Research Technical Report

Sanctuary Monitoring: Why and How

DeVogelaere, A.P. (March 2005)

Oral presentation at the 2005 Sanctuary Currents Symposium, Seaside, CA

ABSTRACT

A national marine sanctuary is mandated to maintain for future generations the habitat and natural assemblage of living resources that inhabit nationally significant areas. This is to be done in part by supporting long-term monitoring of the resources. In the Monterey Bay Sanctuary, with sheer cliffs and crushing depths, this is no small task. Nonetheless, many work tirelessly to mitigate for human impacts through education and implementation of resource protection measures. Are our efforts working? What is the health of the Sanctuary? Will it be in good shape for future generations? During the last three years, the Sanctuary Integrated Monitoring Network (SIMoN) has been compiling information from existing monitoring projects, gathering historical information, funding new monitoring, and making trends available to the public. We are fortunate to manage and area where there is a rich history of monitoring and where the concentration and caliber of marine scientists is unparalleled throughout the world. A tremendous amount of monitoring information is now available through the SIMoN web site at www.mbnmssimon. org, and Sanctuary staff has much more access to information needed for important policy decisions. However, we are still challenged with how best to report on the overall health of the Sanctuary. In today’s symposium you will learn from experts about the resource trends they are measuring, and we will formulate new ideas through panel discussions on how best to integrate information across habitats for sound policy. This is your Sanctuary and it will only succeed through a groundswell of support and insight from the public and marine resource specialists; please provide us with your insight through the conference evaluation form or the SIMoN web site.