Other Resource Management Issues
Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary is tasked with managing compatible human use of sanctuary resources. Additional resource management issues within the region are briefly described in the sections below, along with the sanctuary's current involvement in each issue.
Fishing and Harvesting
Fishing and harvesting are a part of the region's history, culture, and economy. Over the years there are fewer commercial vessels and numerous recreational fishers. Fishing in the region annually takes about 200 species, with the bulk of the commercial landings composed of squid, rockfishes, salmon, albacore, Dover sole, sablefish, mackerel, anchovy, and sardines. The five primary gear types used are pots and traps, trawl nets, hook-and-line gear, purse seines, and gill nets.
How is the Sanctuary Involved?
Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary does not directly manage any aspect of commercial or recreational fisheries. Fishing in state waters (usually 0-3 nautical miles from shore) is generally managed by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. The responsibility for managing fishing in federal waters (beyond 3 nautical miles) is under the authority of NOAA Fisheries and the Pacific Fishery Management Council. In 2008, NOAA issued a report that provided an overview of NOAA's process for regulating fisheries in sanctuary waters as mandated by the Magnuson-Stevens Act and the National Marine Sanctuaries Act.
The sanctuary has been working with fisheries management agencies to compile information on the history of trawling activity in the sanctuary, along with the state and federal regulations that apply to this activity in sanctuary waters. In 2009, sanctuary staff partnered with researchers to study the impacts of benthic trawling on seafloor habitats and associated benthic fauna in Central California. The sanctuary has also partnered with The Nature Conservancy, NOAA Fisheries, and California State University Monterey Bay to study the impacts of modified groundfish trawling practices on soft seafloor habitats and the time it takes for seafloor habitats to recover from trawling.
As directed by NOAA's process for regulating fisheries, Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary has successfully collaborated on a number of fishery-related issues with the Pacific Fisheries Management Council and NOAA Fisheries. Successful collaborations include the implementation of a prohibition on white sharks within 3 nautical miles offshore in 1997, recommending restrictions on kelp harvesting in 2000, protecting the seafloor habitats of the Davidson Seamount through essential fish habitat designation in 2006, and partnering to ban krill harvesting along the West Coast in 2009.
More recently, Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary worked collaboratively with Pacific Fishery Management Council, NOAA Fisheries, trawl fishermen, and non-government organizations to amend no-trawl essential fish habitat conservation areas to include more sensitive areas of biogenic habitat and add back some historically fished areas. This was codified into regulation by NOAA Fisheries in 2020. Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary also works with the Pacific Fishery Management Council and NOAA Fisheries on establishing deep-sea coral research and restoration areas.
Harbors and Dredging
Periodic dredging of local harbors is a necessary component of keeping the harbor channels clear and allowing access for all types of marine vessels. There are four major harbors within the sanctuary, three of which conduct regular dredging activity.
How is the Sanctuary Involved?
The sanctuary does not directly regulate the act of dredging (i.e., the removal of sediment from the harbors and their channels), but does have a regulatory role in the disposal of dredged materials. Staff have carefully examined this issue, recognizing that while dredging is necessary to ongoing harbor operations, dredged material disposal may affect water quality and can bury or alter habitat and physical processes. Disposal of dredged material from local harbors is allowed at designated disposal sites within the sanctuary, provided it complies with Environmental Protection Agency standards for grain size and contaminant levels, as defined by the Clean Water Act. Dredged materials from certain harbors in the region are sometimes contaminated with toxins, including persistent pesticides such as DDT, and the material is not approved for ocean disposal according to Environmental Protection Agency standards.
Harbors Adjacent to the Sanctuary
When Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary was designated in 1992, two existing offshore sites for dredge disposal were identified, and the establishment of new sites was prohibited within its boundaries. Since then, the sanctuary has recognized and authorized the use of additional sites at Santa Cruz and Monterey Harbors that were in use prior to designation. The sanctuary reviews the composition of the sediment and any associated contaminants and authorizes dredged material disposal at these sites for clean sediments of the appropriate grain size and amounts.
Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary staff have reviewed and discussed various issues related to dredge disposal that have arisen since the sanctuary was designated, including: disposal volumes, grain size, locations of existing disposal sites, sedimentation sources, pier reconstruction at Moss Landing, sediment transport, beach nourishment, research gaps, and permit procedures.
With input from agencies, harbormasters, and other stakeholders, this review has focused on the continued protection of Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary resources, while also accommodating the disposal of harbor sediments when appropriate.
Regulations
Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary regulations (15 C.F.R. § 922.132) describe prohibited or otherwise regulated activities. This section states that dredge disposal is prohibited within the sanctuary except for dredged material deposited at disposal sites authorized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (in consultation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) prior to the effective date of sanctuary designation (January 1, 1993), provided that the activity is pursuant to, and complies with the terms and conditions of, a valid federal permit or approval.
Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary regulations exempted dredge disposal activities that complied with a federal permit or approval existing on January 1, 1993. However, current dredge disposal permits and the associated needs do not fall into this category as the permits for disposal have since expired. Therefore, additional disposal at previously approved or permitted sites must be approved by NOAA in accordance with the authorization process.
A Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary “authorization” must be obtained when disposing of dredge sediments in the sanctuary (pursuant to Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary regulations at 15 C.F.R. §§ 922.132(a)(2)(i), 922.132(f), and 922.49). Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary works collectively with other agencies and authorizes other agency permits, generally the Army Corp of Engineers or the California Coastal Commission. This authorization comes in the form of either a “no objection” letter to the primary permitting agency, a letter to another agency which recommends special conditions be added to that agency's primary permit, or in the form of an “authorization” issued directly to the harbor, which includes special conditions to ensure that these sediments are not adversely affecting the marine ecosystem and sanctuary resources.
Beneficial Use of Dredge Material From Harbors
In 2021, NOAA added a new definition for “beneficial use of dredged material” to Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary regulations and clarified NOAA’s ability to authorize beneficial use of suitable dredged material for habitat protection and restoration purposes within the sanctuary. This regulatory change was conducted so that suitable harbor dredge material from the four local harbors can be used for habitat protection and restoration projects. Placing sediment on an eroding beach can help protect it from further erosion, and the sediment can contribute to the coastal sediment transport system, which provides sediment to other nearby coastal beaches. Nourishing beaches also helps protect coastal dunes, which provide habitat for threatened and endangered species, such as western snowy plovers. NOAA also recognizes that there may be ancillary benefits in certain locations from these projects, such as the protection of coastal infrastructures, including the use of softscape erosion control alternatives, shoreline stabilization, and adaptive management to address sea level rise.
NOAA amended the sanctuary-wide regulations to add a definition for the phrase “beneficial use of dredged material” (15 C.F.R. § 922.131):
“Beneficial use of dredged material means the use of dredged material removed from any of the four public harbors adjacent to the sanctuary (Pillar Point, Santa Cruz, Moss Landing, and Monterey) that has been determined by the Director to be suitable as a resource for habitat protection or restoration purposes only. Beneficial use of dredged material is not disposal of dredged material.”
In addition, NOAA amended 15 C.F.R. § 922.132(f) by inserting the following sentence immediately before the last sentence in the existing paragraph:
“For the purposes of this Subpart, the disposal of dredged material does not include the beneficial use of dredged material as defined by 15 C.F.R. § 922.131.”
This regulatory change clarifies language in the terms of designation and Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary regulations prohibiting permitting of the disposal of dredged material within the sanctuary other than at sites authorized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency prior to the effective date of designation (Article V of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Terms of Designation, 73 Fed. Reg. 70477, 70494 (Nov. 20, 2008); 15 C.F.R. § 922.132(f)), do not preclude sanctuary managers from authorizing the beneficial use of suitable dredged material within sanctuary boundaries when suitable for habitat protection and restoration purposes. This action clarifies NOAA has the authority to review and permit beneficial use of dredged material projects within the sanctuary (i.e., below the mean high water line) for the purposes of habitat protection and restoration.
Beneficial Use of Dredged Material Permitting Guidelines (PDF 500 KB)
Additional Resources:
Oil and Gas Development
Development of a permanent prohibition on oil and gas activity was one of the major reasons for designation of Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. However, there is some level of remaining threat due to continued oil development outside the south boundary of the sanctuary. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is responsible for offshore renewable energy development in federal waters. The offshore oil and gas industry in Central and Southern California is entering a new phase as oil drilling platforms reach the end of their operational lives: decommissioning, platform and possibly pipeline removal, and offshore site remediation. Companies in this region are preparing plans for facility decommissioning and removal, and once large equipment is available and permits issued, removal activities will begin. The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, the lead federal agency for platform decommissioning and removal, anticipates that removal of platforms in the region will tentatively begin in 2027 and continue for at least 10 years for about a dozen platforms and pipelines.
Leasing for potential new oil and gas development immediately south of Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary is unlikely over the next five years. However, given BOEM estimates, there are still considerable recoverable oil and gas reserves in this area (2.18 billion barrels of oil [91.5 billion gallons], and 2 trillion cubic feet of natural gas) (BOEM 2020) and potential future leasing to develop these reserves cannot be ruled out. In addition to potential spills from drilling operations, natural oil seeps are always present and lead to tar balls washing up on sanctuary beaches. While typically very small, they may have an impact on foraging birds, marine mammals, and fishes, as well as important habitats like kelp beds, wetlands, and rocky shores, and on tourism and the coastal economy.
Offshore Wind Energy Development
On the Outer Continental Shelf in federal waters outside national marine sanctuaries and in other federally managed areas, BOEM has the authority to issue leases, rights of way, and easements, and to regulate offshore wind energy development. BOEM does not have the authority to lease areas for wind energy development in national marine sanctuaries. Under the National Marine Sanctuaries Act, NOAA has the authority to manage all uses in national marine sanctuaries. In several national marine sanctuaries, NOAA has allowed oil and gas development as well as construction and the continued presence of submarine telecommunication cables. This authority would similarly allow NOAA to regulate offshore wind energy development, including the placement and continued presence of subsea electrical transmission cables, via a sanctuary general permit or Office of National Marine Sanctuaries authorization and/or special use permit.
As of 2024, there are no wind development sites identified within Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary but there are two just to the south; the Morro Bay Call Area and the Diablo Canyon Call Area.
Emergency Response
Environmental emergencies occur within Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary each year. They vary in nature from municipal sewage overflows, vessel sinkings and groundings, airplane crashes, and oil spills. The scale of environmental emergencies ranges from small, localized incidents (such as antifreeze poured into a storm drain) to large-scale events (such as oil spills from offshore shipping traffic, sunken vessels, or natural seeps that can impact hundreds of miles of coastline).
Sanctuary personnel respond to an average of 11 vessel groundings and sinkings each year. Vessel groundings can crush marine habitat and organisms, release hazardous chemicals, and discharge nets, hooks, and other hazards to marine life.
Oil Spills and Response
Response to oil spills is led by the U.S. Coast Guard and California Department of Fish and Wildlife's Office of Spill Prevention and Response. The sanctuary contributes to response efforts by providing natural resource information and assessing environmental damage. Prior to oil spill emergencies, sanctuary staff participate on regional committees chaired by the Coast Guard and Office of Spill Prevention and Response that develop coordinated contingency response plans. Advance planning and coordination is essential for providing prompt and effective response in any emergency.