(1) The Gulf of the Farallones extends approxi-
mately 100 miles along the coast of Marin and 
Sonoma Counties of northern California. It includes 
approximately 
one-half 
of 
California’s 
nesting 
seabirds, rich benthic marine life on hard-rock sub-
strate, prolific fisheries, and substantial concentra-
tions of resident and seasonally migratory marine 
mammals. 
(2) Cordell Bank is adjacent to the Gulf of the 
Farallones and is a submerged island with spectac-
ular, unique, and nationally significant marine envi-
ronments. 
(3) These marine environments have national 
and international significance, exceed the biological 
productivity of tropical rain forests, and support 
high levels of biological diversity. 
(4) These biological communities are easily sus-
ceptible to damage from human activities, and must 
be properly conserved for themselves and to protect 
the economic viability of their contribution to na-
tional and regional economies. 
(5) The Gulf of Farallones and the Cordell 
Bank include some of the United States richest fish-
ing grounds and support important commercial and 
recreational fisheries. These fisheries are regulated 
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by State and Federal fishery agencies and are sup-
ported and fostered through protection of the waters 
and habitats of Gulf of the Farallones National Ma-
rine Sanctuary and Cordell Bank National Marine 
Sanctuary. 
(6) The report of the Commission on Ocean 
Policy established by section 3 of the Oceans Act of 
2000 (Public Law 106–256; 33 U.S.C. 857–19) calls 
for comprehensive protection for the most productive 
ocean environments and recommends that they be 
managed as ecosystems. 
(7) New scientific discoveries by the National 
Marine Sanctuary Program support comprehensive 
protection for these marine environments by broad-
ening the geographic scope of the existing Gulf of 
the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary and the 
Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary. 
(8) Cordell Bank is at the nexus of an ocean 
upwelling system, which produces the highest bio-
mass concentrations on the west coast of the United 
States. 
SEC. 3. POLICY AND PURPOSE. 
(a) POLICY.—It is the policy of the United States to 
protect and preserve living and other resources of the Gulf 
of the Farallones and Cordell Bank marine environments. 
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(b) PURPOSE.—The purposes of this Act are the fol-
lowing: 
(1) To extend the boundaries of the Gulf of the 
Farallones National Marine Sanctuary and the 
Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary as de-
scribed in section 5. 
(2) To strengthen the protections that apply in 
the Sanctuaries. 
(3) To provide for the education and interpreta-
tion for the public of the ecological value and na-
tional importance of the Sanctuaries. 
(4) To manage human uses of the Sanctuaries 
under this Act and the National Marine Sanctuaries 
Act (16 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.). 
(c) EFFECT ON FISHING ACTIVITIES.—Nothing in 
this Act is intended to alter any existing authorities re-
garding the conduct and location of fishing activities in 
the Sanctuaries. 
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) CORDELL BANK NMS.—The term ‘‘Cordell 
Bank NMS’’ means the Cordell Bank National Ma-
rine Sanctuary. 
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(2) FARALLONES NMS.—The term ‘‘Farallones 
NMS’’ means the Gulf of the Farallones National 
Marine Sanctuary. 
(3) SANCTUARIES.—The term ‘‘Sanctuaries’’ 
means the Farallones NMS and the Cordell Bank 
NMS. 
(4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of Commerce. 
SEC. 5. NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARY BOUNDARY AD-
JUSTMENTS. 
(a) GULF OF THE FARALLONES.— 
(1) BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENT.—The areas de-
scribed in paragraph (2) are added to the Farallones 
NMS described in part 922.80 of title 15, Code of 
Federal Regulations, as in effect on the date of the 
enactment of this Act. 
(2) AREAS INCLUDED.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The areas referred to 
in paragraph (1) are the following: 
(i) All submerged lands and waters, 
including living marine and other resources 
within and on those lands and waters, 
from the mean high water line to the 
boundary described in subparagraph (B). 
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(ii) The submerged lands and waters, 
including living marine and other resources 
within those waters, within the approxi-
mately two-square-nautical-mile portion of 
the Cordell Bank NMS (as in effect imme-
diately before the enactment of this Act) 
that is located south of the area that is 
added to Cordell Bank NMS by subsection 
(b)(2), which are transferred to the 
Farallones NMS from the Cordell Bank 
NMS. 
(B) BOUNDARY DESCRIBED.—The bound-
ary referred to in subparagraph (A)(i) com-
mences from the mean high water line (referred 
to in this subparagraph as the ‘‘MHWL’’) at 
39.00000 degrees north in a westward direction 
approximately 29 nautical miles (referred to in 
this subparagraph as ‘‘nm’’) to 39.00000 north, 
124.33333 west. The boundary then extends in 
a southeasterly direction to 38.30000 degrees 
north, 124.00000 degrees west, approximately 
44 nm westward of Bodega Head. The bound-
ary then extends eastward to the most north-
eastern corner of the expanded Cordell Bank 
NMS at 38.30000 north, 123.20000 degrees 
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