Stellwagen Bank Final EIS and Management Plan 



Page 5 



• The Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary 

 was designated in September 1980, and 

 encompasses 1,252 square nautical miles off the 

 coast of Santa Barbara, California. The 

 Sanctuary surrounds the four northern Channel 

 Islands and Santa Barbara Island, and provides 

 protection to valuable habitats for marine 

 mammals, including extensive pinniped 

 assemblages, and seabirds. 



• The Looe Key National Marine Sanctuary was 

 designated in January 1981 and consists of a 

 submerged section of the Florida reef southwest 

 of Big Pine Key. The five square-nautical-mile 

 site includes a beautiful "spur and groove" coral 

 formation supporting a diverse marine 

 community and a wide variety of human uses. 



• The Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary, 

 designated in January 1981, is a submerged live 

 bottom area located on the South Atlantic 

 continental shelf due east of Sapelo Island, 

 Georgia. The Sanctuary encompasses about 17 

 square nautical miles, and protects a highly 

 productive and unusual habitat for a wide variety 

 of species including corals, tropical fish, and 

 endangered and threatened sea turtles. 



• The Gulf of the Farallones National Marine 

 Sanctuary was designated in January 1981, and 

 encompasses 948 square nautical miles off the 

 northern coast of San Francisco, California. The 

 Sanctuary includes important habitats for a 

 diverse array of marine mammals and seabirds, 

 as well as pelagic fish, plants, and benthic biota. 



• The Fagatele Bay National Marine Sanctuary in 

 American Samoa was designated in April 1986. 

 The 163-acre bay site contains deepwater coral 

 terrace formations that are unique to the high 

 islands of the tropical Pacific. The Sanctuary 

 protects habitat for a diverse array of marine 

 flora and fauna, including the endangered 

 hawksbill sea turtle and the threatened green sea 

 turtle. 



• The Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary, 

 located approximately 20 miles west of Point 

 Reyes, California, was designated in May 1989. 

 The 397 square-nautical-mile site surrounds a 



grcuiitic formation which provides habitat for an 

 unusual assortment of marine and intertidal 

 species, including colonies of purple hydrocorals. 

 Abundant fish species attract feeding cetaceans 

 and seabirds. 



• The Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary 

 was Congressionally-designated in November 

 1990, and encompasses approximately 2600 

 square nautical miles of coral reefs, seagrass 

 beds, and related shoreline habitats off Florida. 

 NOAA is required to complete a comprehensive 

 management plan including implementing 

 regulations by May 1993. Upon its completion, 

 existing National Marine Sanctuaries at Key 

 Largo and Looe Key will be incorporated into 

 this plan. 



• The Flower Garden Banks National Marine 

 Sanctuary encompasses approximately 42 souare 

 nautical miles surrounding two separate 

 submerged features, the East and the West 

 Flower Garden Banks, situated over 100 miles 

 off the coast of Texas. Designated in January 

 1992, the Sanctuary protects the northernmost 

 coral reefs on the North American continental 

 shelf. 



• The Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary 

 encompasses 4,024 square nautical miles of 

 coastal and ocean waters off Monterey, 

 California. Designated in September 1992, the 

 Sanctuary protects a a variety of nearshore and 

 offshore habitats, including Monterey Canyon, 

 which measures over 10,000 feet in depth at its 

 seaward edge. Abundant marine mammals, 

 birds, fish, invertebrates and floral and faunal 

 communities depend upon these habitats, and 

 are important to central and northern CaUfornia. 



• The Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary 

 was Congressionally designated in November 

 1992 and encompasses 638 square nautical miles 

 of biologically productive waters between Cape 

 Cod and Cape Aim, Massachusetts. The Bank 

 feature supports plankton, invertebrate and fish 

 species important to a variety of marine 

 mammals, including humpback, fin, sei, and 

 northern right whales. The Bank is heavily used 

 for both fishing and whalewatching activities. 



