Research Technical Report

Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Condition Report

Office of National Marine Sanctuaries (September 2009)

U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, Silver Spring, MD. 128 pp.

ABSTRACT

This "condition report" provides a summary of resources in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, pressures on those resources, current condition and trends, and management responses to the pressures that threaten the integrity of the marine environment. Specifically, the document includes information on the status and trends of water quality, habitat, living resources and maritime archaeological resources and the human activities that affect them. It presents responses to a set of questions posed to all sanctuaries (Appendix A). Resource status of Monterey Bay is rated on a scale from good to poor, and the timelines used for comparison vary from topic to topic. Trends in the status of resources are also reported, and are generally based on observed changes in status over the past five years unless otherwise specified. In some cases, it was necessary to consider a longer time series to provide context for describing a current condition or trend. Sanctuary staff consulted with external experts familiar with the resources and with knowledge of previous and current scientific investigations. Evaluations of status and trends are based on interpretation of quantitative and, when necessary, non-quantitative assessments, and the observations of scientists, managers and users. The ratings reflect the collective interpretation of the status of local issues of concern among sanctuary program staff and external experts based on their knowledge and perceptions of local problems. Sanctuary staff determined the final ratings after reviewing all available data. This report has been peer-reviewed and complies with the White House Office of Management and Budget's peer review standards as outlined in the Final Information Quality Bulletin for Peer Review. This is the first attempt to describe comprehensively the status, pressures and trends of resources at Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. Additionally, the report helps identify gaps in current monitoring efforts and highlights areas where additional information is needed. The data discussed will enable sanctuary staff to not only acknowledge prior changes in resource status, but will also provide guidance for future management challenges imposed by issues such as increasing coastal populations, developing alternative energy sources, and climate change.