Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the National Marine Sanctuary System

By Jean Souza and Office of National Marine Sanctuaries Staff

One hundred years after the establishment of Yellowstone National Park, the world’s first national park, the United States invested in a new era of ocean conservation by creating the National Marine Sanctuary System.

Starting from modest beginnings in 1972, this “good idea” has grown into a vibrant network of 15 national marine sanctuaries and two marine national monuments that protect more than 620,000 square miles of our nation’s most treasured seascapes, wildlife and maritime heritage resources.

Your sanctuary system supports coastal communities and drives local economies by providing jobs and opportunities for people to discover, recreate and form life-long connections with these spectacular places. With the help of hundreds of partners, thousands of volunteers, and millions of supporters, we are a conservation force helping safeguard our nation’s most treasured underwater resources for future generations.

Throughout our system, we’ve amassed many great accomplishments and have had lasting impacts over the last half-century working hand-in-hand with our partners. With your help, we have changed the way people and organizations think about our ocean and how they behave in relation to the ocean. We have catalyzed action across a diverse sector of interests and partners. We have generated innovations and made discoveries that benefit our communities and our country. We have tested and proven new models for marine protected areas and ocean governance. We have changed the way we and the world views, manages, and protects maritime heritage and cultural heritage resources. We are working to build a diverse workforce and cadre of volunteers that more closely resembles the nation we serve. We are a conservation leader abroad and at home.

But we have just begun, and need your help. We are committed to working to make our sanctuaries more welcoming and accessible to all. More importantly, we will look to the future and put ourselves on the right path to meet the challenges we face now and those we know are coming, and to be as ready as we can be for those we can’t yet see.

In partnership with the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation (https://savespectacular.org/), we invite you to help us “Save Spectacular” as we celebrate, discover, explore and enjoy the unique wonders of the National Marine Sanctuary System. Together we can ensure these special places are sustained as destinations for adventure, solace and reflection for the next 50 years and beyond.

We invite you to browse our 50th anniversary webpage (https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/50/) to view videos, photos, commemorative posters, timeline, web stories, educational resources, and updated social media toolkit (https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/50/toolkit.html) and resources for our partners to help celebrate our anniversary. Also, follow our social media channels as new outreach materials will be regularly posted and into 2023.

Thanks for helping us “Save Spectacular” for future generations (https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/oct22/save-spectacular.html) to enjoy!

The 30^th Anniversary of Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary

Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary was designated in 1992 by Congress in consultation with the state of Hawaiʻi. The sanctuary works to protect humpback whales and their habitat through research, education, conservation and stewardship. In the Hawaiian Islands, many humpback whales from the North Pacific migrate here for breeding, calving and nursing. While humpback whales utilize waters along both west and east coasts of North America, Hawaiʻi is the only state that is a known breeding ground.

This seasonal gathering of humpback whales in Hawaiʻi during the winter and spring months is one of the largest such aggregations on the planet. Portions of the coastline and nearshore waters of the islands of Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, Maui, Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi, and Hawaiʻi are encompassed within its 1370-square mile sanctuary boundary.

Top Achievements and Signature Projects of HIHWNMS

• Volunteer programs and Ocean Count established
• Kīhei Visitor Center and Kauaʻi Ocean Discovery opened
• 1st International Marine Debris Conference organized and held
• Hawaiʻi Whale Entanglement Response Network established, maintained, and coordinated for over 20 years. Over 40 whales freed and mitigation measures pursued
• As Regional Large Whale Entanglement Response Coordinator, assisted, advised, and coordinated response and mitigation efforts throughout Hawaiʻi, Alaska and West Coast
• Long-term program to monitor the health of and risks to humpback whales established

and maintained, including broad partnership engaging on-water community and promoting stewardship

• First of its kind Trends Workshop initiated and coordinated addressing potential

influence of climate change on humpback whales

• Helped to establish, conduct, and successfully complete SPLASH, largest whale research project ever conducted, involving over 400 researchers throughout the North Pacific
• Served as ONMS Pacific regional lead for acoustic monitoring during SanctSound project and beyond
• Established Whale tagging program with multiple collaborative partnerships leading and supporting multiple research initiatives and graduate student projects.
• Ocean Etiquette campaign launched and maintained over 20 years
• Marine Mammal Protected Area Task Force established and first conference held
• Aloha ‘Āina Guidance Document completed
• Team OCEAN launched
• Largest Sanctuary Advisory Council in the system established

For more information, visit hawaiihumpbackwhale.noaa.gov

• Jean Souza serves as the on-site manager of NOAA’s Kauaʻi Ocean Discovery at Kukui Grove Center and is a Program Specialist with Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary. She can be reached at Jean.Souza@noaa.gov