Marine Sanctuary or Marine Monument? Same Goal, Different Law

National marine sanctuaries and marine national monuments both protect parts of the ocean, and both are marine protected areas. What separates them is not what they protect but how they come into being — and under which law.

Coral and ulua in Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, whose reefs are home to over 7,000 marine species — one quarter of them found only in the Hawaiian Archipelago. Credit: NOAA.

How sanctuaries are made

National marine sanctuaries are designated by NOAA or by Congress and managed by NOAA under the National Marine Sanctuaries Act (NMSA). The act requires an extensive public process — community engagement, stakeholder involvement and citizen participation — both before and after a sanctuary is designated.

The difference

The main difference between the two lies in the designation process and in the laws under which each is established. Monuments are created under different law than the sanctuaries' act.

One network

NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries is trustee for a network of underwater parks in marine and Great Lakes waters, stretching from Washington state to the Florida Keys and from Lake Huron to American Samoa. The network includes a growing number of national marine sanctuaries, along with two marine national monuments: Papahānaumokuākea and Rose Atoll.

Sources

Based on "What is a marine national monument?" from NOAA's National Ocean Service, a work of the United States government in the public domain.