Authorities took the unprecedented step of granting protection to a national seamount – an underwater mountain, off the coast or northern California near the Monterey Bay. The Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary will now be expanded by nearly 800 square miles to include the Davidson Seamount, one of the largest underwater mountains in the waters of the United States. The sanctuary, which is home to abundant sea life, including giant sponges, two hundred year old coral, and continually reveals new species discoveries, is a unique area of marine specimens that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration wanted to protect from future encroachment, depletions, or damage so that scientific research could continue unimpaired.
The newly expanded Monterey BayNational Marine Sanctuary protections were outlined with three immediate concerns: Great White shark tourism, sewage dumping, and personal watercraft. The new plans will prevent Great White shark tour boats from encroaching within 150 feet of the feeding sharks around the Farallon Islands. The Farallon Islands, located 27 miles outside of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, have the greatest concentration of Great White sharks in U.S. waters, where they can often be found feeding in the surface waters on the abundant seals. Also included in the new regulations is a new federal law that prohibits any sewage waste disposal by cruise ships in the sanctuary’s waters, where such was only accomplished on a voluntary basis. Lastly, all personal motorized watercraft are now prohibited to be used in the sanctuary waters, except for areas in four small harbors and Maverick’s point during the winter months. The measures have been enacted not as a reaction to particular egregious acts or degradations within the habitat, but rather are being taken largely as preventative steps toward preserving the natural vitality of the area.
