Sanctuary Designations & Expansions
The mission of NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries is to serve as the trustee for the nation's system of marine protected areas, to conserve, protect, and enhance their biodiversity, ecological integrity and cultural legacy.
Within this section you'll find information about our history, the steps taken in designating a marine protected area, and the legislation that helped to create our marine sanctuaries.
| Sanctuary | Designated | Boundary Expansion? (year) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monitor | Feb 1975 | No | - Designation by NOAA to protect one of the most important Civil War ironclad shipwrecks from potential salvage. |
| Key Largo | Jan 1976 | No | - Designation by NOAA to protect the portion of barrier reef beyond state waters of John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. - The Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary subsumed this marine sanctuary in 1990. |
| Channel Islands | Oct 1980 | Yes (2007) | - Designation by NOAA to protect a confluence of warm and cold water currents with a great abundance and variety of marine life. - Expansion by NOAA: Very minor increase in the area associated with the addition of marine reserves. |
| Gulf of the Farallones | Jan 1981 | No | - Designation by NOAA to protect an extensive marine habitat and bird colonies. |
| Looe Key | Jan 1981 | No | - Designation by NOAA to protect the unusual and highly important spur and groove reef system. - The Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary subsumed this marine sanctuary in 1990. |
| Gray's Reef | Jan 1981 | No | - Designation by NOAA to protect a prime example of South Atlantic hard/live bottom coral habitat. |
| Fagatele Bay | Apr 1986 | Yes (2012) | - Designation by NOAA to protect an example of a South Pacific, tropical, fringing coral reef ecosystem. - Expansion by NOAA: Addition of five units, including the Rose Atoll Marine National Monument, and renaming of the sanctuary as the National Marine Sanctuary of American Samoa. |
| Cordell Bank | May 1989 | No | - Designation by NOAA to protect an area of bank where upwelling of nutrient-rich deep water supports a flourishing ecosystem. |
| Florida Keys | Nov 1990 | Yes (2001) | - Designated by Congress in response to a series of large vessel groundings in 1989, it protects the largest coral barrier reef ecosystem in the US. - Expansion by NOAA: Addition of valuable coral reef habitat added to the west of the original boundary (Tortugas Bank and Sherwood Forest Tortugas Ecological Preserve). |
| Flower Garden Banks | Jan 1992 | Yes (1996) | - Designation by NOAA to protect important coral reefs on the salt domes of the northwestern Gulf of Mexico. - Expansion by Congress: Addition of Stetson Bank. |
| Monterey Bay | Sep 1992 | Yes (2008) | - Designation by NOAA to protect a variety of habitats including shores, kelp forests, and an underwater canyon. - Expansion by NOAA: Davidson Seamount was added as an example of offshore seamount with special geological and ecological value. |
| Stellwagen Bank | Nov 1992 | No | - Designation by Congress to protect the primary summer feeding grounds of the endangered North Atlantic right whale, and other important marine features. |
| Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale | Nov 1992 | No | - Designation by Congress to protect calving and breeding grounds of the endangered North Pacific humpback whale. |
| Olympic Coast | May 1994 | No | - Designation by NOAA as a representative marine and near-shore habitat of the Pacific Northwest, adjacent to the protected Olympic National Park. |
| Thunder Bay | Jun 2000 | No | - Designation by NOAA to protect the collection of nationally significant historic shipwrecks in an area of Lake Huron known as Shipwreck Alley. |
| Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument | Jun 2006 | No | - Papahānaumokuākea was established by Presidential Proclamation 8031 on June 15, 2006 under the authority of the Antiquities Act (16 U.S.C. 431-433) to protect an exceptional array of natural and cultural resources. |
Designation Timeline
