Scuba News Story 3

Stellwagen Bank NMS
This 842-square-mile sanctuary is located at the mouth of Massachusetts Bay. The centerpiece of the Stellwagen Bank is the coastal steamship Portland, which sank with 192 lives onboard during the Portland Gale of 1898. Called “New England’s Titanic,”, the Portland was identified in 2002 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
In 1996, the World Wildlife Fund named the area one of its ten top whale watching sites in the world, and the only one in the continental U.S. Ongoing research within the sanctuary centers on fish and fish ecology, cetaceans, geology, physical and chemical oceanography, and submerged cultural resources. http://stellwagen.noaa.gov.

USS MonitorNMS
The USS Monitor became the first national marine sanctuary in 1975, shortly after the passage of the Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act of 1972. The submarine is located in 235 feet of water sixteen miles off the North Carolina coast near Cape Hatteras. It was discovered on sidescan sonar in 1973 by the research vessel Eastward from Duke University. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in October 1974. Artifacts from the wreckage are enshrined in The Mariner’s Museum in Newport News, VA, where the offices of the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary are located. http://monitor.noaa.gov

Gray’s Reef NMS
Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. Located 17.5 nautical miles off Sapelo Island, GA, it is one of the largest nearshore sandstone live-bottom reefs in the southeastern U.S. There are encrusted rock ledges in 60-70 feet of water that rise as tall as 7 or 8 feet, with nooks and crannies for fish to hide and expanses of sandy flats in between. The sanctuary lies in a transition area between temperate and tropical water, allowing for a large variety of reef fish and pelagic fish. Around November juvenile and pregnant North Atlantic right whales arrive off the Georgia and Florida coastlines to give birth, frequenting the waters off the Sanctuary. Other mammals accessing Gray’s Reef in the migration route include dolphins and manatees. www.graysreef.nos.noaa.gov.

Gray’s Reef sponsors
the public radio program
“The Ocean Report”
The 90 second spots on
ocean exploration air
Mon., Wed. & Fri. at
10:04 a.m. on
WSVH 91.1 FM
and are heard
throughout the coastal
region of Georgia

Florida Keys NMS
Designated in 1990, FKNMS encompasses 2,900 square nautical miles surrounding the islands of the Florida Keys. The makeup of the area includes not only offshore coral reefs, but fringing mangroves, seagrass meadows, hard-bottom regions, patch reefs and bank reefs. The Keys are sandwiched between the temperate waters of the Gulf of Mexico and the subtropical Atlantic Ocean, allowing the area a unique dual ecosystem. There are a number of outstanding state parks located along the Keys, most notable John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park in Key Largo, the first underwater park in the U.S. www.fknms.nos.noaa.gov.

Flower Garden Banks NMS
Located about 110 miles off the coasts of Texas and Louisiana, Flower Garden Banks encompasses the northernmost coral reefs in the continental U.S. The reefs rise to within 55 feet of the surface and make up a complex but balanced ecosystem. The Flower Garden Banks attract divers from around the world for the variety of diving profiles and underwater attractions, as well as scientists interested in its unique diversity. http://flowergarden.noaa.gov.