Coast is the gateway to trade in the Far East, 

Seattle, Los Angeles and San Francisco have large 

vessel service areas to safely regulate commerce. 

Traffic separate schemes and shipping safety 

fairways comprise most of the DFMPAs in New 

England.

Restricted, security and safety zones/areas 

occur in substantial sections of Alaska, the Gulf 

of Mexico and the Pacific Islands. These typically 

protect industrial or military facilities such as Port 

Valdez in Alaska or the Crystal River Nuclear 

Power Plant in Florida. 

Anchorages are more numerous than any other 

type of DFMPA, but individual sites are typically 

small. Therefore, their total area is negligible. 

New England has more anchorage DFMPAs 

than any other region, but most of these are for 

commercial shipping. In the Caribbean, most are 

used by cruise ships and sailing yachts.

What is the primary purpose of DFMPAs 

in the U.S.? 

De facto MPAs in the U.S. have three major purposes: military, public health and safety, and private 

Box 4 Types of De Facto MPAs

There are various types of DFMPAs in the 

U.S. The type of DFMPA is determined by 

the managing agency, when the site is 

established. 

Anchorage Ground To protect government 

vessels or vessels carrying explosives 

from injury or sabotage

Danger Zones To protect the public from 

target practice, bombing, rocket firing or 

other especially hazardous operations

Lightering Zone To confine and control oil 

and hazardous materials transfer

Prohibited Area To prevent oil and hazardous materials transfer at 

sea

Regulated Navigation Area To control vessel traffic around ports and 

harbors

Restricted Area To provide security for government operations and 

protection of the public from the risks of damage or injury arising 

from government activity by prohibiting or limiting public access

Safety Zone To limit access for safety and environmental purposes

Security Zone To safeguard public or private infrastructure from 

destruction, loss, or injury from sabotage

Shipping Safety Fairway To control the erection of structures in highly 

trafficked areas

Shipping Safety Anchorage To provide for safe vessel routes

Special Anchorage Area To provide safe navigation in navigable 

waters

Traffic Separation Scheme To provide access routes for vessels to and 

from ports

Box 5 Purpose of De Facto MMAs

De facto MPAs have three major purposes: military, public health and 

safety, and private and public infrastructure protection. 

Military To protect military vessels and installations and the public 

from military exercises, including naval bases, target ranges, missile 

ranges, mine laying and detection practice, and degaussing areas.

Public Health or Safety To protect the public from environmental 

hazards or government activities. Examples include many anchorage 

areas, traffic separation schemes and prohibited lightering areas.

Public and Private Infrastructure To protect government property and 

privately owned facilities from sabotage and to protect the public 

from operations that might endanger health or safety. Examples 

include nuclear power facilities, and mineral or energy extraction 

platforms.

10
and public infrastructure protection (see Box 5). 

Most DFMPAs (858) in the U.S. were established to 

protect public health and safety (Graph 4). A large 

portion of this area was established to allow oil 

and gas to be safely transferred in designated areas 

in the Gulf of Mexico, without harming public 

marine resources or risking harm to human health 

or safety. Other public health and safety DFMPAs 

include anchorage areas, traffic separation 

schemes and prohibited lightering areas. The 

military controls much of the remaining DFMPA 

area in the U.S. in 287 individual sites including in 

naval and air bases, target ranges, and mine laying 

and detection practice areas. A small portion of 

the nation’s DFMPA area protects public and 

private infrastructure. The U.S.S. Constitution 

and federal correctional facilities are two of the 

89 individual DFMPAs that protect public and 

private infrastructure. 

Who manages DFMPAs?

The U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Armed Forces (e.g., 

Navy, Army, Marines, and Air Force), the National 

Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), 

the Environmental Protection Agency, the 

Army Corps of Engineers, the Federal Aviation 

Administration, and the Bureau of Prisons 

administer DFMPAs in the U.S. 

The U.S. Coast Guard (Coast Guard) regulates 

more DFMPA area than any other management 

agency in the nation, yet regional exceptions exist 

(Table 3; Graph 5). For example, in New England, 

the West Coast and the Mid-Atlantic, the Coast 

Guard controls a majority of the DFMPA area. 

In these places, shipping is a central industry, with 

large sections of the coast dedicated to regulating 

the movement of commercial traffic. By contrast, 

in the South Atlantic, the U.S. Navy (Navy) and 

U.S. Air Force (Air Force) manage more DFMPA 

area than the Coast Guard, due in large part to 

the presence of some of the largest air and sea 

training areas in the U.S. 

 The Air Force plays a key role in managing 

DFMPAs nationally, but the amount varies 

considerably by region. For example, in the Great 

Lakes nearly 70% of the DFMPA area is controlled 

by the Air Force, most of which is contained in a 

single site, the Volk Field Air Force training area. In 

Alaska, the Air Force runs Shemya Island, Bristol 

Bay and Blyling Sound Area, which are large fly 

zones where training and testing is conducted 

over the Bering Sea. 

The Navy ranks third nationally in the total 

DFMPA area under its control, with most of this 

occurring in the South Atlantic and the Caribbean 

Islands. Many Navy sites are located in the outer 

reaches of the U.S. (e.g., Alaska, Pacific Islands, 

and Caribbean Islands). 

The U.S. Army (Army) controls large ocean 

areas in the Caribbean and Pacific Islands. For 

example, Camp Tortugero in Puerto Rico is a small 

arms range, and in the Pacific, the waters around 

Kaena Point Light, Oahu are de facto MPAs, since 

the land is used for infantry and artillery training. 

Other agencies manage a small portion of the 

nation’s DFMPAs. The U.S. Marine Corps (Marine 

Corps) controls part of the South Atlantic in a few 

large sites. This includes the New River Marine 

Corps firing ranges, Grey Point Sector and the 

Pamlico Sound and Neuse River. While NASA, 

the Environmental Protection Agency and Army 

Corps of Engineers manage several sites, these 

represent a tiny fraction of the nation’s total. 

Can people access DFMPAs in the U.S.? 

Contrary to the impression created by the sheer 

number and extent of DFMPAs, people can access 

and conduct many types of activities within most 

of the nation’s DFMPAs (Table 4; Graph 6). The 

vast majority of the DFMPA area in the U.S. is 

multiple use, where various forms of recreation, 

fishing and boating can occur. When restrictions 

on human activities exist, they are often minor and 

designed primarily to ensure safety for humans 

Graph 4 

Percent area of 

DFMPAs by primary 

purpose (% of national total). 

11

NATIONAL
and shipping. Frequently, restrictions within 

a given area are only temporarily instated (see 

Box 6). For example, within the shipping safety 

fairways vessels must take extreme caution and 

pay attention to the flow of traffic. While this may 

impede some activities, the area helps ships avoid 

collisions in high congestion areas. 

Access is restricted in a small portion of the 

U.S. DFMPAs on a year round basis. In fact, less 

than 1% of the nation’s DFMPA area, for all 

regions except the Pacific Islands is no access year 

round. An extremely small total area, 1500 km2, is 

off limits year round. 

Some of the DFMPA area is closed to access, 

but on a temporary basis (3%). These areas are 

closed for brief periods of time during missile 

firing and during active combat fighting. For 

instance, at the Makai Undersea test range in 

Hawaii the area is closed to access only during 

periods when submersibles conduct test dives. 

This happens just a few times a year. 

A small portion of the DFMPA area is transit 

only, but most of this is a temporary restriction, 

with vessels allowed to pass through, but not to 

engage in activities. For example, within the San 

Diego Amphibious Base in California, people are 

not allowed to swim, fish, or water ski year-round. 

In contrast, in the Choctawatchee Bay danger zone 

in Florida, gunnery operations wait until no one is 

in the area. Vessels are, nevertheless, encouraged 

to move through the area quickly. 

De facto MPAs may, however, result in harm to 

marine resources, since in some locations marine 

habitats are potentially damaged during rocket 

firing, target practice and ordnances are exploded 

underwater. It is difficult to assess the damage to 

marine resources in many of these cases, since 

these areas are used intermittently and long-term 

monitoring studies of the effects of such activities 

on marine resources have rarely been conducted. 

In many instances, several of the DFMPAs have 

been converted into marine protected areas 

for conservation purposes, contributing to the 

conservation of the nation’s marine resources. The 

recent repositioning of thousands of overseas U.S. 

troops and stateside base closings or adjustments 

mandated by the 2005 Base Realignment and 

Closure Commission provided many opportunities 

for areas that were once managed (and functioned) 

as DFMPAs by the military to be converted into 

conservation areas. An example of such as an area 

is the Kahoolawe Island Reserve in Hawaii. 

Is fishing restricted within DFMPAs in the U.S.?

Fishing is rarely prohibited within DFMPAs. 

However, it is often regulated, typically with 

minimal regulations. This allows recreational and 

Graph 5

DFMPA area by management agency (percent of national total).

Coast Guard Air Force Navy Army Marine Corps

New England 98 0 2 0 0

Mid-Atlantic 82 0 17 0 0

South Atlantic 2 34 59 0 4

Gulf of Mexico 65 30 6 0 0

Caribbean 4 0 60 36 0

Pacific Islands 10 0 24 65 0

West Coast 89 3 8 0 0

Great Lakes 27 70 <1 3.5 0

Alaska 16 64 20 <1 0

Note: Values in bold are the largest for each region. Other management agencies control an insignificant portion of the 

nation’s DFMPA area. 

Table 3

DFMPA area by region 

and management 

agency (percent of 

national total). 

Graph 6

DFMPA area by level of 

restriction (percent of 

national total).

NATIONAL

12
Box 6 Duration of Restrictions on Access

De facto MPAs vary in the duration of their restrictions from a few hours infrequently to 24 hours 

a day, 365 days a year. The permanence and constancy of the regulations controlling a specified 

area will affect the possible conservation benefit and impact on the public of those areas. Sites 

classified as

Permanent Year-round are de facto MPAs whose legal authorities restrict access or activities 

to a given area permanently, 365 days a year. Examples include nuclear power facilities, some 

naval bases, and some testing and targeting areas.

Permanent Seasonal are de facto MPAs whose legal authorities restrict access to a given area 

in perpetuity but only at predictable times of the year. Examples include some testing and 

targeting areas and some restricted areas. Permanent Periodic are de facto MPAs whose legal 

authorities restrict access to a given area in perpetuity but only at irregular, announced intervals 

throughout the year. Examples include many testing and targeting areas and some restricted 

areas. These types of DFMPAs are grouped together for reporting here. Seasonal DFMPAs are 

regularly activated during specific seasons, and then de activated. Temporary DFMPAs are 

typically activated only during brief periods of time when they are being used. After operations 

are completed, these sites are de-activated. 

Lapsed or Uncertain are areas that are still designated on charts but which have no current 

enforcement authority or are in the process of being de-listed. Examples include defunct 

targeting areas and decommissioned bases.

1.

2.

3.

Map 3

Total area that is no 

access year round 

in DFMPAs in U.S. 

waters (0-200nm). The 

red square does not 

indicate the specific 

location of a particular 

DFMPA. Rather, it 

indicates the total no 

access year round area 

for all DFMPAs in the 

U.S. 

13

NATIONAL
commercial boaters and fishermen access to these 

areas. Presently, more than 50% of DFMPAs 

have some type of regulation associated with 

fishing. Generally these regulations are enacted to 

provide safe navigation and shipping and are not 

specifically targeted at fishing. For example, inside 

most anchoring areas, the installation of a fishing 

structure underwater is prohibited. While this may 

preclude certain types of fishing, such as trapping, 

the regulation is intended to ensure that boats do 

not become entangled in submerged gear. In traffic 

separation schemes, fishermen are not allowed to 

place submerged buoys since large cargo ships 

may foul on these. Fishing can also be affected by 

the presence of a DFMPA indirectly. For example, 

in areas that are temporarily no access, fishing 

boats will be required to leave the area. They may 

return, however, after the military operations 

cease. Fishing occurs without any restrictions in 

nearly half the area set aside in DFMPAs. 

When were DFMPAs created? 

The majority of DFMPAs were established in the 

1960s, followed by another sharp increase during 

the 1980s (Graph 7). One of the earliest sites is the 

Northerly Island danger zone in Chicago, Illinois, 

set aside in 1947 to keep vessels from interfering 

with air traffic originating from O’Hare Airport. 

During the 1960s and 1970s, a large number of 

anchorage grounds were established by the Coast 

Guard. Many of these were created around busy 

commercial ports, such as Miami, Los Angeles and 

New York. Relatively few sites were established 

during the 1970s, but this was followed by an 

increase in new designations during the 1980s. 

At this time, many traffic separation schemes, 

anchorage grounds, and shipping safety areas were 

designated around various ports and harbors. Sites 

established in recent years are primarily security, 

safety and restricted zones. John F. Kennedy 

Airport DFMPA in New York and Pilgrim Nuclear 

Power Plant DFMPA facility in Massachusetts 

are places designated in response to increasing 

concerns about public safety. 

Is there overlapping jurisdiction of DFMPAs? 

Sometimes, managed areas are designated in 

locations where another agency already has legal 

authority. When another layer of jurisdiction 

is placed in the same geographic location as 

the existing site, this is termed overlapping 

jurisdiction. Nationally, twenty percent of the 

DFMPA area overlaps existing DFMPAs. Most of 

this overlapping jurisdiction occurs in places where 

the Army, Corps of Engineers, and the Coast 

Guard both have legal jurisdiction over individual 

DFMPAs. The proportion of the total DFMPA 

area that overlaps existing sites varies from region 

to region (Table 5). The West Coast has, by far, the 

highest proportion of overlapping DFMPA area, 

Table 4

Level of restriction of 

DFMPAs by region in 

the U.S. (percent area 

of national total). 

Graph 7 

Number of DFMPAs by 

establishment date.

NATIONAL

14

Multiple Use Temporarily 

Transit Only

Permanently 

Transit Only 

Temporarily 

No Access

Permanently 

No Access

New England 99 < 1 < 1 < 1 < 1

Mid-Atlantic 84 < 1 10 5 < 1

South Atlantic 3 73 < 1 22 2

Gulf of Mexico 69 36 < 1 < 1 < 1

Caribbean < 1 13 < 1 86 < 1

Pacific Islands 5 < 1 < 1 66 28

West Coast 96 2 < 1 < 1 < 1

Great Lakes 23 < 1 70 7 < 1

Alaska 69 < 1 30 < 1 < 1

Note: Bold indicates the greatest area for each restriction level in each region.
followed by the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska. 

Summary

Many DFMPAs exist in the U.S., with more 

DFMPA area in the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska 

than in any other region. Nationally, DFMPAs 

cover more than 3% of our national waters (0-200 

nm), and most were established in response to the 

need to protect human health and safety. These 

DFMPAs are distributed throughout the different 

regions of the U.S., with the major type of DFMPA 

varying by region, in order to accommodate 

the specific needs of a region. For instance, the 

Gulf of Mexico uses DFMPAs primarily for oil 

and gas transfer, the Mid-Atlantic uses DFMPAs 

for shipping safety, and the South Atlantic uses 

DFMPAs to a large extent for military training 

areas. Since their purpose is generally focused on 

health and safety, human activities can take place 

unimpeded in most of this area. The actual degree 

of restriction in much of this area is minimal, and 

is intended to provide safe boating operations in 

areas with heavy congestion or military exercises 

underway. In total, only 1,500 km2 is off-limits 

year round to human activities, an area roughly 

equivalent to the area set aside in “no take” or no 

fishing areas established for conservation purposes 

(Map 3). 

Since the total DFMPA exceeds the area set 

aside for conservation, DFMPAs may contribute 

to marine conservation in the U.S. Many DFMPAs 

are located in near-shore habitats and coastal 

estuaries, areas that are critical habitat for many of 

our nation’s fisheries species. To understand their 

true conservation value, targeted assessments of 

their impacts to local ecosystems will be required. 

Such information will be useful for assessing the 

potential conservation benefits for developing 

a national system of MPAs (see www.mpa.gov). 

Incorporating DFMPAs into a wider network of 

MPAs could enhance their conservation benefits 

through interagency coordination and integrated 

management toward shared conservation goals. 

Table 5

The proportion of 

overlapping DFMPA 

area for each region. 

Values are presented 

as percentages of each 

region’s DFMPA area. 

15

NATIONAL

Percentage Overlap

New England <1

Mid-Atlantic <1

South Atlantic 0

Gulf of Mexico 18

Caribbean 0

Pacific Islands 3

West Coast 49 

Great Lakes <1

Alaska 17
 ALASKA’S DEFACTO MPAs REGIONAL PERSPECTIVES

The preceding information provides a 

national perspective of the state of 

the nation’s DFMPAs. The rest of the 

document is divided into nine regions for the U.S. 

Islands often have relatively more regional waters 

for their small areal cover compared to continental 

regions, which has important consequences when 

comparing regional totals. 

We report several facts for each region. First, we 

report the proportion of each region’s DFMPAs 

relative to the total national area in DFMPAs. Then, 

all subsequent analyses are reported based on the 

total DFMPA area for that region. For example, 

the Gulf of Mexico contains 64% of the nation’s 

entire DFMPA area. However, when statistics are 

reported on the type and management agency 

of DFMPAs within the Gulf of Mexico, those 

numbers are based solely on the total DFMPA 

area within the Gulf of Mexico region. 

Graphs presented are based on the areal 

extent (km2) of DFMPAs. In all pie charts and bar 

graphs, the total number of individual DFMPAs 

is indicated in parentheses. The exception is when 

level of restriction is reported. For each region, a 

table also indicates the number of individual sites 

per state. Because some sites overlap and others 

cross regional boundaries, these numbers do not 

always sum to the regional totals. 

Within each regional section, a series of 

maps are presented with the name, location, 

type, management agency and allowable human 

activities for each DFMPA. Individual maps show 

the DFMPAs defined within the boundaries of 

that particular region only. Although DFMPAs 

from a neighboring region may be within the 

spatial extent of the map, only DFMPAs within 

the defined region being described will be 

displayed on the map. To reduce the number of 

classifications presented for type of DFMPA, 

several types were grouped into a single class. For 

example, all anchorage areas are grouped into the 

class anchorage, all traffic separation schemes, 

regulated navigation areas and shipping safety 

areas are grouped in the shipping safety area class 

and danger zones, restricted areas and security 

zones are grouped together. 

Regional Waters

In this report, the U.S. is divided into nine regions. The area from 0-200 nm from the coastline is 

considered regional waters. The states and/or territories included in each region are: 

Alaska: Alaska only

West Coast: Washington, Oregon, and California

Pacific Islands: Guam, Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands, American Samoa, Hawaii 

and outer islands, Pacific Islands Territories. The Marshall Islands are not included. 

Gulf of Mexico: Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Florida

Caribbean Islands: Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands

South Atlantic: Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina

Mid-Atlantic: Virginia, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York

New England: Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Maine (Several New York 

sites extend into New England region.) 
 ALASKA’S DEFACTO MPAs ALASKA’S DE FACTO MPAs

A T A G L A N C E

Primary purpose of DFMPAs is military

Majority of area in DFMPAs is multiple use

Danger zones make up vast majority of DFMPA area

The Air Force controls most of this area

Access is prohibited year round in an area smaller than 16 km2.

•

•

•

•

•

17

Background

Alaska ranks second nationally in the total area 

established in DFMPAs (13% of the nation’s 

total DFMPA area). Most of this DFMPA area is 

distributed in three large sites in western Alaska, 

although a cluster of individual sites occur south 

of Anchorage at the scene of the Exxon Valdez 

oil spill in Prince William Sound (Map 4). The 

remaining portions of Alaska’s vast regional waters 

do not have any DFMPAs. Consequently, the total 

DFMPA area represents a mere fraction of Alaska’s 

regional waters (<1%) in 31 individual sites. 

Almost all of Alaska’s DFMPA area was 

designated by the military for security and training 

purposes and to support the transport of oil from 

the oil fields of the far north to refineries in the 

continental U.S. The smallest DFMPA in the 

region is an Army loading dock in Lutak Inlet, and 

the largest is an Air Force training area in Bristol 

Bay, which is rarely activated. Most of Alaska’s 

DFMPA area is open to various human activities, 

with only a tiny part of the regional waters off 

limits on a year-round basis. 

What types of DFMPAs exist in Alaska?

Most of the DFMPA area in Alaska exists in 

danger zones in three Air Force sites in western 

Alaska (Graph 8). These danger zones -- Shemya 

Island, Blying Sound, and Bristol Bay -- - are rarely 

activated, and have not been used for many years. 
18

M A P B E L O W :

S U M M A R Y S TAT S

< 1% of regional waters

31 sites

13% of total U.S. DFMPA 

area

44,411 km2

•

•

•

•

DFMPAs occur primarily in the western and southern portions of Alaska. Several 

danger zones and restricted areas (Shemya Island Area Danger Zone, Kuluk Bay 

Restricted Area) are located in western Alaska around the Aleutian Islands. The 

Unimak Pass shipping safety fairway is located off Unimak Island in the Aleutian 

Islands. Unimak Pass is the major connection between the North Pacific Ocean 

shelf and the eastern Bering Sea shelf. The largest concentration of DFMPAs occurs 

within Prince William Sound around the ports of Whittier, Cordova, and Valdez. 

Several vessel traffic service areas operate at the entrance of these ports within 

one large traffic separation scheme that regulates flow in and out of the Sound. 

The shipping pass for many vessels serves as an entranceway to Prince William 

Sound between Hinchinbrook Island and Montague Island. DFMPA anchorages are 

located in southeast Alaska within Ketchikan and Hassler Harbors. 

Map 4 DFMPAs by management agency in Alaska with names of individual sites. 
Other danger zones are intermittently used for 

supersonic training flights that simulate combat 

conditions for aircrews. The danger zones of 

Alaska are located far offshore because Air Force 

procedures require that, whenever possible, flights 

occur over open water, above 10,000 feet, and no 

closer than 15 miles from shore. 

Although an equal number of restricted areas 

exist in Alaska, their total area is less than that of 

danger zones (Map 5). Lutak is a restricted dry 

cargo dock for the U.S. Army, and is off limits 

when tankers are discharging oil at the dock. 

Navigation, shipping safety areas and vessel traffic 

areas make up most of the remaining DFMPA 

area in Alaska (see Box 7). For example in Prince 

William Sound, an expansive traffic separation 

scheme helps prevent collisions by separating 

tankers into opposing streams of traffic. 

Who manages DFMPAs in Alaska?

The Air Force controls most of the DFMPA 

area in Alaska (Graph 9) in three large danger 

zones located between Russia and Alaska. Within 

Blying Sound, annual military campaigns operate 

training in the area, but do not typically impede 

use of the area. Another danger zone is Bristol 

Bay, home to one of the world’s most productive 

commercial fisheries. The Alaska Department of 

Fish and Game regulates fishing in this area, and 

commercial sockeye fishing is conducted in the 

summer largely unaffected by the infrequent use 

Map 5

Types of DFMPAs in 

Alaska. 

Graph 8

Types of DFMPAs in 

Alaska (number and 

percent total of DFMPA 

area). The number of 

sites is indicated in the 

bar. The percentage of 

the total DFMPA area 

for this region is indicated on the y-axis. 

19

ALASKA
of the area for firing practice from vessels. 

The Navy manages two sites in Alaska which 

comprise 20% of the total DFMPA area of Alaska 

(Graph 9). Kuluk Bay and Bering Strait restricted 

areas provide security for naval operations in the 

Bering Straight and protect the public from the 

risks of damage or injury arising from military 

operations by prohibiting or limiting public 

access. 

The Coast Guard manages more individual 

DFMPAs in Alaska than any other agency, with 

25 sites. Most of these DFMPAs are in southern 

Alaska and are associated with a network of 

shipping lanes, anchorage areas and traffic 

separation schemes that help avert disaster in 

the area surrounding Prince William Sound. The 

Aleutian Islands also have a series of shipping 

lanes around Unimak Pass. To support the 

growing tourism industry, a deep water cruise 

ship anchorage area was designated in Ketchikan 

harbor. 

Can people access DFMPAs in Alaska?

Human activities can be conducted at all times 

within most (69%) of Alaska’s DFMPA area 

(Graph 10; Map 6). The bulk of DFMPAs that are 

multiple use lie in the Prince William Sound Traffic 

Separation Scheme, a large navigation area divided 

into four parts. All of the vessel traffic separation 

schemes and the shipping safety fairways in 

Alaska are also multiple use. For example, the 

Hinchinbrook shipping safety fairway is located in 

the busy tanker freeway system along Alaska’s west 

Graph 9

Alaska DFMPA area by 

management agency 

(number and percent 

area). The number 

of sites is indicated in 

parentheses. 

Map 6

Level of restriction of 

DFMPAs in Alaska.

ALASKA

20
coast. Here, a world-class tanker escort system with 

two high-powered tugs accompanies laden tankers 

through the Prince William Sound, but there are 

no restrictions on other vessels in the area other 

than those that ensure the safe movement of 

these large tankers through the area. The Valdez 

Arm Northbound and Southbound Traffic lanes 

are part of this commercial network of shipping 

to transport oil out of the Alaska. 

About one third of Alaska’s DFMPA area 

(31%) allows transit only of vessels throughout the 

entire year. Practically all of this transit only area 

(99%) occurs in Bristol Bay, where commercial 

salmon fishing is allowed in important production 

zones nearby. Management is designed to reduce 

any adverse impacts on the fishery, and during 

inactive periods, human activities occur without 

restriction.

There are only five DFMPAs where access is 

prohibited in Alaska’s regional waters year-round, 

and these are each extremely small (not visible on 

Map 6). Their total area is only 16 km2, making 

Alaska the region with the second least amount 

of area in year-round no access, comprising less 

than 0.00001% of its regional waters (0-200 nm) 

(Map 7). Four of these sites are associated with oil 

spill prevention at Valdez. One shallow section of 

Gastineau Channel is no access due to the threat 

of running aground. The remaining areas occur in 

a single habitat type, which has been subjected to 

severe ecological damage due to large quantities 

of crude oil spilled in 1990 at Valdez. Ongoing 

assessments of the marine ecosystems at this 

and other DFMPA sites will provide valuable 

information on their potential contribution to 

conserving marine resources in Alaska. The 

remaining no access site is the safety zone at 

Ammunition Island, Port Valdez. Designated by the 

U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the area 

within 200 yards of any waterfront facility at the 

Trans-Alaska Pipeline Valdez Terminal complex is 

off limits except to authorized personnel. These 

regulations are intended to reduce the risk of 

terrorist attacks. 

Summary 

Alaska ranks second nationally in the total 

DFMPA area established within its regional 

waters. Much of this area occurs in a few large, 

rarely used sites. These areas remain in the CFR in 

case the armed forces need a location to practice 

critical military operations. Much of the remaining 

DFMPA in Alaska supports the transport of oil 

and other resources out of the region through 

Box 7 Alaska’s Unimak Pass Traffic Separation Scheme

The stranded Malaysian cargo ship Selendang Ayu sits in shallow water off the northern shore of 

Unalaska Island in the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. The vessel has been there since it 

lost power, ran aground and broke in half on December 8th, 2004. Six crew members were killed and 

in excess of 300,000 gallons of oil poured into the Bering Sea. Clean up and recovery efforts were 

halted for 3 months, shortly thereafter, due to inclement weather. Reports indicate that over 1600 

birds were oiled with a projection of 10,000 plus sea birds expected dead. The Selendang Ayu was 

traveling one of the most heavily trafficked shipping routes in the world. It cuts along the Pacific 

Ocean’s “Great Circle Route” through the Aleutian Islands, where every year several thousand ships 

take the shortest, but most dangerous route between U.S. and Asia ports. The Unimak Pass Shipping 

Safety Fairways were designated in this area to avoid such accidents. 

21

ALASKA

Graph 10 

Alaska DFMPA area by 

level of restriction. 
the establishment of shipping safety channels 

and marine highways with regulations designed to 

ensure safe maneuvering. The majority of the area 

is open access, with restrictions on the placement 

of submerged equipment that could endanger 

shipping. A very small amount (16 km2 ) is no 

access year round. 

Map 7

Aggregate no access 

year round DFMPA 

area in Alaska. Red 

dot does not indicate 

the location of a specific DFMPA. Rather, 

it indicates the total 

no access year round 

area for all DFMPAs in 

Alaska.

ALASKA

22
 ALASKA’S DEFACTO MPAs WEST COAST DE FACTO MPAs

A T A G L A N C E

Primary purpose of DFMPAs is to help regulate vessel traffic and provide 

safe anchoring 

Almost the entire West Coast DFMPA area is open to commercial and 

recreational uses 

The Coast Guard controls most of this area

Access is prohibited year-round in a total area of 200 km2, an area 

roughly the size of San Francisco 

•

•

•

•

23

Background

The West Coast has the second largest number of 

DFMPAs (274) in the nation, comprising 6% of 

West Coast waters. Almost all of this is situated 

next to some of the nation’s busiest commercial 

ports in the Puget Sound, San Francisco Bay, 

and Long Beach harbor (Map 8a–c). Here, forest 

products and bulk goods are shipped to the 

Pacific Rim (Box 8), so large commercial tankers 

and cargo vessels need space to operate safely 

without collision or danger to recreational boaters. 

These cargo terminals typically occur where large 

estuaries of eelgrass, seagrass, and productive 

shellfish and fisheries once thrived. San Francisco 

Bay historically supported an extraordinarily 

diverse and productive ecosystem that sustains 

rich communities of clams, mussels, fish, birds and 

other aquatic life. The region includes wintering 

sites for migrating waterfowl and spawning sites 

for migrating fish in the same waters where 

millions of dollars worth of commercial products 

are transported in and out of the country.

California has the greatest number (226) of 

DFMPAs compared to Washington and Oregon 

(see Table 6). Large sections of the west coast do 

not have DFMPAs, particularly off Oregon and 

northern California. While a cluster of navigation 

sites occurs off Seattle and San Francisco harbor, 

several DFMPAs are dispersed around the Channel 

Islands, Los Angeles and San Diego. The smallest is 

the San Diego Harbor, Naval Degaussing Station, 

and the largest is the vessel traffic service area 

off Puget Sound in Washington. DFMPAs in the 

West Coast rarely affect the use of marine habitats 

off the West Coast, with most areas serving as 

precautionary areas for merging tanker traffic. 

Number of DFMPAs

Washington 38

Oregon 10

California 226

Table 6

Number of DFMPAs by 

state 
24

M A P S B E L O W :

S U M M A R Y S TAT S

2% of regional 

waters 

274 sites

6% of total U.S. 

DFMPA area

30,547 km2

•

•

•

•

DFMPAs are located along the West Coast region from Washington to California. In the 

northern portion of the region, DFMPAs are distributed primarily within Puget Sound, where 

DFMPA anchorages are designated to provide safe harbor for large military vessels. A few 

DFMPAs occur along the Oregon shore of the Columbia River such as Willow Bar, Kalama, 

and Longview anchorages, but there are no DFMPAs on the Washington side. Moving south 

from Oregon, there are no DFMPAs until the entrance of San Francisco Bay. Here, a series 

of traffic separation schemes at the entrance to San Francisco Bay form an arc and vessels 

approaching from the south, west and north are directed beneath the Golden Gate Bridge. 

Within San Francisco Bay, DFMPAs cover most of the area to the south of San Francisco 

towards San Jose, and several extend north into the Sacramento River. The only other 

DFMPAs in northern California are in Monterey Bay. In southern California, the approach 

to Long Beach harbor along the Santa Barbara channel has several DFMPAs, which form a 

long narrow strip for safe navigation of large vessels. DFMPAs also occur around several of 

the Channel Islands and San Diego harbor. Point Loma restricted area is the close DFMPA 

to the Mexico border. 

Map 8a DFMPAs by management agency in the West Coast region with names of individual sites.
25

Map 8b

DFMPAs by management agency in the 

West Coast region with 

names of individual 

sites.
26

Map 8c

DFMPAs by management agency in the 

West Coast region with 

names of individual 

sites. 
What types of DFMPAs exist in the West 

Coast?

Most of the DFMPA area in the West Coast (90%) 

was created to help ships navigate, avoid collisions, 

and move quickly and economically through the 

busy ports and harbors (Graph 11). Regulated 

navigation areas, vessel traffic service areas and 

traffic separation schemes (all methods for dealing 

with the large volumes of cargo tankers in the 

area) together make up the bulk of the DFMPA 

area(Maps 9a–b. The largest of these occur off of 

Puget Sound and around San Francisco and Los 

Angeles. 

An assortment of regulation navigation areas 

connect the southern, western and northern 

approaches to the entrance of San Francisco Bay 

before the Golden Gate bridge. Guemes Channel 

off Anacortes, Washington and Rosario Strait near 

Bellingham are two large vessel traffic service areas 

in Puget Sound. The traffic separation schemes 

off Santa Barbara, Los Angeles and San Francisco 

are also large. These traffic channels help avoid 

shipping collisions and also keep ships away from 

the scores of oil platforms. 

There are many danger zones (25), restricted 

areas (47) and anchorages (69) along the West Coast, 

but these types of DFMPAs are typically small. 

Many of these occur around bridges, industrial 

piers, Coast Guard Stations and Navy Bases. All 

of the oil platforms off Santa Barbara, California 

are restricted areas, as is the Exxon Santa Ynez 

offshore storage and treatment facility for safety 

and environmental purposes. Anchorages are the 

single most numerous type of DFMPA along the 

region, with various types off of Long Beach, 

Santa Barbara, Newport, Astoria, Port Townsend, 

Bellingham, and Seattle. 

Who manages DFMPAs on the West Coast?

Since the Coast Guard oversees most areas that 

Graph 11

Types of DFMPAs 

in the West Coast 

(number and percent 

total of DFMPA area). 

The number of sites 

is indicated in the bar. 

The percentage of the 

total DFMPA area for 

this region is indicated 

on the y-axis. 

27

WEST 

COAST
regulate vessel traffic and anchoring, it is not 

surprising that they manage most of the DFMPA 

area on the West Coast (Graph 12). Currently, 200 

individual sites, including anchoring, navigation, 

vessel traffic areas, and security zones are managed 

by the Coast Guard. The most common type is 

anchoring sites, many of which provide anchoring 

basins for large commercial fleets. San Francisco 

Bay is dotted with over 30. Special anchorage 

grounds are also designated in Newport Bay, 

Morro Bay, and the Columbia River, but these 

are extremely small in size, and barely visible on 

Maps 9a and b. The Coast Guard also oversees 

some security zones, such as the San Diego Coast 

Guard Air Station and Diablo Canyon Nuclear 

Power Plant. 

The Navy manages a smaller portion of 

DFMPA area in the West Coast region in 69 

individual sites. Many of these are large danger 

zones, such as Mare Island Target Practice area, 

used for test firing. In addition, a handful of 

smaller anchorage areas are controlled by the 

Navy. These tend to be small and close to shore. 

The Everett Naval Base in Washington is home to 

several Navy aircraft carriers and is designated as 

a restricted area. Other sites managed by the Navy 

include Anaheim Bay Harbor, San Miguel Island, 

and Bangor Naval Sub Base. 

The Air Force has a single site on the west 

coast, the Western Space and Missile Center, 

Vandenberg AFB, which has nine individual 

zones. All of these are danger zones, and some are 

quite large. These appear on Map 8a as a light blue 

cluster just north of the Channel Islands, on the 

Southern California coast. The West Coast has a 

few sites administered by the U.S. Army (Ft. Ord) 

and the Bureau of Prisons (Terminal Island). 

Can people access DFMPAs in the West 

Coast? 

Almost the entire DFMPA area (95% of DFMPA 

area) of the West Coast is open to most commercial 

and recreational uses (Graph 13; Maps 10a–b). 

Typically, only those activities that obstruct the 

movement of vessels are restricted. For instance, 

no permanent structures are allowed in many of 

vessel traffic and anchoring areas. Most anchorages 

are open to many types of activities, as long as they 

don’t interfere with safe anchoring and navigation 

(see Box 8). 

A small fraction of the DFMPA area on the 

West Coast is transit only, such as Hood Canal 

and San Pedro practice firing ranges. Transit 

Graph 12 

West Coast DFMPA 

area by management 

agency (number and 

percent area). The 

number of sites is indicated in parentheses.

Map 9a

Types of DFMPAs in the 

West Coast region.

28

WEST 

COAST
restrictions only apply during training operations. 

A few places, such as Coronado Bridge security 

zone, are transit only year-round to safeguard 

against terrorist activities. 

Access is completely prohibited in a tiny 

portion of the West Coast DFMPA area and 

the bulk of this a temporary prohibition. Some 

anchorage grounds, such as Port Townsend 

Explosives Anchorage Fair Weather Area restrict 

access because explosives are used periodically. 

The Straight of Juan de Fuca Air-to-Surface 

Weapon Range in Washington is seasonally no 

access. However, the West Coast has more sites 

(49 DFMPAs) that are no access year-round than 

any other region in the U.S., though the area 

these sites cover is relatively small. Only 200 km2

of DFMPA area is off limits to the public year- Graph 13 (Above L )

West Coast DFMPA 

area by level of 

restriction.

Map 9b (Above R)

Types of DFMPAs in 

West Coast region.

29

WEST 

COAST

Box 8 West Coast: The Gateway to the Orient

Substantial volumes of crude oil and petroleum products are transported off the California coast 

from Alaska, from foreign countries, and between California production sources. The Los Angeles/

Long Beach and San Francisco Bay harbors include some of the highest volume oil importing ports 

and refining facilities in the United States. Collisions or ship groundings off the California coast, 

or within its congested ports or harbor areas, sometimes occur. The most recent major vessel 

collision off the California coast occurred in 1987 when the Atlantic Wing (a car carrier) and the 

Pac Baroness (a dry bulk carrier) collided off Point Conception, sinking the Pac Baroness. The spill 

of fuel oil was relatively small, but a cargo of toxic copper pellets went down with the ship. The 

decade of the 1990’s began with two major spills in Southern California. The tanker vessel American 

Trader grounded on its own anchor during mooring operations at the Golden West marine terminal 

off Huntington Beach, causing an oil spill which affected a substantial portion of the Orange County 

coastline, but gained even more notoriety because it occurred within months of the tanker vessel 

Exxon Valdez grounding in Alaska.
round and most of this occurs in isolated small 

safety zones, many of which are oil platforms in 

southern California. Several others are located on 

shore, with small portions of marine habitat that 

are off limits to provide a buffer around restricted 

areas and danger zones such as Alameda Naval Air 

Station, Camp Pendleton Boat Basin, and Everett 

Naval Base. 

Summary

The West Coast ranks fourth in the amount of 

area contained within DFMPAs. These areas have 

been established mainly for military training and 

shipping transportation, and most are clustered 

in southern California and the Pacific Northwest. 

As in other regions, fishing and other activities are 

impacted mainly by restrictions on the placement 

of permanent underwater buoys, platforms 

or gear. Such gear would potentially foul the 

propeller of large cargo vessels, creating hazards 

to navigation. Almost all of the DFMPA area 

within the West Coast region is available for use. In 

fact, the total amount of area (200 km2) that is no 

access year-round in DFMPAs is quite small (Map 

11). These areas are concentrated in Southern 

California, around the Channel Islands and Ft. 

Ord. In September of 1994 Fort Ord closed its 

gates and became part of U.S.military history. 

Ongoing assessments of the marine habitats in 

the areas where live artillery practices occurred will 

reveal the condition of marine resources in these 

danger zones. Such assessments will be valuable 

in understanding the contribution of DFMPAs to 

the conservation of marine resources in the U.S. 

Map 10a

Level of restriction of 

DFMPAs in West Coast 

region

30

WEST 

COAST
Map 10b (Above)

Level of restriction of 

DFMPAs in West Coast 

region.

Map 11 (Below)

Aggregate no access 

year round area in the 

West Coast. Red dot 

does not indicate the 

location of a specific DFMPA. Rather it 

indicates the total no 

access year round area 

for all DFMPAs in the 

West Coast region.

31

WEST 

COAST
 ALASKA’S DEFACTO MPAs GULF OF MEXICO DE FACTO MPAs

A T A G L A N C E

The Gulf Coast has more DFMPA area than any other region with 

24% of the regional waters in DFMPAs in 217 individual sites

Vast majority of this is in oil transfer areas

Almost the entire Gulf Coast DFMPA area is open to commercial 

and recreational uses

Coast Guard manages most of the DFMPA in the Gulf of Mexico

Considerable portions are for transit only during training and 

military operations; when these activities do not occur boaters 

are free to use the DFMPAs

•

•

•

•

•

32

Background

The Gulf of Mexico has more DFMPA area set 

aside than any other region in the U.S. (64% of the 

nation’s DFMPA area). Close to a quarter of the 

Gulf of Mexico regional waters are designated in 

DFMPAs. This vast area, which exceeds 200,000 

km2, occurs in 217 individual sites, most of which 

is dedicated to servicing the oil and shipping 

industries of the region. The Gulf is home to 

seven of the Nation’s busiest ten ports. Sixty 

percent of all of the U.S. oil imports are delivered 

through the Gulf of Mexico, and its shipping 

lanes are filled with large oil tankers, tug barges, 

and service vessels that work 24 hours a day to 

move oil safely and efficiently. DFMPAs occur off 

the coast of every state (Table 7), creating a maze 

of anchorages, shipping channels, and traffic lanes 

connected to one another and to each of the major 

ports in Texas, Louisiana, and Florida. 

Number of DFMPAs

Texas 67

Louisiana 74

Mississippi 11

Alabama 8

Florida 57

Most of the area in DFMPA in the region 

occurs in lightering areas (for transferring oil and 

gas) and danger zones off the coasts of Texas, 

Louisiana, and Florida, within some of the most 

productive shellfish and fishery grounds in the 

Gulf of Mexico. The largest DFMPA in this 

region is the Guided Missile Test Operations Area 

Table 7

Number of DFMPAs 

by state in the Gulf of 

Mexico.
33

M A P S B E L O W :

S U M M A R Y S TAT S

24% of regional waters

217 sites

64% of total U.S. 

DFMPAs

200,000 km2

•

•

•

•

DFMPAs are located throughout the Gulf of Mexico, occurring from the Mexico border in 

the southwest to the Florida Keys in the southeast. Brazos Santiago Pass shipping safety 

fairway is found along the western Gulf of Mexico. A long thin arc of shipping DFMPAs link 

Brownsville, Corpus Christi and Galveston, Texas in the nearshore waters. Offshore from 

these industrial harbors, large lightering DFMPAs occur. Vessel traffic service and anchorage 

DFMPAs cover the majority of Galveston Bay, extending up toward Houston, Texas. To the 

south and east, lightering DFMPAs are located off the coast of Texas and Louisiana. Off the 

southern coast of Louisiana, a network of DFMPAs including Southwest Pass to Gulf shipping 

safety fairway occur tens of kilometers offshore. In this area, multiple safety zones were 

established around oil platforms. Continuing eastward the shipping safety fairway extends 

past Alabama into the panhandle of Florida along the coastlines of Pensacola and Panama 

City in the panhandle of Florida. Here, the arc of shipping safety fairways ceases. Moving 

south from Panama City, several large military DFMPAs associated with Eglin Air Force and 

Tyndall Air Force Base occur. Along the western shores of the Florida peninsula, multiple 

DFMPAs are located in association with Tampa Bay, and Key West Air Force and Naval 

Training Facilities. 

Map 12a DFMPAs by management agency in the Gulf of Mexico with names of individual sites. 
34

Map 12b

DFMPAs by management agency in the Gulf 

of Mexico with names of 

individual sites.
35

Map 12c 

DFMPAs by management agency in the Gulf 

of Mexico with names of 

individual sites.
36

Map 12d 

DFMPAs by management agency in the Gulf 

of Mexico with names of 

individual sites.
of Eglin Air Force Base, and the smallest is the 

Rattlesnake security zone in Tampa (see Box 9). 

Twenty percent of the DFMPA area in this 

region overlaps with other DFMPAs, more than 

any other region in the U.S. The sites that overlap 

are managed by the Army Corps of Engineers and 

the Coast Guard, and most are shipping areas.

What types of DFMPAs are in the Gulf of 

Mexico?

Danger zones are a dominant feature in Gulf of 

Mexico (37%), making up more area than any 

other type of DFMPA (Graph 14; Map 13). There 

are 11 individual danger zones, several of which 

are very large. For example, the largest DFMPA 

in the Gulf is the Air Force Guided Missile Test 

Operations Area, part of Eglin Air Force Base. 

Danger zones in the region are clustered near 

Florida’s panhandle, where several large military 

bases are located for training fighter jet and 

helicopter pilots. 

The four lightering zones off Texas and 

Louisiana make up a considerable portion (33%) 

of Gulf of Mexico DFMPAs. One such lightering 

area, Gulf-Mex #2, is the second largest DFMPA 

in the Gulf. Lightering areas are staging areas 

for oil tankers, tugs, and barges that actively 

service the region’s oil refineries. Prohibited areas 

indicate where lightering is not allowed, and were 

designated to protect the deep-sea coral and 

sponge communities found in the region. Only 

three prohibited areas exist in the U.S. (Claypile, 

Flower Garden and Ewing), and all are located 

in the Gulf of Mexico, including one at Flower 

Gardens National Marine Sanctuary.

There are 17 relatively large vessel traffic 

service areas and 45 shipping safety fairways in 

the Gulf of Mexico. Shipping safety fairways 

control the erection of structures that could pose 

a safety hazard to cargo fleets approaching the oil 

fields and major ports in the region such as Biloxi, 

Pascagoula, and Grand Bayou Pass. 

Who manages DFMPAs in the Gulf of Mexico? 

The Coast Guard regulates most of the DFMPA 

area in 193 different sites in the Gulf of Mexico 

(Graph 15). All of the shipping safety fairways, 

anchorage grounds, and lightering zones are 

Graph 14 

Types of DFMPAs in 

the Gulf of Mexico 

(number and percent 

total of DFMPA area). 

The number of sites 

is indicated in the bar. 

The percentage of the 

total DFMPA area for 

this region is indicated 

on the y-axis.

37

GULF OF 

MEXICO

Box 9 Eglin Air Force Base

Eglin Air Force Base is located in the Gulf of Mexico off the panhandle coast of Florida. Eglin Air 

Force Base was created in 1933 by a business man and airplane buff local to the Panama City, 

Florida area. Convinced that a military payroll would boost the depression-stricken economy of 

the south, James Plew offered the U.S. government close to 1500 acres for a bombing and gunnery 

base (Map 12a–d). This purchase was the first step towards Eglin Air Force Base. One of the largest 

DFMPAs occurs as part of Eglin Air Force Base. The danger zone south of base is used to train pilots 

for various military operations, safety missions and combat readiness. Here, the 33rd Fighter 

Wing “Nomads”, a premier air-to-air combat unit of Air Combat Command trains. With two F-15C 

squadrons and an air control squadron, the wing’s mission is to deploy worldwide and provide air 

superiority and air control. First established as the 33rd Pursuit Group, the wing’s contribution to 

tactical airpower during its 50-year history has been significant with participation in campaigns 

around the world.
controlled by the U.S. Coast Guard. Most of these 

sites are located in the central Gulf region and are 

dedicated to the transfer of crude oil to coastal oil 

refineries. Many of these areas (68) overlap with 

areas managed by the Army Corps of Engineers.

The Air Force is a key player in the Gulf of 

Mexico, with 15 individual DFMPAs. Three of the 

largest are managed by Air Force (e.g., Eglin Air 

Force Base (AFB), Tyndall AFB) as guided missile 

test practice areas. The Drone Recovery Area at 

Tyndall AFB is one of several smaller sites. 

The Navy has eight DFMPAs in the Gulf of 

Mexico, most of them danger zones. They include 

small sites such as the Seaplane Restricted Area 

at Pensacola Bay, and large ones like the Straights 

of Florida Operational Training Area. Alligator 

Bayou, a restricted area along a tributary of 

Choctawhatchee Bay, Florida is also managed by 

the U.S. Navy. 

A single DFMPA offshore from St. George 

Island is used periodically by U.S. Army troops 

from Ft. Rucker, Alabama as a test firing area 

for helicopters. During firing operations, the 

area is kept under surveillance by accompanying 

helicopters. 

Can people access DFMPAs in the Gulf of 

Mexico? 

Recreational and commercial activities can be 

conducted in most of the DFMPA area (64%) in 

the Gulf of Mexico (Graph 16) The dominant 

types of DFMPAs in this region allow various uses 

to occur. For example, all shipping safety fairways, 

Map 13

Types of DFMPAs in 

the Gulf of Mexico.

38

GULF OF 

MEXICO

Graph 15 

Gulf of Mexico DFMPA 

area by management 

agency (number and 

percent area). The 

number of sites is indicated in parentheses. 
anchorage grounds, lightering zones, prohibited 

zones, traffic separation schemes, and vessel 

traffic precautionary areas in the Gulf are multiple 

use. Regulations in these areas are generally minor, 

although due to heavy traffic by less maneuverable 

large supertankers, boats are encouraged to avoid 

high density shipping lanes. For most of the vessel 

traffic areas, regulations only apply only to large 

commercial cargo ships over a certain size. Other 

vessels should avoid the area by as wide a margin 

as practicable. 

A considerable portion of the Gulf of Mexico 

is transit only (Map 14), but most of the time 

regulations apply only during the times the sites 

are being used. Many of the large Air Force and 

Navy training sites (Choctawhatchee Bay, the Airto Air Practice Firing Range, Tyndall Air Force 

Base, Apalachee Bay, the Guided Missiles Test 

Operations Area, Eglin Air Force Base, and the 

Straights of Florida Operational Training Area) 

are transit only during firing operations. Prior to 

scheduled air or surface operations that may be 

dangerous to watercraft, appropriate warnings are 

issued. St. Joseph Bay Explosives Anchorage is 

transit only year-round, but is less than 2 km2. 

The Gulf has forty-nine no access sites, but 

these areas are typically extremely small and most 

are only periodically activated. The largest is off 

Santa Rosa Island (29 km2), and is closed only when 

troops from Eglin Air Force Base use the area to 

train. A tiny portion, less than 1%, of the Gulf of 

Graph 16

Gulf of Mexico DFMPA 

area by level of restriction. 

Map 14

Level of restriction of 

DFMPAs in the Gulf of 

Mexico. 

39

GULF OF 

MEXICO
Mexico is closed to the public year-round. Though 

49 DFMPAs are no access permanently, most of 

these (60%) are oil platforms smaller than a square 

kilometer. For example, Na Kika is a safety zone 

around a petroleum and gas production facility in 

the Mississippi Canyon to protect it from vessels 

operating outside the normal shipping channels 

and fairways and reduce the threat of collisions, 

oil spills and release of natural gas. The Crystal 

River nuclear power plant in Florida is a security 

zone that protects the public and the power plant 

from potential sabotage or accidents. Entry is 

prohibited, unless specifically authorized. 

Summary 

The Gulf of Mexico has more DFMPA area than 

any other region in various types of marine habitats 

(e.g., salt marsh, coastal, offshore). Currently, less 

than 100 km2 of the region prohibits entry to 

the public on a permanent basis (Map 15). Most 

of this area occurs in three sites with near-shore 

sandy continental shelf habitat at Tyndall Air 

Force Station off the southern Florida Panhandle. 

The remainder of the permanently no access 

DFMPAs are isolated sites and are less than 1 km2. 

Most of these are located in inland waterways 

in commercial port areas that were converted 

from estuary and marsh areas. A large number 

of isolated individual oil platforms offshore are 

also no access permanently, and may function as 

artificial reefs. 

Map 15

Aggregate no access 

year round area in the 

Gulf of Mexico. Red 

dot does not indicate 

the location of a specific DFMPA. Rather, 

it indicates the total no 

access year round area 

for all DFMPAs in the 

Gulf of Mexico.

40

GULF OF 

MEXICO
 ALASKA’S DEFACTO MPAs SOUTH ATLANTIC DE FACTO MPAs

A T A G L A N C E

7% of South Atlantic regional waters in DFMPAs

Most occurs in military and flight training DFMPAs

Danger zones are the most common type and make up most of DFMPA 

area in region

U.S. Navy controls most of this area 

600 km2 in no access year round DFMPAs

•

•

•

•

•

 41

Background

A small portion (7%) of the South Atlantic 

region is contained in 117 DFMPAs. Unlike other 

regions, most of this area is for military target 

and flight training (Maps 16a–b). The fair weather 

that characterizes this region year-round makes 

it one of the foremost air to air combat training 

locations in the country. The total DFMPA area 

is considerable (30,000 km2) and comparable 

to the West Coast. The South Atlantic region 

is dominated by large danger zones. These are 

located off the coast of Georgia, the Florida Keys 

and Cape Canaveral (Table 8). 

Several large DFMPAs exist in the South 

Atlantic. The largest, the Straits of Florida 

Operational training area, is located between the 

Florida Keys and Cuba. Another, the Georgia 

Coast Air to Water Bombardment Aircraft practice 

area provides “Joint Military Top Gun” training to 

improve fighter pilots’ skills. Here, aircraft simulate 

the dropping of bombs to mathematically predict 

where they would land. Bombs are not actually 

dropped, so there is no impact to marine resources 

in the area. The smallest DFMPA in the region 

is the restricted area at Patrick Air Force Base 

at Cocoa Beach, Florida. Unlike other regions, 

most of the DFMPA area in the South Atlantic is 

located offshore to minimize risks to people while 

test flying occurs. However, several DFMPAs are 

located in salt marsh (e.g., Charleston Harbor) and 

estuarine (e.g. Cape Canaveral) habitats within 

inland waterways. 

Number of DFMPAs

North Carolina 26

South Carolina 34

Georgia 6

Florida 51

What types of DFMPAs occur in the South 

Atlantic? 

Danger zones are the most common type of 

DFMPA in the South Atlantic, comprising nearly 

100% of the total DFMPA area (Graph 17; 

Table 8 

Number of DFMPAs 

by state in the South 

Atlantic. 
42

M A P S B E L O W :

S U M M A R Y S TAT S

7% of regional waters

117 sites

7% of total US DFMPA 

area

29,522 km2

•

•

•

•

DFMPAs are located along the South Atlantic coastline from North Carolina to southern 

Florida. Albemarle-Pamlico Sound in North Carolina has several DFMPAs associated with 

military installations occur, including Harvey Point Restricted Area and Camp LeJeune 

Security Zone. South Carolina has several DFMPAs located within the coastal estuaries around 

Charleston. Offshore from South Carolina and Georgia, the Air-to-Water Bombardment 

Aircraft Practice Danger Zone is situated more than 100 kilometers from shore. In northern 

Florida, most DFMPAs are clustered around Jacksonville and the St. John’s River basin. In 

central Florida, several DFMPAs associated with Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral 

are located within the intracoastal waterway. To the south, the ports of Palm Beach, Port 

Everglades, Miami and Key West have anchorage DFMPAs. To the west of the Keys, several 

large danger zone DFMPAs are situated around Dry Tortugas.

Map 16a

DFMPAs by management agency in the 

South Atlantic region 

with names of individual 

sites.
Box 10 Straits of Florida Bombing Strafing Target Areas

A large aerial gunnery range and bombing and strafing target practice area is located off the 

southern part of Florida, near Key West. This danger zone is just north of Cuba and is part of the 

Key West Naval Air Station. This Naval Air Station is the premier pilot training facility for tactical 

aviation squadrons, where some of the best fighter pilots come to train in terrific flying weather 

(below). The danger zone has a vast amount of air space available to train fighter pilots and the 

area is sometimes used by joint Air Force and Naval air training missions. 

 43

Map 16b

DFMPAs by management agency in the 

South Atlantic region 

with names of individual 

sites.
Map 17). Large fighter training areas such as 

the Georgia Coast Air-to-Air Fighter Aircraft 

Practice Area and the Georgia Coast Air-to-Water 

Bombardment Aircraft Practice Area are located 

here, though these areas have not been used in 

nearly 50 years. Smaller danger zones include the 

U.S. Navy Northern Part of Currituck Sound, the 

Trident Basin and ten individual New River Marine 

Corps firing ranges. 

A fraction (1%) of the DFMPA area in the 

South Atlantic is contained in ten security zones. 

One of the most well known security areas is the 

Kennedy Space Center, off the central coast of 

Florida, where the space shuttle is launched. This 

is one of the few DFMPAs in the country managed 

by National Aeronautics and Space Administration 

(NASA). Another example includes the security 

zone at Port Canaveral Harbor, Florida, where 

Poseidon Wharf services U.S. Navy Polaris 

submarines. 

More restricted areas occur in the South 

Atlantic region than any other type of DFMPA. 

For example, Shipyard Creek, formerly a site 

where ferrochromium alloy was produced, was 

closed to shellfish harvest due to high levels of 

chromium detected in edible fish tissue.

Many anchorages dot the region along the 

coast, predominately close to busy ports such 

as Port Everglades, Palm Beach, Key West and 

Jacksonville. One anchorage provides space for 

large naval vessels in northern Florida. 

Five small regulated navigation areas make up 

a tiny portion of the DFMPA area in the South 

Atlantic. These areas help prevent damage or 

marine casualties, protect waterfront facilities and 

safeguard ports and harbors. They are generally 

located in densely populated places, and are fairly 

small, particularly compared to danger zones in 

this region. All are managed by the Coast Guard 

and include the Miami River, Charleston, and 

Tamiami Canal.

Who manages DFMPAs in the South Atlantic? 

The Navy manages more DFMPA area in the South 

Atlantic region (60%) than any other management 

agency with 40 sites (Graph 18). Most of these 

are located in the Straits of Florida Bombing 

Strafing Target Areas (see Box 10). Smaller Naval 

DFMPAs include the Cooper River danger zone 

in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina, where 

vessels are allowed to proceed along established 

waterways during military training operations, but 

warnings are announced on the radio. 

The Air Force has a eight large DFMPAs in the 

South Atlantic, including the Georgia Coast Airto-Air Fighter Aircraft Practice Area, the Patrick 

Air Force Missile Testing Area and the Cape 

Canaveral Air Force Station. The South Atlantic 

is one of the few regions where the Marine Corps 

has jurisdiction over several (29) sites. Most are 

danger zones, such as Pamlico Sound and the 

Parris Island Rifle Range. Camp LeJeune, a U.S. 

Marine training camp, has been home to the 

“Expeditionary Forces in Readiness” for the past 

65 years, where soldiers prepare for combat and 

humanitarian missions abroad.

More DFMPAs (43) are managed by the Coast 

Guard than any other agency in the South Atlantic, 

but these sites are generally small. Consequently, 

Graph 17

Types of DFMPAs in the 

South Atlantic region 

(number and percent 

total of DFMPA area). 

The number of sites 

is indicated in the bar. 

The percentage of the 

total DFMPA area for 

this region is indicated 

on the y-axis.

Graph 18 (Below)

South Atlantic DFMPA 

area by management 

agency (number and 

percent area). The 

number of sites is indicated in parentheses.

44

SOUTH 

ATLANTIC
the Coast Guard manages proportionately less 

regional waters area in the South Atlantic than in 

any other region. In the South Atlantic, the Coast 

Guard manages or co-manages several types of 

DFMPAs including restricted navigation areas, 

anchorages, safety and security zones. Anchorage 

grounds at Indian River, Florida, St. Simon’s Island 

Georgia and Lockwood Folly’s Inlet off North 

Carolina are all managed by the Coast Guard. 

A handful of sites are managed by NASA 

(2), the Army Corps of Engineers (2) and the US 

Army (1). The Banana River, adjacent to NASA’s 

Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, boasts 

some of the world’s records for recreational fishing. 

The trophy landings from this area are attributed 

to the strict no fishing protection afforded by 

the security zone surrounding the NASA space 

center. 

Can people access DFMPAs in the South 

Atlantic? 

While a large proportion of the total DFMPA area 

of the South Atlantic can be declared no access or 

transit only on a temporary basis, the vast majority 

of this area is rarely “hot,” or restricted due to 

military activities (Graph 19). Most of the DFMPA 

area in the South Atlantic allows multiple uses 

most of the time (Map 18). The large controlled 

air space off Georgia and Florida is maintained 

as military training areas, but fighter jet training 

takes place well above 10,000 feet and impacts 

are limited to occasional noise bursts. While over 

90% of the South Atlantic DFMPA area is transit 

only or no access on a period basis, in practice this 

rarely occurs for most sites. 

A small part of the DFMPA area in the South 

Atlantic is off limits year-round. As in other 

regions, these sites are typically extremely small 

(i.e., Parris Island Rifle and Pistol Ranges). A 

portion of Lockwood Folly Inlet along the intracoastal waterway off North Carolina is no access 

year-round because of extremely shallow waters. 

Map 17

Type of DFMPA in 

South Atlantic region

Graph 19

South Atlantic DFMPA 

area by level of restriction. 

 45

SOUTH 

ATLANTIC
Consequently, the Coast Guard issued a warning 

to mariners to reduce risks of grounding. Another 

area is Patrick Air Force Missile Testing Area, 

which supported a variety of missile and space 

programs in the 1960s. The termination of the 

Apollo space program and the end of land-based 

ballistic missile development at Cape Canaveral 

signaled a downturn in fortunes and on 1 February 

1977 the range was inactivated. 

Summary 

The South Atlantic ranks third in the U.S. in the 

areal extent of DFMPAs with almost 30,000 km2. 

As in several regions, much of this DFMPA area 

is rarely restricted, consequently the impacts to 

human activities and to the marine resources in the 

areas are likely minimal. However, there are small 

year-round no access DFMPAs distributed across 

the region in 40 locations and the total aggragate 

area is small (Map 19). These sites tend to be 

located in highly productive estuarine habitats 

including tidal creeks, salt marshes and sea grass 

communities. To understand their conservation 

value, assessments of resources and historical use 

of these areas will be necessary. 

Map 18 (Below L)

Level of restriction of 

DFMPAs in the South 

Atlantic region.

Map 19 (Below R)

Aggregate no access 

year round area in the 

South Atlantic region. 

Red dot does not indicate the location of a 

specific DFMPA. Rather 

it indicates the total no 

access year round area 

for all DFMPAs in the 

South Atlantic.

46

SOUTH 

ATLANTIC
 ALASKA’S DEFACTO MPAs MID-ATLANTIC DE FACTO MPAs

A T A G L A N C E

The Mid-Atlantic region has the densest concentration of 

DFMPAs

More DFMPAs occur here than any other region

Most is for shipping and navigation for major shipping 

ports off New York, Baltimore, and the Chesapeake 

Anchorages are the most common type, but shipping safety 

areas make up most area

•

•

•

•

 47

Background

The Mid-Atlantic has more DFMPAs than any 

other region, with 285 sites (Map 20a–b). These 

sites take up approximately 6% of the Mid-Atlantic 

regional waters. DFMPAs in the region are primarily 

dedicated to moving cargo, vessels and passengers 

in and out of the busy eastern seaboard ports of 

New York, Baltimore and the Chesapeake. A maze 

of sites has been woven together by the Coast 

Guard to control the movement of vessels. A few 

of these sites are large (e.g., regulated navigation 

areas and traffic separation schemes serving New 

York), but many smaller sites are scattered across 

the Mid-Atlantic region. The largest DFMPA in the 

region is the Chesapeake Bay Entrance regulated 

navigation area, and the smallest is the Wye River 

special anchorage area in Maryland. New York has 

the largest number of DFMPAs in the region, with 

a large number occurring in Virginia and Maryland 

to facilitate shipping in the Chesapeake Bay (Table 

9). Pennsylvania has the fewest DFMPAs in the 

Mid-Atlantic region.

What types of DFMPAs exist in Mid-Atlantic? 

Regulated navigation areas (RNAs) make up 

more area than any other type of DFMPA in the 

mid-Atlantic region (43%), though there are only 

three sites: Chesapeake Bay Offshore Regulated 

Navigation Area, Delaware Bay Regulated 

Navigation Area and the Chesapeake Inland 

Regulated Navigation Area (Graph 20; Map 21). 

With 24 sites, traffic separation schemes are 

the second largest DFMPA type in the region. 

The largest, Precautionary Area 1, off New York, 

indicates lanes of westbound and eastbound 

Table 9

Number of DFMPAs by 

state in the Mid-Atlantic 

region. 

Number of DFMPAs

New Jersey 12

Maryland 40

Virginia 78

Delaware 21

New York 130
48

M A P S B E L O W :

S U M M A R Y S TAT S

6% of regional waters 

285 sites

5% of total U.S. DFMPA 

area

14,023 km2

•

•

•

•

DFMPAs are located in coastal and offshore waters throughout the Mid-Atlantic 

region, although the majority occurs within the major ports. Within southern New 

Jersey and Delaware, DFMPAs are situated at the entrance of and within Delaware 

Bay. DFMPAs also occur along the Delaware River all the way to Philadelphia. 

The coastal waters to the east of Delaware and Maryland have offshore DFMPAs 

connecting Delaware Bay and Chesapeake Bay with shipping lanes from New York 

City and Boston Harbors. The mouth of Chesapeake Bay has many DFMPAs such as 

Chesapeake Bay Entrance regulation navigation area. Within the Chesapeake Bay 

there are many DFMPAs managed by the Navy, including Tangier Island Restricted 

Area, Hannibal target Danger Zone, and York River Naval Anchorage. These 

military DFMPAs extend up the Potomac and Patuxent Rivers.

Map 20a DFMPAs by management agency in the Mid-Atlantic region with names of individual sites.
 49

Box 11 Fort Monroe Danger Zone

Fort Monroe danger zone was designated in 1880 to protect the entrance of Hampton Roads at 

the mouth of Chesapeake Bay. The fort accomplished this mission by mounting an impressive 

complement of the most powerful artillery of the time, 32-pounder guns with a range of over one 

mile. This was just enough range to cover the main shipping channel into the area. In 1824, the 

fort received another important mission when it was chosen as the site for the Army’s new Artillery 

School of Practice. This remains the mission of the danger zone of Fort Monroe to this day. 

Map 20b

DFMPAs by management agency in the 

Mid-Atlantic region with 

names of individual 

sites.
traffic. Such designations are typically directed at 

large commercial ships, although smaller boats 

must be cautious in high vessel traffic areas. 

Twenty six danger zones make up a considerable 

portion of the Mid-Atlantic region’s DFMPAs 

(see Box 11). At Accotink Bay, when firing is in 

progress, the Post Commander places guards that 

stop the firing if anyone is seen in the area. Another 

danger zone is off Myrtle Island, Virginia, where 

the U. S. Air Force practices bombing, rocket 

firing, and has a gunnery range. There are also 27 

restricted and security zones such as the Naval Air 

Station at Patuxent River and the Tangier Island 

Naval Firing Range. A large portion of New York 

Harbor is designated as a security zone to ensure 

safety, prevent sabotage or terrorist acts, and 

facilitate the efforts of emergency services and 

law enforcement officers responding to terrorist 

attacks. Several new security zones were designated 

in 2003 (e.g., John F. Kennedy Airport, LaGuardia 

Airport, and Liberty and Ellis Island). 

Over 100 sites are designated as special 

anchorages. In this region, an active recreational 

boating community must steer clear of commercial 

vessel traffic. Anchorages established primarily by 

the Coast Guard help keep these different boating 

communities from colliding. Other anchorages 

such as Hampton Roads were established for 

deep draft vessels to keep them from Hampton 

Bar Flats. 

Who manages DFMPAs in the Mid-Atlantic?

Management of DFMPAs in the region is 

dominated by two agencies, the Coast Guard and 

the Navy. The Coast Guard manages most of the 

DFMPAs in the Mid-Atlantic (Graph 21). The 

two largest are the regulated navigation areas off 

Chesapeake Bay and the Delaware River, which 

account for 83% of the total DFMPA in the 

region. 

The Navy manages 62 DFMPAs in the MidAtlantic, many of which are danger zones and 

restricted areas. The three largest are the South 

entrance to the Chesapeake Bay, the Patuxent 

River Naval Air Station and the Tangier Island 

Naval Firing range. The Navy has proposed 

resuming bombing and strafing runs and live-fire 

military training exercises on these Chesapeake 

Bay islands. The Navy also has smaller sites, such 

as the Chesapeake Bay Lynnhaven Roads Navy 

Amphibious Training Area. 

The remaining sites are managed or comanaged by the Army Corps of Engineers (3), 

Graph 20 (Above) 

Types of DFMPAs in 

the Mid-Atlantic region 

(number and percent 

total of DFMPA area). 

The number of sites 

is indicated in the bar. 

The percentage of the 

total DFMPA area for 

this region is indicated 

on the y-axis. 

Graph 21 (Below R)

Mid-Atlantic region 

DFMPA area by 

management agency 

(number and percent 

area). The number 

of sites is indicated in 

parentheses. 

50

MIDATLANTIC
the Army (2), and the Air Force (3) in the MidAtlantic. Plum Tree Island is managed by the Air 

Force, and has unexploded ordnance from its use 

as a bombing practice area during World War I. 

The Army Corps of Engineers manages three 

restricted areas including Willoughby Bay, which 

is off limits because it is adjacent to the Naval 

Station at Norfolk. 

Can people access DFMPAs in the MidAtlantic? 

Most human activities are allowed within the 

vast majority (83%) of the DFMPA area in the 

Mid-Atlantic region (Graph 22; Map 21). Most 

of the traffic and shipping safety areas have a 

few regulations to avoid collisions among large 

commercial vessels. For example, vessels carrying 

dangerous cargoes must notify the port authority. 

A quarter (25%) of the Mid-Atlantic 

DFMPA area is transit only, though all of this 

is only temporarily activated. Much of this area 

is managed by the Navy, and includes Wallops 

Island, Milford Neck and the Naval Research 

Laboratory Area C in Maryland. Other transit 

only areas include anchorages located within the 

harbors of Chesapeake Bay, Delaware River and 

the Hudson River. 

As in other regions, there is little DFMPA 

area (< 1%) that is permanently closed. Sixty 

individual DFMPAs are designated no access year 

round, including Ellis Island, Liberty Island and 

the waters immediately adjacent to La Guardia 

Airport. Many locations near airports or other 

sensitive areas have several DFMPAs at a single 

location. For example, JFK Airport in New York 

and the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. each 

have four security and danger zones that are 

inaccessible to the public. 

Summary

Close to 300 DFMPAs are located in the MidAtlantic region, covering a 6% of regional waters. 

Most of this is located at the entrances to three 

large ports along the eastern seaboard. These 

waters are heavily congested with both recreational 

and commercial boaters, and the DFMPAs 

typically aim to provide safe navigation. A small 

area (10 km2) is no access year round, smaller 

than Washington DC (Map 23). This includes 60 

DFMPAs in more than 45 locations around the 

region. Many of these areas protect high security 

zones from terrorist threats; consequently almost 

all of these sites are located close to shore. They 

protect areas such as the Naval Air Station on 

Map 21

Types of DFMPAs in the 

Mid-Atlantic. 

Graph 22

Mid-Atlantic DFMPA 

area by level of restriction. 

 51

MIDATLANTIC
the Patuxent River in Maryland, the Back River 

Security Area near Langley Air Force Base and the 

Laurel Bay Military Family Housing Area servicing 

the Marine Corps station. Many of the no access 

year round DFMPAs in the Mid-Atlantic occur in 

salt marsh habitat, but more than half are less than 

1 km2. The largest site is 9 km2. 

Map 22 (Above L) 

Level of restriction of 

DFMPAs in the MidAtlantic region. 

Map 23 (Above R)

Aggregate no access 

year round area in the 

Mid-Atlantic region. Red 

dot does not indicate 

the location of a specific DFMPA. Rather it 

indicates the total no 

access year round area 

for all DFMPAs in the 

Mid-Atlantic.

52

MIDATLANTIC
 ALASKA’S DEFACTO MPAs NEW ENGLAND DE FACTO MPAs

A T A G L A N C E

Most DFMPA area is for transportation

More anchorages exist than any other type

Six large traffic separation schemes dominate landscape

The Coast Guard overwhelmingly controls more DFMPA area than any 

other agency

•

•

•

•

 53

Background

DFMPAs make up a small part (3%) of New 

England regional waters. These 164 DFMPAs, 

are part of an interconnected system for shipping 

and safe navigation (Maps 24a–b; Table 10). The 

DFMPAs of New England function primarily (90% 

of DFMPA area) to service ports in this region and 

approaches to ports in the Mid-Atlantic. A series 

of large shipping safety and traffic separation areas 

off of New York (extending out to Nantucket, 

Rhode Island) lead ships in and out of the harbor. 

Lanes of traffic indicate the preferred direction of 

movement for large ships south of Long Island, 

Rhode Island and Nantucket (see Box 12). This 

is also a productive fishery area for Atlantic cod, 

bluefish, tuna, and halibut. 

Number of DFMPAs

Maine 29

New Hampshire 2

Massachusetts 66

Rhode Island 17

Connecticut 43

New York 7

The large anchorage area south of Nantucket 

is another prominent DFMPA feature in the New 

England region, established to keep the entrance 

to small ports and harbors clear. Foreign vessels 

are required to have pilots or tugs assist their 

movement. New England’s smallest DFMPA is the 

Mystic River, East Side of Chelsea Bridge North 

special anchorage area, which is large enough for 

one large commercial cargo ship. 

Table 10 

Number of DFMPAs by 

state in New England. 
54

M A P S B E L O W :

S U M M A R Y S TAT S

3% of regional waters 

164 sites

3% of total U.S. DFMPA 

area 

7, 621 km2

•

•

•

•

The New England coastline has DFMPAs along its bays, rivers and harbors, as 

well as several large DFMPAs offshore. In Maine, a few DFMPAs are located 

around offshore islets including Seal Island, Pemaquid and Cape Small danger 

zones. Closer to the coast, DFMPAs in Maine are predominately located within 

Penobscot Bay, the Kennebec River and around Portland. Few DFMPAs occur 

between Portland, Maine and Boston Harbor, although there are many at the 

entrance to Boston Harbor. Several large DFMPA anchorages are located on the 

southern shore of Cape Cod (Vineyard and Nantucket Sound). Multiple DFMPA 

anchorages are found within Narragansett Bay in Rhode Island and along coastal 

Connectictut. A series of extensive DFMPAs offshore from New York City funnel 

commercial vessels into the regulated navigation areas at the approach to New 

York’s port. 

Map 24a DFMPAs by management agency in New England with names of individual sites.
 55

Box 12 New England Traffic Separation Schemes 

A Traffic Separation Scheme is one of several routing measures adopted by the International Maritime 

Organization to improve the safety of navigation in areas of converging traffic, congested areas or 

where freedom of navigation is constrained in some way. These are usually found at the entrances 

to major ports and “choke points” where heavy volumes of shipping are forced to pass through 

narrow straits. Here, large commercial vessels should proceed in the appropriate traffic lane in the 

direction of traffic flow for that lane. In the New England region, most shipping traffic services the 

busy port of New York, where in 2006, over 5,300 ships delivered goods. 

Map 24b

DFMPAs by management agency in New 

England with names of 

individual sites.
The rest of the New England region is 

dotted with a number of DFMPAs off the coast. 

Massachusetts has a large number of anchorage 

areas. Along the coast of Maine and New 

Hampshire, a number of security and danger 

zones are associated with military installations. 

Many of these sites occur along rocky inter-tidal 

habitat, where lobster fishing still flourishes.

What types of DFMPAs exist in New England?

Five traffic separation schemes and two shipping 

safety fairways make up more than 90% of the 

DFMPA area in New England. These large areas 

connect to manage national and foreign vessels 

entering and departing New York harbor (see 

Box 13). While there are only two shipping safety 

fairways in New England, these are large, covering 

almost 20% of the DFMPA area (Graph 23). 

More (50) anchorage DFMPAs occur in New 

England than any other type (Graph 33). Because 

these areas are so small, they take up a relatively 

small portion of the region. Johnson’s River is a 

small anchorage, located at the Bridgeport Harbor, 

one of Connecticut’s principal commercial ports. 

The Vineyard and Nantucket Sounds, Anchorage 

I is rather large and has become a docking and 

anchorage area for the Atlantic coastal shipping 

fleet. It is not uncommon for 300 boats at a time 

to be anchored in Vineyard Haven harbor, awaiting 

a decent tide and a fair breeze.

Five danger zones occur in New England, but 

these cover a relatively small (1%) portion of the 

total DFMPA area. Duck Island, Cape Cod Bay, 

Seal Island, Cape Small and No Man’s Land are all 

danger zones. Cape Small is a naval aircraft practice 

mining range area. Test drops from aircraft are 

made intermittently, but testing does not restrict 

any fishing, recreational or commercial. At Duck 

Island, however, no person or vessel can enter or 

remain in the danger zone from 8:00—5:00 p.m. 

daily, except when otherwise indicated. 

Who manages DFMPAs in New England? 

The Coast Guard manages more DFMPA area 

(98% of total DFMPA in New England) than any 

other agency (Graph 24) in New England region. 

Most of the 150 sites managed by the Coast 

Guard regulate shipping traffic in and out of 

ports or anchoring of these ships once they have 

reached their destination. Typically, vessels must 

maintain contact with port authorities to avoid 

collisions and time the movements of ships into 

and out of ports. With the recent anti-terrorism 

56

NEW

ENGLAND

Graph 23

Types of DFMPAs in 

New England (number 

and percent total of 

DFMPA area). The 

number of sites is indicated in the bar. The 

percentage of the total 

DFMPA area for this 

region is indicated on 

the y-axis.

Graph 24 (L) 

New England DFMPA 

area by management 

agency (number and 

percent area). Several 

DFMPAs are co-managed.

Graph 25 (R) 

New England DFMPA 

area by level of restriction. 
focus, the Coast Guard also has responsibility for 

monitoring suspicious activities and maintains the 

right to investigate or board vessels if necessary. 

During the Tall Ships Rhode Island 2004 event, 

the Coast Guard established various types of 

DFMPAs near Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island, 

which can be turned off and on as necessary. 

The only other management agency with any 

significant jurisdictional area (2%) in New England 

is the Navy. Twenty-one DFMPAs are controlled 

by the Navy, including the Narragansett Bay, East 

Passage, Anchorage A, where only Navy vessels 

are allowed to anchor. All five danger zones are 

also under the control of the Navy, as are all of the 

restricted areas. Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, one 

of four remaining naval shipyards in the nation, is 

used for building, remodeling, and repairing the 

Navy’s ships. The yard was established in June 

1800, making it the oldest continuously-operating 

shipyard of the Navy. 

Can people access DFMPAs in New England?

Access is permitted in almost all of the DFMPA 

area in New England (98%), with only minor 

restrictions to prevent the obstruction of 

commercial traffic (Graph 25; Map 26). For 

example, the Connecticut River, the Thames River 

and the traffic lanes on the approach to New York 

are all multiple use areas where regulations prohibit 

building permanent structures or the installation 

of submerged equipment. 

Less than 1% of the DFMPA area (21 km2) 

in New England is transit only. This occurs in a 

single site, Narragansett Bay, which is transit only 

year-round to secure the underwater extensive 

cable system in Narragansett Bay. 

Insignificant portions (< 0.01%) of the DFMPA 

area in New England are no access, and most of 

this is only temporarily off limits. Seal Island is 

seasonally off limits and the waters around No 

Man’s Land off Southern Rhode Island are closed 

due to Navy operations. Together, these two areas 

comprise more than 90% of the no access area in 

this region. 

Eighteen small DFMPAs do not allow access 

on a year-round basis. Three are adjacent to 

nuclear power plants, such as Pilgrim Nuclear 

Power Plant. Areas at the U.S.S. Constitution and 

Map 25 

Types of DFMPAs in 

New England..

Box 13 New York Harbor

The Port of New York/New Jersey is the largest port complex on the East Coast of North America 

and is located at the hub of the most concentrated and affluent consumer market in the world, 

with immediate access to the most extensive interstate highway and rail networks in the region. 

In addition, the Port Authority directly oversees the operation of seven cargo terminals in the 

New York-New Jersey region. The dollar value of cargo moving through New York Harbor in 2006 

exceeded $149 billion.

 57

NEW 

ENGLAND
the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine 

secure historical shipyard facilities are also not 

accessible at all times. 

Summary

Relative to the rest of the U.S., the total DFMPA 

area in New England is small, and most of this 

is concentrated around the approaches to New 

York harbor. Activities that constrain or impede 

the movement of large commercial vessels are 

prohibited in and around this major commercial 

shipping lane, but only a tiny portion (< 1%) of the 

region is closed to public access year-round. Less 

than 11 km2 is inaccessible to the public and this 

small area is divided into individual DFMPAs (Map 

27), most of which are located close to or adjacent 

to industrialized sections of the coast. Many of these 

DFMPAs abut nuclear power stations, while others 

are part of target and bombing practice areas. 

Map 26 (Above L)

Level of restriction 

of DFMPAs in New 

England.

Map 27 (Above R)

Aggregate no access 

year round area in New 

England. Red dot does 

not indicate the location 

of a specific DFMPA. 

Rather, it indicates the 

total no access year 

round area for all DFMPAs in New England. 

58

NEW

ENGLAND
 ALASKA’S DEFACTO MPAs GREAT LAKES DE FACTO MPAs

A T A G L A N C E

A small portion of nation’s total DFMPA area is in the 

Great Lakes

Danger zones make up almost all of the DFMPA area 

in region

95% of the DFMPA occurs in just two sites; most of it in the 

Air Force’s Volk Field Air National Guard Base

Anchorages are most common type of DFMPA

DFMPAs occur in every lake in the region

•

•

•

•

•

 59

Background

A fraction (just 2%) of the Great Lakes regional 

waters occurs in 69 DFMPAs (Map 28). This region 

is dominated by two DFMPAs: the Air Force’s 

Volk Field Air National Guard Base danger zone 

and St. Mary’s vessel traffic service area. Together 

these two sites make up almost the entire DFMPA 

area for the region. Volk Field is the largest and is 

located offshore in Lake Michigan, though the zone 

rarely, if ever, affects people in the water. The vessel 

traffic service area of St Mary’s River is a narrow, 

geologically constricted passageway that links three 

Great Lakes -- Superior, Huron and Michigan -- 

earning this area the nickname, “Hub of the Great 

Lakes”. Other DFMPAs are distributed throughout 

the Great Lakes (see Map 28). Anchorages occur 

in each of the Lakes, but are generally small. The 

smallest DFMPA in the region is Chicago Harbor, 

Anchorage E. DFMPAs occur in every state along 

the Great Lakes region, though more are located 

in Illinois than any other state (see Table 11). New 

York, Wisconsin and Michigan each have several 

DFMPAs, many of which are located adjacent to 

nuclear power stations. Minnesota and Indiana, 

with their relatively small coastlines, each have only 

a single DFMPA. 

Number of DFMPAs

Illinois 20

New York 15

Wisconsin 12

Michigan 11

Ohio 9

Minnesota 1

Indiana 1

What types of DFMPAs exist in the Great 

Lakes? 

Six danger zones are located in the Great Lakes, 

which comprise close to 75 percent of the total 

DFMPA area (Graph 26; Map 29). While Volk 

Field is enormous, the site is rarely used to practice 

simulating air to surface procedures. Other danger 

zones include Northerly Island, Zone B, the U.S. 

Table 11

Number of DFMPAs 

by state in the Great 

Lakes.
60

M A P B E L O W :

S U M M A R Y S TAT S

3% of regional waters 

69 sites

2% of total U.S. DFMPA 

area

4,674 km2

•

•

•

•

DFMPAs occur along the shores of each of the Great Lakes. Along the St. Mary’s 

River, a network of DFMPAs connect Lake Superior with Lake Huron. DFMPAs 

near Mackinaw Island also connect Lake Huron with Lake Michigan. Within Lake 

Michigan is the large offshore DFMPA called Volk Field Danger Zone as well as 

several security zones associated with Kewaunee and Zion nuclear power stations. 

Within Lake Erie lies Erie Ordnance Depot, Enrico Fermi 2 Nuclear Power Station 

and anchorages around Buffalo, New York. Along the shores of Lake Ontario, 

several DFMPAs are situated near cities, including Henderson harbor and Niagara 

River special anchorage. 

Map 28 DFMPAs by management agency in the Great Lakes with names of individual sites.
Naval training facility Great Lakes Small Arms 

Range and the Erie Ordnance Depot Area I. All 

six of the danger zones of the Great Lakes are 

associated with these sites, and were designated to 

protect the public from target practice, bombing, 

rocket firing or other hazardous operations. 

While the St. Mary’s River vessel traffic service 

area is the only one in the region, it covers a 

large area (> 1000 km2). Here lake freighters and 

ocean-going ships traverse the locks between Lake 

Superior to the north and Lake Huron to the south, 

making this a major shipping corridor between the 

U.S. and Canada. Other shipping areas include the 

four regulated navigation areas. The largest is the 

Lake Huron, South Channel, while the smallest 

DFMPA controls traffic around the Coast Guard 

Station at Port Huron. 

There are 17 security zones in the region, many 

of which either currently are or were once nuclear 

power plants. For instance, Zion, Ginna, Palisades, 

Nine Mile Point and Fitzpatrick and Davis Besse are 

or were nuclear power stations with security zones 

established in the waterways around them. These 

areas are extremely small, most less than 1 km2. All 

of these sites occur close to shore along the banks 

of Lake Michigan, Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. 

As with most other regions, the number of 

anchorage DFMPAs is greater than any other 

type. Most of these occur around busy ports such 

as Chicago, Milwaukee, Cleveland, and Buffalo. 

All of these anchorage areas are small, less than 

0.5 km2, and provide safe harbor for commercial 

and recreational vessels.

Graph 26

Types of DFMPAs 

in the Great Lakes 

(number and percent 

total of DFMPA area). 

The number of sites 

is indicated in the bar. 

The percentage of the 

total DFMPA area for 

this region is indicated 

on the y-axis. 

Map 29

Types of DFMPAs in the 

Great Lakes

61

GREAT 

LAKES
Two restricted areas occur in the Great Lakes 

region. The Lakeside Yacht Club restricted area 

provides security for the Burke Lakefront Airport 

in Cleveland. The Niagara River safety zone limits 

access to the Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation 

facility for safety and environmental purposes. 

Who manages DFMPAs in the Great Lakes? 

The Air Force manages most (69%) of the 

DFMPA area in the Great Lakes region (Graph 

27), as it controls the Volk Field danger zone. This 

danger zone is part of the Volk Field Air National 

Guard Base, a joint facility with the Wisconsin Air 

National Guard supporting the Combat Readiness 

Training Center and the 128th Air Control 

Squadron.

The Coast Guard manages 27% of the total 

DFMPA area in 62 sites, with more sites than any 

other management agency in the region. Most 

of these are anchorages and the security zones 

located around the active and decommissioned 

power plants of the Great Lakes. 

The only other management agency with any 

significant DFMPA area in the Great Lakes region 

is the Army, with only two sites. Both of these are 

located at the Erie Ordnance Depot, Area I and II 

(see Box 14). 

Graph 27 (L)

Great Lakes DFMPA 

area by management 

agency (number and 

percent area). The 

number of sites is indicated in parentheses. 

Graph 28 (R)

Great Lakes DFMPA 

area by level of restriction. 

62

GREAT

LAKES
The remainder of the DFMPA area in the 

Great Lakes is managed by the Navy and the 

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The 

Navy manages four relatively small sites, all of 

which occur at the Northerly Island danger zone 

and a U.S. Naval training facility. These areas are 

so small that they contribute little to the regional 

total. A single site is managed by the FAA; the 

Lakeside Yacht Club restricted area. Here, vessels 

above a certain height must promptly inform 

the Burke Lakefront Air Traffic Control Tower 

at Cleveland Airport of their activities to avoid 

safety concerns during takeoff and landing for 

commercial planes. 

Can people access DFMPAs in the Great 

Lakes? 

Only one site (Volk Field) in the Great Lakes is 

transit only for brief periods during the year (Map 

30). Most of the time mariners are unaware of the 

existence of this site and conduct normal boating 

and shipping activities without concern. 

Most of the DFMPAs (40) in the Great 

Lakes are open to public uses year-round (Graph 

28). Most of these multiple use DFMPAs are 

anchorages, but also include St. Mary’s vessel 

traffic service area and Navy Pier Northside in 

Chicago. 

A small portion (7%) of the Great Lakes’ 

Map 30 

Level of restriction of 

DFMPAs in the Great 

Lakes. 

63

GREAT 

LAKES

Box 14 Erie Army Depot danger zone

The Erie Army Depot is located on a 3 mile stretch of beach on Lake Erie between the Touissant 

River and Camp Perry. This site was set up in 1918 when the Department of Defense purchased the 

Erie Army Depot to test and proof fire Army artillery and serve as a storage depot. Small caliber 

items, artillery, mortar shells and rockets are tested at this site. Contamination likely originates 

from the ordnance activities area and the landfill. 
DFMPA area is no access temporarily. Some are 

seasonally no access during periods when ice 

and weather make navigation dangerous, while 

others are temporarily no access during periods 

when training operations occur. DFMPAs such 

as Chicago and Burnham Park Harbors and Lake 

Huron, South Channel are periodically closed. 

Less than 1% of the DFMPA area in the Great 

Lakes is permanently no access. These 16 DFMPAs 

limit access year-round to the public because of 

risk to public health and safety. Most of these sites 

are tiny (< 1 km2) and include all of the nuclear 

power plants and power stations, such as Enrico 

Fermi 2 and Kewaunee Nuclear Power Plants. 

These sites occur along the coastline of most of 

the Great Lakes, distributed close to many of the 

major cities in the region (i.e., Chicago, Buffalo, 

Milwaukee), with small security zones around 

the power stations to provide protection from 

sabotage and accidents. 

Summary 

A small portion of the Great Lakes (<5,000 

km2) exists in DFMPAs, and most of this occurs 

in a single rarely, if ever, used DFMPA in Lake 

Michigan. The remaining DFMPAs generally are 

located for navigating commerce through the 

rough waters and narrow passageways of the Great 

Lakes. Almost all of the Great Lakes DFMPA 

area is open access to various recreational and 

commercial activities. The few, small no access 

DFMPAs of the region are distributed across 

the region, throughout the different Great Lakes. 

These 16 individual sites, which in total comprise 

22 km2, occur in the near-shore coastal habitat. 

Individual sites are small, typically 1 km2, and tend 

to occur in areas heavily impacted by development, 

industrial pollution, and commercial activities. 

Most of the no access year round DFMPAs are 

adjacent to existing or decommissioned nuclear 

power stations, water intake cribs, or unexploded 

ordnance areas. Future conservation efforts in the 

Great Lakes may identify defunct DFMPAs as 

areas that could contribute to conserving valuable 

marine resources of the Great Lakes. 

Map 31

Aggregate no access 

year round area in the 

Great Lakes. Red dot 

does not indicate the 

location of a specific DFMPA. Rather, 

it indicates the total no 

access year round area 

for all DFMPAs in the 

Great Lakes. 

64

GREAT

LAKES
 ALASKA’S DEFACTO MPAs PACIFIC ISLANDS DE FACTO MPAs

A T A G L A N C E

Small fraction of the national total DFMPA area

59 sites, most of which are dedicated to military training

Sites exist in Hawaii, Guam and CNMI, but none occur in 

American Samoa

Danger zones make up 90% of the total DFMPA area

•

•

•

•

65

Background

A minute portion of the Pacific Islands regional 

waters (< 0.01%) is contained in 59 individual 

DFMPAs (Map 32). Nearly all of this area occurs 

in a single site on Hawaii, at the Kaena Point Light 

Danger Zone on the western side of Oahu. The 

main Hawaiian Islands boasts the greatest number 

(39) of DFMPAs in the Pacific Islands. Guam has 

15 sites and five occur in the Commonwealth of 

the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), a chain of 

14 volcanic islands. Although American Samoa is 

located in the Pacific Islands region, no DFMPAs 

occur here (see Map 32). Oahu, part of the main 

Hawaiian Islands, contains the greatest number 

of DFMPAs compared to any other island in the 

region. Most of the DFMPAs are small, though 

the few large sites, most of which are danger 

zones, greatly inflate the regional total. The 

smallest DFMPA is the security zone around the 

Naval Mooring Buoy No. 702 on Guam with less 

than 0.01 km2. The five largest DFMPAs all occur 

in Hawaii (i.e., Kahoolawe Island, Kaula Rock 

and the Pacific Missile Range Facility at Barking 

Sands). Almost all of the DFMPA area in the 

region supports the large military presence in the 

Pacific Islands established after WWII. 

What types of DFMPAs exist in Pacific 

Islands?

Because of the considerable military presence in 

Hawaii and Guam, it is not surprising that most of 
66

M A P B E L O W :

SUMMARY STATS

< 0.01% of regional 

waters

59 sites

1% of total U.S. DFMPA 

area

1,557 km2 total area

•

•

•

•

DFMPAs are located within the main Hawaiian Islands, and the Marianas Islands 

of Saipan and Guam. American Samoa has no DFMPAs. On Guam, the majority 

of DFMPAs occur within and immediately around the entrance of Apra Harbor, 

and include several anchorages and military restricted areas and danger zones. 

In Tanapag Harbor on Saipan, a regulated navigation area was designated, and 

on the island of Tinian, a single security zone occurs. Within the main Hawaiian 

Islands, DFMPAs are distributed primarily around the island of Oahu and Kauai. A 

single DFMPA is located at Hilo Bay. No DFMPAs occur around the islands of Maui 

and Molokai. However, a large DFMPA at Kahoolawe Island was designated as a 

danger zone. While the United States has many other island territories within 

the Pacific Islands, DFMPAs do not occur in these areas. 

Map 32 DFMPAs by management agency in the Pacific Islands with names of individual sites. 
the DFMPA area in the region (close to 90%) is in 

danger zones (Graph 29; Map 33). For example, 

the danger zone at Kaula Rock protects the public 

from aerial bombing. The three largest DFMPAs 

are danger zones: Kaena Point (over 1,000 km2

), Kahoolawe Island (200 km2) and Kaula Rock 

(90 km2). 

Safety zones comprise the second largest type 

of DFMPA in the Pacific Islands, but occur in only 

three locations. Two are located in Guam and one is 

located in Hawaii. Portions of Apra Harbor in Guam 

are off limits to non-commercial and authorized 

vessels and the waters surrounding Pacific Missile 

Range at Barking Sands, Hawaii are off limits for 

safety reasons during launch operations. 

Eight security zones make up a small portion 

(2%) of the total DFMPA area of the region. 

Examples include Honolulu harbor and Barbers 

Point harbor, Oahu; Kahului Harbor on Maui; 

Nawiliwili Harbor, Kauai. These security zones 

safeguard sites throughout the Hawaiian Islands 

from destruction, loss, or injury from sabotage. 

For example, Tinian in CNMI was established as 

a security zone to safeguard U.S. Marine Corps 

military ships when moored there. 

A tiny fraction (1%) of the DFMPA in the 

Pacific is contained in regulated navigation areas 

in five sites. All of these occur in Guam (3) and 

Saipan (2). The largest, the CNMI Regulated 

Navigation Areas, Apra Harbor, Guam is close to 

20 km2. 

Graph 29

Types of DFMPAs in 

the Pacific Islands 

(number and percent 

total of DFMPA area). 

The number of sites 

is indicated in the bar. 

The percentage of the 

total DFMPA area for 

this region is indicated 

on the y-axis. 

Map 33 

Types of DFMPAs in the 

Pacific Islands.

67

PACIFIC 

ISLANDS
Only three restricted areas are located in the 

Pacific Islands. Barber’s Point Restricted Area, 

the largest at more than 20 km2, provides security 

for underwater installations (e.g., submarine 

pipelines and cables) off Barber’s Point. Similarly, 

the Makai Undersea Test Range provides security 

while underwater robots are being tested off the 

southeastern coast of Oahu. 

Who manages DFMPAs in the Pacific Islands? 

The U.S. Army regulates nearly two-thirds of 

the DFMPA area in the Pacific Islands region 

(Graph 30) . All of the area managed by the U.S. 

Army occurs in a single large site- Kaena Point 

Light, Oahu (see Box 15). This site is just over 

1,000 km2 and was established to protect the 

public from target practice, bombing, rocket 

firing or other hazardous operations. The U.S. 

Navy manages nearly a quarter (24%) of the 

DFMPA area in 16 individual sites. The U.S. Navy 

is the primary manager of sites in the CNMI, in 

conjunction with the U.S. Coast Guard. The U.S. 

Navy regulates several safety and security zones 

around Apra Harbor and Orote Point in CNMI 

to ensure the safe and secure transport of cargo. 

In the main Hawaiian Islands, Barking Sands and 

Barber’s Point danger zone are both managed by 

the U.S. Navy. 

Though the U.S. Coast Guard manages more 

DFMPAs (48) in the Pacific Islands than any other 

management agency, these sites are so small that 

they total only 11% of the total DFMPA area. 

The 26 anchorages in the region are all managed 

by the U.S. Coast Guard, such as Keehi Lagoon on 

Oahu and Hilo Bay on Hawaii. 

Can people access DFMPAs in the Pacific 

Islands? 

Unlike any other region, a large part (95%) of 

the DFMPA area in the Pacific Islands can be no 

access, at least part of the time (Graph 31; Map 

34). Importantly, two thirds of this no access 

area is only temporarily off limits to the public, 

with most of this contained in one site- Kaena 

Point Light danger zone on Oahu. Access is 

prohibited on certain days during target practice, 

bombing, or rocket firing. Only a few additional 

sites are temporarily no access (e.g., Ulupau 

Crater Weapons Training Range, Apra Harbor 

Explosives Anchorage 701, Makai Undersea Test 

Range). About 30% of the DFMPA area in the 

Pacific Islands is no access on a year round basis. 

Three sites make up the bulk of this area: Pacific 

Graph 30

Pacific Islands DFMPA 

area by management 

agency (number and 

percent area). The 

number of sites is indicated in parentheses. 

Box 15 Kaena Point danger Zone, Oahu, Hawaii

Kaena Pt. on Oahu supports the Air Force Satellite Control Network, which provides tracking, 

commanding, telemetry and commanding for over 100 satellites. This network provides launch 

and early orbit tracking of all major U.S. satellite launches. Globally there are ten worldwide 

locations and two control centers where satellites can be tracked and support is provided to the 

space surveillance system. This site provides earth to space connections that are required to fly 

operational military satellites. This tracking station is located on the crest of the ridge near the 

extreme west tip of Oahu at an elevation between 700 and 1,400 feet. The site includes a Global 

Positioning System (GPS) Monitor Station. Detachment 4 at Kaena Pt. is one of eight worldwide 

satellite tracking stations and serves telemetry, tracking and commanding functions for Department 

of Defense space assets, including weather, early warning, navigation, communications, and other 

high priority space programs. 

68

PACIFIC 

ISLANDS
Missile Facility at Barking Sands, Kaula Rock and 

Kahoolawe Island (see Box 16). The waters off 

Barking Sands are no access year round due to 

the presence of the world’s largest instrumented 

multi-environment range, capable of supporting 

surface, subsurface, air, and space operations 

simultaneously. A site in Tinian, CNMI safeguards 

ships that are configured to transport supplies for 

the U.S. Marine Corps. Known as the Maritime 

Prepositioning Force, the ships were built or 

modified beginning in the mid-1980s and are 

forward-deployed to the western Pacific Ocean, 

the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. The 

ships contain nearly everything the Marines need 

for initial military operations -- from tanks and 

ammunition to food, water, fuel, spare parts and 

engine oil.

A small portion (5%) of the DFMPA area in 

the Pacific Islands is multiple use. The largest sites 

in the Pacific Islands are the CNMI Regulated 

Map 34

Level of restriction of 

DFMPAs in the Pacific 

Islands. 

69

PACIFIC 

ISLANDS
Navigation Areas in Saipan and Guam, which 

were designated to provide safe navigation for 

cargo ships moving supplies into the islands. The 

remainder of the multiple use sites are anchorage 

zones located in the harbors of Oahu, Maui, 

Guam, and Saipan, with the exception of Barber’s 

Point Restricted Area, which provides security for 

underwater installations submerged there. 

There are only three transit only areas all year 

round in the Pacific Islands, all of which occur in 

Hawaii. Barber’s Point Non-Anchorage areas A, B 

and C (see Box 17).

Summary

A small portion of the Pacific Islands occurs in 

DFMPAs, most of which is used periodically 

for military training. As such, most of this area 

is used freely for fishing, boating and recreational 

activities. A small portion (< 500 km2) is off limits 

year round, an area roughly equivalent to half the 

size of Volcanoes National Park, on the Big Island 

of Hawaii (Map 35). The remaining no access year 

round DFMPAs in the Pacific Island are all small 

(<1 km2) and are spread throughout the Hawaiian 

Islands, except for one site in Tinian in CNMI. 

Box 16 Kahoolawe Island danger zone

In 1920, the U.S. Army and Navy began using Kahoolawe for target practice and began routine 

bombardment. In 1939, the territorial government leased the southern tip of the island to the Army 

for use as an artillery range. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, martial law was declared 

and the Navy took full control. The inhabitants were ordered off the island. For 30 years, the island 

was used for gunnery and bombing training by the Navy, and was routinely subjected to torpedo 

bombing. The largest crater, some 50 meters (165 feet) in diameter, resulted from the then most 

powerful non-nuclear bomb. In 1976, Native Hawaiians laid the groundwork for restoring Hawaiian 

control over the island, filing suit to stop the Navy’s use of Kahoolawe for military training. In 

1981, the island of Kahoolawe was placed on the National Register of Historic Places, and an island 

cleanup was initiated. Bombing of Kahoolawe was stopped by President George H. W. Bush in 1990. 

In 1993, the U.S. Government approved a $400 million clean-up fund, and in 1994 Kahoolawe was 

officially returned to Hawaiians. Bombing was permanently prohibited. Today, a no take marine 

protected area exists around portions of the island. Kaho‘olawe is surrounded by an extensive reef 

system, which is relatively intact. Because these waters are off-limits to fishing and commercial 

activities, this region acts as a fish sanctuary that works to replenish fish stocks throughout the 

islands. 

Graph 31 (R) 

Pacific Islands DFMPA 

area by level of restriction. 

70

PACIFIC 

ISLANDS
Map 35

Aggregate no access 

year round area in the 

Pacific Islands. Red 

dot does not indicate 

the location of a specific DFMPA. Rather, 

it indicates the total no 

access year round area 

for all DFMPAs in the 

Pacific Islands. 

Box 17 Barbers Point

The Navy’s last naval air station in the Hawaiian Islands has now closed, ending 57 years of service. 

Barbers Point--the “Crossroads of the Pacific,” carved out of brush and coral on the leeward side 

of Oahu early in World War II--was turned over to the state of Hawaii and is being conserved as a 

historical site. Barbers Point was named for Henry Barber, master of the Arthur, a 100-foot British 

brigantine that ran aground on the point of Oahu during a storm in 1796. Construction of the airfield 

began in November 1941, but was temporarily suspended after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor 

so that construction crews could rapidly complete Marine Corps Air Station Ewa. Barbers Point was 

still not complete when it was established as a naval air station on 15 April 1942. 

71

PACIFIC 

ISLANDS
 ALASKA’S DEFACTO MPAs CARIBBEAN ISLANDS DE FACTO MPAs

A T A G L A N C E

Majority of sites are danger zones, but most were recently decommissioned 

(90% reduction of DFMPA area)

Controversial hand-over of land and marine jurisdiction is occurring in 

Puerto Rico 

Navy controlled more DFMPA area, but U.S. Army will soon manage more 

DFMPA than any other agency

Remaining DFMPAs are anchorages

•

•

•

•

72

Background

Less area exists in DFMPAs in the Caribbean than 

any other region in the U.S., though 22 individual 

sites occur. These DFMPAs are distributed 

throughout the islands of Puerto Rico, Vieques 

and Culebra, where 14 individual DFMPAs occur. 

Around the U.S. Virgin Islands of St. Croix 

and St. Thomas eight DFMPAs are located. No 

DFMPAs exist off the island of St. John, U.S. 

Virgin Islands. As in the South Atlantic region, 

almost the entire DFMPA area is dedicated to the 

military, with seven large danger zones located in 

the region (Map 36). DFMPAs off the eastern 

side of Vieques, Puerto Rico (a danger zone) 

and another large site off the island of Culebra, 

Puerto Rico make up the bulk (85%) of the total 

DFMPA area in the region. Historically access was 

limited in these areas, due to dangerous training 

operations that occurred here. However in 2003, 

the U.S. Navy withdrew from the region and many 

DFMPAs were decommissioned. While these sites 

remain in the federal register, effectively the sites 

do not exist since they are never activated and the 

Navy has no plans to use them in the future. 

The Naval danger zones were located in 

some of the best coral reef ecosystems of the 

U.S. territories, and although small portions 

of the DFMPAs were used as bombing areas, 

large sections were left untouched by humans. 

Consequently, considerable portions of the danger 

zones served as refugia for seagrass beds, coral 

reefs, juvenile reef fishes, groupers, snappers, 

conchs, lobster and whelks. Populations and 
73

M A P B E L O W :

S U M M A R Y S TAT S

< 0.001% of regional 

waters 

22 DFMPAs

< 0.1% of total U.S. 

DFMPA area

829 km2

•

•

•

•

The majority of DFMPAs in the Caribbean Islands are located on the islands of 

Puerto Rico, including Vieques, and on St. Thomas in the U.S Virgin Islands. 

Several DFMPAs occur on the north shore of Puerto Rico around San Juan Harbor 

and on the eastern portion of the island where vessels transit to the neighboring 

islands of Vieques and Culebra. The western portion of Vieques was used as an 

anchorage and ammunition handling berth and the eastern portion of Vieques 

was formerly used by the military for target practice. A large danger zone also 

occurred on the northwestern coast off the island of Culebra. In the U.S. Virgin 

Islands, DFMPAs are located only around the island of St. Thomas, and most are 

associated with Charlotte-Amalie Harbor on the southern shore. 

Map 36 DFMPAs by management agency in the Caribbean Islands with names of individual sites.
the average size of individuals of these species 

increased, and marine habitats thrived in the areas 

untouched by humans. But, in 2004, the U.S. Navy 

handed over terrestrial portions of the Vieques 

Naval base to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 

The marine portions of Vieques may be handed 

over to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico after 

thirty years of strict protection, however, while the 

future of these areas is being decided, these areas 

have been opened to fishing and exploitation. 

Locals and visitors to the region have boasted of 

the abundance of marine life within the danger 

zone areas. The U.S. Navy continues to clean-up 

unexploded ordnances in some portions of the 

danger zones, but does not use its authority to 

regulate fishing or habitat destruction. 

Once all of the Vieques Naval DFMPAs 

are decommissioned, the DFMPA area in the 

Caribbean region will be cut by 90%. Once this 

occurs, anchorages will be the dominant DFMPA 

type in the region. Anchorages are primarily 

designated by the U.S. Coast Guard and used by 

the Caribbean cruise ship fleet, which visits San 

Juan and St. Thomas regularly. Other anchorages 

are designated for the large sailing community 

that frequents this area. The smallest DFMPA 

is St. Thomas Harbor, Long Bay Anchorage, an 

area for inter-island ferries and cargo transport. 

The only significantly-sized DFMPA remaining 

in the region will be the Easterly, Westerly and 

Camp Tortugero Small-arms Range, which was 

established by the U.S. Army as a target firing 

area. This site is extremely large (just under 400 

km2) and occurs on the northern shore of Puerto 

Rico in a secluded tropical dry forest region. The 

arms range flanks the northern coast and seagrass 

beds and fringing reef lies just offshore. In the 

1990s, NASA conducted research (called the 

Coqui II experiments) on the behavior of the 

upper atmosphere by releasing Trimethyaluminum 

(TMA) at high altitudes (50-100 miles). Studies 

determined that rashes developed by swimmers 

may have been the consequence of lead fallout. 

No further ionospheric testing is planned. This 

site will be the only site managed by the military 

in the region, after the evacuation and clean-up of 

the Naval sites is complete. 

Box 18 Some Of Best Coral Reef Habitats Located 

In Vieques Naval Station

Off the island of Puerto Rico lies Vieques, an area which has received international attention as a 

consequence of a standoff between local residents and the U.S. Navy. Here, two restricted areas 

and a danger zone occur in some of the region’s best coral reef habitat. The danger zone lies on the 

eastern shore, offshore from the former Navy Atlantic Fleet Weapons Training Facility and includes 

several areas (e.g., surface impact, live impact, and eastern conservation areas). Open detonation 

of retrograde munitions occurred and bombing and gunnery practice was conducted periodically. 

Access was prohibited only during live firing; otherwise the area was open to the public. Two 

restricted areas occur on the south/central and western side of Vieques. These areas prohibited 

access to users who were not on official business. 

Coincidentally, most of the island’s important coral reef habitats occur within these three DFMPAs. 

All of the mangrove habitat and extensive portions of the island’s reef habitat are located within 

these DFMPAs. Restrictive zoning, enforced by naval officers, likely provided unintended protection 

to various marine resources and habitats. Access was limited, coastal development was prohibited 

and harvest of marine organisms was either strictly prohibited or managed. Although damage 

certainly occurred as a consequence of the military training (e.g., acoustic noise, hazardous 

materials contamination), certain marine populations may have benefited from protection afforded 

by these DFMPAs. With the decommissioning of these areas by the U.S. Navy, active management of 

these areas will cease and the future of these coral reef habitats is unknown. 

74

CARIBBEAN 

ISLANDS
What types of DFMPAs exist in the Caribbean 

Islands?

At this time, almost all the DFMPA area (95%) 

in the Caribbean region occurs in nine danger 

zones, though only one remains active (Graph 

32; Map 37). These sites are distributed primarily 

in the islands of Puerto Rico, though many are 

clustered around Vieques. The southern Vieques 

Passage explosives anchorage and ammunition 

handling berth (Area 1, 2 &3) used to be areas for 

loading and unloading hazardous materials. Only 

one danger zone is currently used for boats that 

require quarantine. 

Fourteen anchorage grounds exist in the 

region, comprising only 2% of the DFMPA area. 

Most occur in the U.S. Virgin Islands within the 

busy cruise ship ports of Charlotte Amalie, St. 

Thomas and Fredericksted, St. Croix, with several 

in San Juan, Puerto Rico. These anchorages help 

to separate commercial and recreational vessels, so 

that cruise ships have the berth space necessary to 

safely dock and unload passengers. Coast Guard 

designated anchorages help to keep recreational 

boaters out of dangerous commercial boating 

areas. 

Two restricted areas occur in the Caribbean 

Islands region, both of which are extremely small. 

St. Croix Area A and B are sites where anchoring 

was reserved for Naval vessels coming from 

Roosevelt Roads. With the decommissioning of 

Roosevelt Roads, Naval Station, private vessels 

will be able to use this area freely. 

Who manages DFMPAs in the Caribbean 

Islands?

The U.S. Navy has jurisdiction over more DFMPA 

area (60%) than any other agency in the region, 

though with their withdrawal to Mayport, Florida, 

Graph 32 

Types of DFMPAs in 

the Caribbean Islands 

(number and percent 

total of DFMPA area). 

The number of sites 

is indicated in the bar. 

The percentage of the 

total DFMPA area for 

this region is indicated 

on the y-axis. 

Map 37

Types of DFMPAs in the 

Caribbean Islands.

75

CARIBBEAN 

ISLANDS
they will be effectively absent from these areas 

(Graph 33). While the nine DFMPAs that they 

currently manage will legally remain in the CFR 

during clean-up and evacuation, their future 

remains uncertain. It is likely that their existence 

will remain in place in case of a new military threat 

that requires operations in the Caribbean, although 

the sites will be effectively abandoned until such 

time that they are deemed necessary. 

The U.S. Army controls a considerable portion 

(36%) of the DFMPA area of the Caribbean 

Islands in a single site, Easterly, Westerly and Camp 

Tortugero Small-arms Range. A few times a year, 

a warning to mariners is issued to leave the area 

while vessels tow targets through the water while 

shore-based operations actively engage in practice 

firing on this remote stretch of coastline. 

As with most other regions in the U.S., the U.S. 

Coast Guard manages more individual sites than 

any other agency. Thirteen individual sites exist, 

and all of these were designated to provide safe 

anchoring. With the relocation of the U.S. Navy, 

the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Army will be the 

only agencies actively managing DFMPAs in the 

region. 

Can people access DFMPAs in the Caribbean 

Islands? 

There is little, if any, active regulation or 

restriction, on human activities within DFMPAs 

in the region (Graph 34; Map 38). The U.S. Army 

Camp Tortugero is the only site where access is 

limited, and this occurs only a few times a year, 

if at all. Rather, the Caribbean region has the 

distinction of being the only region in the U.S. 

where no portion of the DFMPA area is off limits 

year round. Most of the DFMPA is, or will soon 

be, lapsed and unused. 

Summary

While 22 individual DFMPAs presently occur 

in the Caribbean region, significant changes are 

Graph 33

Caribbean Islands 

DFMPA area by 

management agency 

(number and percent 

area). The number 

of sites is indicated in 

parentheses. 

76

CARIBBEAN 

ISLANDS

Map 38

Level of restriction of 

DFMPAs in the Caribbean Islands. 
occurring, which will dramatically reduce the 

DFMPA area (by 90%). The decommissioning 

of most of the DFMPA area in the region 

may represent a tremendous opportunity for 

conservation. Though the military used portions 

of these danger zones for bombing, causing 

significant damage in some areas, much of the 

area was left unharmed. Furthermore, because 

protection was strictly enforced, the ecological 

communities within the dry tropical forest, 

mangroves, and reef ecosystems thrived. The U.S. 

Fish and Wildlife Service worked with the U.S. 

Navy to acquire large parcels of terrestrial habitat 

and these were converted into a protected area as 

part of the Vieques National Wildlife Refuge. The 

future of most of the marine habitat in these soon 

defunct DFMPAs remains uncertain. While the 

Commonwealth of Puerto Rico has considered 

converting these areas to marine protected 

areas, the DFMPAs are presently open access 

to most human activities. Once these areas are 

decommissioned, anchorages will be the dominant 

type of DFMPA in the region. 

77

CARIBBEAN 

ISLANDS

Graph 34 (Above)

Caribbean Islands 

DFMPA area by level of 

restriction. 
GLOSSARY

Cargo Freight or merchandise on a transportation 

vehicle (ship or plane), but not passengers.

Exclusive Economic Zone An area contiguous 

to the territorial sea of the United States, the 

Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, and 

the U.S. overseas territories and possessions 

and extending 200 nautical miles from the 

coastline.

Firearm A kinetic energy weapon that fires either 

a single or multiple projectiles propelled at 

high velocity by the gases produced by action 

of the rapid confined burning of a propellant.

Hot Zone A location of active military training

Internal Waters Waters under the exclusive jurisdiction of the State or territory.

Marine A solider serving on shipboard; a sea 

soldier; one of a body of troops trained to do 

duty in the navy

Maritime Situated on or near the sea

Military Aviation Includes any use of aircraft by 

a country’s military, including such areas as 

transport, training, disaster relief, border patrol, search and rescue, surveillance, surveying, 

peacekeeping, and (very rarely) aerial warfare.

Multiple Use Allows a variety of human activities 

Munitions Often defined as a synonym for ammunition. A slightly broader definition would 

include bombs, missiles, warheads, and mines.

Nautical Relating to or involving ships or shipping or navigation or seamen

Ordnance Military materiel, such as weapons, 

ammunition, combat vehicles, and equipment

Regional Waters U.S. waters in the affected region, including the E.E.Z., Territorial Sea, and 

internal waters. Typically refers to marine waters from 0-200 nautical miles (nm) offshore

Regulated navigation area (RNA) Areas in coastal and marine waters that are designated to 

control vessel traffic around ports and harbors

Strafing Attack (ground troops, for example) 

with a machine gun or cannon from a low-flying aircraft

Territorial Sea The territorial sea of the United 

States is a maritime zone extending beyond 

the land territory and internal waters of the 

United States over which the United States 

exercises sovereignty and jurisdiction, a sovereignty and jurisdiction that extend to the 

airspace over the territorial sea, as well as to its 

bed and subsoil (0-12nm).

Transit Make a passage or journey from one place 

to another

U.S. Waters Include the Exclusive Economic 

Zone (3-200nm), Territorial Sea, and internal 

waters

Vessel Traffic Service A program that provides 

marine traffic management of an advisory 

nature, and occasional emergency control, to 

reduce collisions and strandings in heavily trafficked ports. 

Warning Areas Typically refers to an airspace 

of defined dimensions within which activities 

dangerous to the flight of aircraft may exist at 

specified times. A specified area above, below, 

or within which there may be potential danger. 

Such areas are not included in the De facto 

MPA database, as they typically do not have 

jurisdiction over marine areas. 

78
79

Appendix I

Methods and Classification 

Scheme

Criteria – The criteria to establish whether or not 

an area is a de facto MPA were designed to be 

consistent and complimentary with the existing 

MMA Inventory effort and include:

Area Must have legally defined 

boundaries

Reserved Established by or currently 

subject to law or regulation

Restrictions Access and activities are 

more highly regulated or restricted 

within the area than surrounding 

waters

Duration Restrictions enacted for 

a mimimum of ten years duration. 

Within a calendar year, a minimum 

of three days restriction (does not 

need to be continuous)

Marine An area of ocean or coastal 

waters or the Great Lakes

There are two main types of MPAs, those that limit 

entry or restrict activities within their boundaries 

(for the purposes of this paper, we will call these 

Type I) and those that only specify speed or other 

provide non-extractive guidance for mariners 

(Type II).

Classification System – Outlined below are five 

fundamental design characteristics used to classify 

de facto MPAs.

Primary Purpose - Many de facto MPAs in US 

waters have been established, especially in light 

of increased Homeland Security concerns after 

9/11/2001, for the protection of government 

(often military) property or operations. Many 

have been established to protect critical private 

interests such as energy exploration and extraction 

and communications. Still others are established 

for issues of public health or safety. Sites classified 

as (1) Military are established to protect military 

vessels and installations as well as the public from 

military exercises. Examples include naval bases, 

•

•

•

•

•

target ranges, missile ranges, mine laying and 

detection practice, and degaussing areas. Sites 

classified as (2) Public and Private Infrastructure 

are established to protect government property 

and privately owned facilities from sabotage and 

to protect the public from operations that might 

endanger health or safety. Examples include 

nuclear power facilities, and mineral or energy 

extraction platforms. Sites that are classified as 

(3) Public Health or Safety are established to 

protect the public from environmental hazards 

or government activities. Examples include many 

anchorage areas, traffic separation schemes and 

prohibited lightering areas.

Level of Restriction - De facto MPAs vary in 

their level of protection, from no access through 

varying levels of restricted access including 

recommendations for mariners in areas of high 

traffic or to address other concerns. Sites classified 

as (1) No Access indicate no entry allowed to 

unauthorized personnel. Entry is only allowed for 

enforcement purposes. Examples include waters 

adjacent to nuclear power facilities, some naval 

bases, and some testing and targeting areas. Sites 

that are classified as (2) Restricted Use indicate 

that access and/or activities are restricted for some 

or all of the calendar year. These restrictions are 

stronger than regulations governing surrounding 

waters and are intended to protect public and 

private property and human life. Examples 

include some testing and targeting areas, traffic 

separation schemes, some danger zones. Sites that 

are classified as (3) Transit Only provide access 

for transit only; access is allowed but only to pass 

through the area. It is a specific type of restricted 

access. Examples include some danger zones, 

degaussing areas, and some restricted areas.

Duration of Restriction - De facto MPAs vary 

in the duration of their restrictions from a few 

hours irregularly to 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. 

The permanence of the regulations controlling a 

specified area will affect the possible conservation 

benefit and impact on the public of those areas. 

Sites classified as (1) Permanent Year-round are de 

facto MPAs whose legal authorities restrict access 

or activities to a given area permanently, 365 days 

a year. Examples include nuclear power facilities, 
80

some naval bases, and some testing and targeting 

areas. Sites classified as (2)Permanent Seasonal or 

Fixed are de facto MPAs whose legal authorities 

restrict access to a given area in perpetuity but 

only at predictable times of the year. Examples 

include some testing and targeting areas and some 

restricted areas. Sites classified as (3) Permanent 

Periodic are de facto MPAs whose legal authorities 

restrict access to a given area in perpetuity but 

only at irregular, announced intervals throughout 

the year. Examples include many testing and 

targeting areas and some restricted areas. Sites 

that are classified as (4) Lapsed or Uncertain are 

areas that are still designated on charts but which 

have no current enforcement authority or are in 

the process of being de-listed. Examples include 

defunct targeting areas and decommissioned 

bases.

Restricted Extractive Uses - De facto MPAs 

may allow certain extractive activities, such as 

fishing or mineral or energy extraction. Indeed, 

some restricted areas are to protect submarine 

mineral and/or energy extraction facilities. 

Others specifically state that commercial and/

or recreational fishing is not to be adversely 

impacted.

The authority to prescribe danger zone and 

restricted area regulations must be exercised so 

as not to unreasonably interfere with or restrict 

the food fishing industry. Whenever the proposed 

establishment of a danger zone or restricted 

area may affect fishing operations, the District 

Engineer will consult with the Regional Director, 

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of 

the Interior and the Regional Director, National 

Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic & 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). (33 CFR 

334.4)

Extractive activities that are of particular 

interest to MPA practitioners are fishing and 

mineral and gas extraction. Sites that are classified 

as (1) All Extractive Activities are those sites that 

limit or prohibit all extractive activities within 

their boundaries. Sites that are classified as (2) 

No Extractive Activities indicate that the de facto 

MPA does not control or prohibit extractive 

activities. The regulations may limit non-extractive 

uses of the area, such as navigation or anchoring. 

Sites that are classified as (3) Bottom Impact allow 

for most uses but specify that any activity that 

would impact the bottom is prohibited. Sites that 

are classified as (4) Mineral or Energy Extraction 

only restrict fixed or floating structures specifically 

related to mineral or energy extraction. Sites that 

are classified as (5) Other have regulations that do 

not directly prohibit extractive use, but may limit it 

through other means, such as a site that prohibits 

fish traps or fish-pound stakes.

Penalty - Most de facto MPAs provide for a penalty 

for non-compliance. A Yes indicates the de facto 

MPA provides for a penalty for non-compliance 

through fine, incarceration or forfeiture of vessel. 

A No indicates the de facto MPA does not provide 

for a penalty for non-compliance. Currently, no de 

facto MPA fits this definition.

Most data were collected using publicly 

available data. The Code of Federal Regulations 

(CFR) (available online as e-CFR at: http://ecfr.

gpoaccess.gov/) was used as a primary data 

source. The e-CFR website is authorized and 

maintained by the National Archives and Records 

Administration’s (NARA) Office of the Federal 

Register (OFR) and the Government Printing 

Office (GPO). The material in the e-CFR is 

updated frequently to incorporate changes or 

Federal Register notices. “The Code of Federal 

Regulations (CFR) is the codification of the 

general and permanent rules published in the 

Federal Register by the executive departments 

and agencies of the Federal Government” 

(CFR, website checked 9/15/05). The official, 

published copy of the CFR is updated once a 

year. The authority to establish de facto MPAs 

and the rules for violation of the regulations 

published in the CFR are codified in the United 

States Code (USC). An electronic version of these 

volumes can be found at: http://straylight.law.

cornell.edu/uscode/html/. Other supplementary 

documentation and information was culled from 

Department of Defense (DoD) websites, including 

information on the Base Realignment and Closure 

(BRAC) process, as of this writing still underway 

(Official BRAC website can be found at: http://

www.defenselink.mil/brac/index.html). 

GIS boundaries for de facto MPAs were 
81

created or collected in a variety of ways. NOAA’s 

Office of Coast Survey (OCS) provides an 

ever-growing number of charts in Electronic 

Navigational Chart (ENC) format. These are 

vectorized forms of the NOAA Paper Nautical 

Charts (http://nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/mcd/

ccatalogs.htm) with Notice to Mariners and other 

updates included (http://nauticalcharts.noaa.

gov/MCD/enc/index.htm). Notice to Mariners is 

a weekly publication that corrects errors on charts 

and announces hazards and other important 

navigational information (http://pollux.nss.nima.

mil/untm/untm_j_options.html?class_flag=N). 

OCS now provides ENC files in a direct-to-GIS 

format (http://ocs-spatial.ncd.noaa.gov/website/

encdirect/viewer.htm). For many port and harbor 

areas in the U.S., electronic boundaries are already 

available for de facto MPAs. For some areas, the 

National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) 

has electronic boundaries available (http://www.

nga.mil/portal/site/dnc/). These Digital Nautical 

Charts (DNCs) use NOAA Paper Nautical Charts 

as well as other sources, and are available in some 

areas where ENCs have not yet been created. 

In most cases, boundaries had to be built from 

scratch. In many cases, the latitude and longitude 

coordinates from the CFR were used to build 

precise boundaries matching the federal record. 

In some cases, however, the CFR is either vague, 

does not provide coordinates, or otherwise is 

insufficient to build boundaries for de facto 

MPAs. Where coordinates were not provided, 

raster forms of the NOAA Nautical Charts were 

used to digitize boundaries directly from the paper 

charts.

For more information on guidelines adopted 

for creating the marine boundaries, please refer 

to Esch, G.G. (2006) Marine managed areas: 

best practices for boundary making. Federal 

Geographic Data Committee Marine Boundary 

Working Group, NMFS, June 2006. 

Appendix Il

Acronyms

CFR Code of Federal Regulations

DFMPA De facto marine protected area

MMA Marine managed area

MPA Marine protected area

RNA Regulated navigation area

TSS Traffic separation scheme
WWW.MPA.GOV

A REPORT BY THE NATIONAL MARINE PROTECTED AREAS CENTER