National marine sanctuaries are similar to underwater national parks. Although fishing is allowed in many of them, offshore oil and gas drilling is banned in all of them, as is underwater mining and other activities that could harm wildlife or the environment. In the 45 years since President Richard Nixon started the program, no president has ever reduced or eliminated a national marine sanctuary.
The marine environment globally is challenged by a number of factors, including environmental degradation, habitat destruction, overfishing, and climate change, so there is a real need for protection. Under the Convention on Biological Diversity, the international community has agreed that we will protect 10 percent of the oceans in marine protected areas by 2020.
2016 was quite a year! From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank each and every National Marine Sanctuary System employee, contractor, partner and advisory council member for your contribution to the many successes we have achieved during… Read More ›
Also seen in Journal Plus, March 2015 Story and Photos by Charmaine Coimbra The wild waves of winter have calmed. The northern elephant seal adults have returned to the Pacific Ocean to feed after a long winter of females birthing… Read More ›
Editor’s Note: While Neptune 911 is about the ocean’s cry for help, ocean activist, David Helvarg, found ten good news ocean stories in 2014, and posted them on Voices–Ocean Views. My Top Ten U.S. Ocean Stories of 2014 Posted by… Read More ›
BY JULIET EILPERIN June 17 at 12:01 AM President Obama on Tuesday will announce his intent to make a broad swath of the central Pacific Ocean off-limits to fishing, energy exploration and other activities, according to senior White House officials…. Read More ›
Story by Charmaine Coimbra The diminutive Dr. Chelsea Rochman shared a big fish story. She reeled in tiny Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes) for research, and landed big results–results that could change the way we consume and what we eat. She calls it “the… Read More ›
Japanese whalers accused of breaches 1/6/13 (Reuters) – Anti-whaling activists said on Monday they had captured images of Japanese ships killing protected whales inside an internationally recognized whale sanctuary, sparking criticism of the Australian government’s handling of the issue. The… Read More ›
From the Santa Barbara Independent As the opposition to an extended life for the Diablo Canyon nuclear power facility continues to reverberate around San Luis Obispo County and beyond, the uproar is also prompting a more forward-looking plan from the… Read More ›
Neptune 911! 