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Marine Protected Areas
CONNECTIONS
Your news from the National Marine Protected Areas Center
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Attempting to hold back the tide. Virginia, Assateague Island
Photo credit: Jenny Thacker
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Gallery
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Tufted Puffins - Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary
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American White Pelicans at
Manitowoc - Two Rivers,
Lake Michigan. Chris Rohrer |
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Massive Kelp Die-off on West Coast from Climate Impacts
"Beneath the waves, once towering kelp beds are collapsing from an unprecedented perfect storm that has been brewing below the surface. First, a massive epidemic wiped out sea stars, then a marine heatwave and El Niño, and now an explosion of sea urchins. This means bad news for kelp. The combination of abnormally warm water and a huge number of sea urchins have taken a toll on once healthy kelp beds."
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Purple sea urchin population booms have taken a toll on already stressed kelp in both California and Oregon. This photo was taken near Redfish Rocks Marine Reserve in Oregon. Photo Credit: Scott Groth
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In October, researcher Laura Rogers-Bennett (UC Davis)
published
two decades of bull kelp ecosystem monitoring to document this catastrophic change that has led to the closure of the recreational abalone fishery and the collapse of the red sea urchin fishery. NOAA and State MPA programs are working to monitor and restore kelp along the West Coast. In Puget Sound, NOAA Fisheries is working with
the Northwest Straits Initiative to develop a Kelp Conservation and Recovery Plan, and the Greater Farallones Association and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife have published the
Sonoma-Mendocino Bull Kelp Recovery Plan
.
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Prime Hook Tidal Marsh Restoration Recognized for Climate Adaptation Leadership
The marsh restoration project led by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and partners at Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge, along the Delaware Bay, has received the 2019 Climate Adaptation Leadership Award for Natural Resources
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During the course of 18 months, USFWS staff, partners, and contractors restored 4,000 acres of tidal marsh and dredged 1 million cubic yards of sand to rebuild 2 miles of dunes and barrier beach that washed away during Hurricane Sandy in 2012.
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Barrier Restoration at Prime Hook NWR. Photo Credit: Tami Heilemann/DOI
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Delaware Bay is home to the largest population of horseshoe crabs in the northern hemisphere, whose eggs serve as critical nourishment for the thousands of migratory birds that stop over at the refuge. Wildlife responded almost immediately to the restoration and the dunes are flourishing. Horseshoe crabs have returned each spring, and in the past three summers combined, nearly 100 piping plover chicks have fledged from their barrier beach nests. The restoration project is a landmark in many ways due to its size, expense, modeling scale, and team's development of an intricate marsh-health monitoring system. The project serves as a model for future large-scale restoration projects to improve ecosystems, support recreational and commercial fishing, and protect coastal communities from storm flooding.
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Channel Islands Awarded Blue Park Designation
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On October 24, 2019 at the Our Ocean Conference in Oslo, Norway, the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary of Southern California received Blue Park designation alongside five other outstanding global marine protected areas (MPAs). The Blue Park Award, which is awarded by the Marine Conservation Institute and its international science council, recognizes outstanding efforts by nations, non-profits, MPA managers, and local stakeholders that effectively protect marine ecosystems now and into the future. A total of 16 MPAs worldwide now hold this prestigious title.
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California, Channel Islands, NMS. Photo Credit: Claire Fackler
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The Blue Park Award criteria are based on what scientists have learned about what works to safeguard marine ecosystems. The evaluation of each nominee includes location, design, management, regulations, and compliance to select MPAs that effectively protect the world's most valuable and critical ecosystems.
Channel Islands joined five other global MPAs receiving Blue Park designation including Aldabra Atol Special Reserve, Seychelles; Area Marina Protetta di Toree Guaceto, Italy; Arnavon Community Marine Park, Solomon Islands; Parque Nacional Isla del Coco, Costa Rica; and Reserva Marina de Galápagos, Ecuador. Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument in Hawaii was designated a Blue Park in 2017. The network now includes 16 Blue Parks covering 644,404 mi² of ocean (approximately the size of Alaska or Iran).
For a complete list of the MPAs in the Blue Park system, click here.
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Oregon Marine Reserves Researchers Expanding Invertebrate Research with ARMS
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A scientific SCUBA diver with an ARMS unit to be installed at Redfish Rocks Marine Reserve. Photo Credit: ODFW
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How do you study those animals in the ocean that are often too small to see? You build them high-rise condominiums and let them live for free. This is the approach that the ODFW Marine Reserves Program has taken to better understand biodiversity and the kinds of small or cryptic invertebrates living on nearshore rocky reefs off the Oregon Coast. This new pilot study will provide the first comprehensive data for Oregon's nearshore ocean on the diversity of small or cryptic invertebrates. These are one of the least-known groups of organisms found on reefs in both tropical and temperate oceans worldwide. Researchers all around the world - from the Arctic to Antarctica, are setting out Autonomous Reef Monitoring Structures, called ARMS for short, as a standardized way to quantify biodiversity. These invertebrate condos are set out on the ocean floor, consist of 8 PVC plates with different types of spacers between each plate, providing multiple levels for small invertebrates to grow or hide.
In Oregon, ARMS are being placed in four of the marine reserves and their associated comparison areas at Cape Falcon, Cascade Head, Otter Rock and Redfish Rocks. These condominiums were installed in 2019. Researchers will collect the ARMS in two years to see what small invertebrates settled on the plates.
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Community Celebrates Designation of New Mallows Bay-Potomac River Sanctuary
On November 9, community champions, government partners and elected officials gathered at Mallows Bay Park to celebrate the designation of the
14
th
National Marine Sanctuary, the first to be designated in nearly 20 years. The event included a formal ceremony featuring a spiritual blessing from Piscataway-Conoy Tribe Vice Chair Mario Harley, remarks from elected officials and NOAA leadership.
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Photo Credit: Kate Thompson and Matt McIntosh, NOAA
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VIPs dedicated a new flag pole and raised U.S., Maryland and Charles County flags. Additionally, a new educational exhibit now resides at the overlook to Mallows Bay. More than 20 partners hosted interactive displays and activities before and after the event, and REI provided kayak tours to nearly 40 participants.
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NOAA MPA Center's Upcoming Webinars
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Each month, in partnership with OCTO, the National MPA Center hosts webinars covering a range of topics of interest to MPA managers and enthusiasts.
On December 10 at 1:00pm EST Phil Karp of the World Bank will present "The Art of Knowledge Exchange - Lessons from World Bank Experience and Applications for Marine Conservation". Knowledge exchange is a powerful way to share, replicate and scale up practical solutions to challenges and transform ideas into action. The webinar will present a framework designed to help practitioners play a more effective role as knowledge providers, brokers, and recipients with a focus on how this approach can be applied to marine ecosystem conservation.
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Wishing Fair Winds and Following Seas to the MPA Federal Advisory Committee
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As a result of Executive Order 13875, the Marine Protected Areas Federal Advisory Committee (MPAFAC) was terminated by the Department of Commerce when its charter expired on September 30, 2019. Since 2003, the MPAFAC has provided tools and advice to NOAA and the Department of the Interior on timely MPA matters of national significance. Over its lifespan, the committee engaged nearly 90 members representing a diverse spectrum of ocean stakeholders, regions and perspectives. Working collaboratively and openly, they provided balanced, objective analysis and consensus advice on some of the most critical and complex challenges facing MPAs today. These topics included: goals and objectives for a national system of MPAs; monitoring and evaluating MPA effectiveness; integrating MPAs into the broader fabric of ocean management; incorporating ecological connectivity into the design of MPA networks; engaging America's diverse coastal communities and cultures in decisions affecting their ocean; creating sustainable ways to finance MPA operations beyond public funding; and, building capacity for adaptive management of MPAs in the face of a rapidly changing climate, expanding ocean uses, and shifting federal policies. The National MPA Center, and the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, are profoundly grateful to the MPAFAC's alumni for their invaluable contribution to the nation's marine protected areas and to the legacy those places provide to this and future generations. MPAFAC products can be found here
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The Deep Battlefield: Japanese Aircraft Carriers Discovered in Papahānumokuākea Marine National Monument
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The Battle of Midway (June 4-7, 1942) was a watershed moment for the American Navy when the Japanese effort to capture the atoll was turned back by a small American fleet still reeling from the attack on Pearl Harbor.
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Aircraft Carrier
Kaga circa 1930s.
Photo Credit: Kure Maritime Museum
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This October, researchers aboard the R/V
Petrel
in Papahānumokuākea Marine National Monument announced the discovery of the Japanese aircraft carriers
Kaga
and what is thought to be the
Akagi
. ROV surveys reveal historic damage from American dive bombers. Before the battle of Midway, the
Kaga
had participated in the Pearl Harbor attack and other operations. The Akagi was Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo's flagship during Pearl Harbor. Thousands of sailors died in the Battle of Midway. The wrecks on the seafloor are, therefore, war graves as well as archaeological properties.
The R/V
Petrel
, operated by Vulcan Inc., is a 250-foot research ship purchased by the late Microsoft co-founder Paul G. Allen.
Petrel'
s advanced technology makes it one of the few ships capable of
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20 cm gum mounted on the Kaga. Photo Credit: Vulcan Inc.
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exploring to depths of 6,000 meters. The ship's operators mapped over 500 square miles of benthic habitat within the monument to find these vessels with support from Papahānumokuākea Marine National Monument, Naval History and Heritage Command, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Protection for historic resources associated with this battle was one of the key reasons for the 2016 expansion of Papahānumokuākea Marine National Monument. As historic properties within that expansion area, these aircraft carriers are protected under U.S. law. They are striking reminders of a devastating conflict that impacted millions of lives on both the front line and the home front, and changed the nature of our world forever.
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NOAA and partner scientists aboard Ocean Exploration Trust's E/V Nautilus got a thrill when they discovered a whale fall during their November 2019 dive exploring Davidson Seamount in Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.
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| Photo Credit: Ocean Exploration Trust and NOAA ONMS |
The skeletal remains of the whale, estimated to be 4-5 meters long, is thought to be a rorqual baleen whale as indicated by baleen remaining along the whale's jawbones, and the shape of its skull. The relatively recent fall revealed baleen, blubber, and some internal organs remaining. Eel pouts, worms, crabs, and deep-sea octopus were observed eating the remains.
Nautilus
ROV discoveries, many in national marine sanctuaries, are live streamed at nautiluslive.org. You can see the video
here
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You say "MPA," I say "AMP" (Area Marina Protegida)
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The English language is often the 'lingua franca' of multilateral meetings, including environmental conservation events. However, in recognition of the dominant language of the region, the
Third Protected Area Congress of Latin America and the Caribbean
(III CAPLAC) in Lima, Peru on October 14-17 conducted the majority of its events in Spanish with a few presentations in Portugese and English. The event was co-sponsored by the Government of Peru,
IUCN/WCPA
, and
FAO
. Participants discussed current regional efforts and challenges in conservation with the goal of developing a common regional voice for the upcoming review of Aichi Targets and the
World Conservation Congress in 2020. One of the
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Indigenous leaders from the Kichwa de Sarayaku and Mapuche nations representing the
TICCA Network speaking at the III CAPLAC closing ceremony. (Photo Credit: Gonzalo Cid, MPA Center)
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largest regional multisectoral gatherings for promoting, planning,
managing, and conserving protected areas, CAPLAC represents a celebration of diversity of people in conservati
on. Over 3,000 participants from approximately 50 countries attended. Holding the congress in the dominant language of the region actively engaged historically underrepresented communities in the global protected area conservation dialogue. The congress also welcomed participation from indigenous and local communities as well as youth.
The resulting
Lima Declaration
called on regional leaders to make equitable growth and conservation a priority and positioned Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) as a leading region for implementing the global conservation agenda.
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