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Commerce OIG: National Marine Sanctuary Program Protects Certain Resources, But Further Actions Could Increase Protection

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National Marine Sanctuary Program Protects Certain Resources, But Further Actions Could Increase Protection – Inspection: IPE-18591, February 2008 (72 pages, PDF)

  • “The National Marine Sanctuary System was established by the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972. The act authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to designate and manage areas of the marine environment with special national significance due to their conservation, scientific, cultural, historical, or educational qualities as national marine sanctuaries. The system now includes 13 marine sanctuaries and one national monument (see figure 1).1 National marine sanctuaries range in size from one-quarter square mile in American Samoa’s Fagatele Bay to more than 5,300 square miles in Monterey Bay, California. At 138,000 square miles, Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument—added in 2006—is the largest marine protected area in the world. All total, the sanctuaries and marine monument now
    encompass more than 158,000 square miles of ocean and Great Lakes
    marine habitats. The special habitats of the sanctuaries include deep ocean and near-shore coral reefs, whale migration corridors, deep sea
    canyons, areas of deep water upwelling, seamounts, kelp forests, and sea grass beds. Historic shipwrecks are also part of the system.”
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