Contact: Justin Kenney FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(301) 713-3145 x153 07/03/95
Brad Barr
(508) 747-1691
The Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary has decided not to pursue a request by researchers to close an area of the sanctuary to fishing for five years, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced today. The decision is a result of comments the sanctuary received at three public meetings held in Gloucester, Plymouth, and Provincetown, Mass.
At a sanctuary-sponsored workshop, researchers sought the sanctuary's support in asking the New England Fishery Management Council to close a small portion of Stellwagen Bank to fishing. The scientists want to conduct a five-year experiment to compare actively-fished areas to protected areas on the Bank, ultimately providing better information for management of these critical groundfish spawning and nursery habitat areas.
"If the sanctuary decides to pursue the research proposal in the future, a new series of public information meetings will be held prior to any formal submission to the Fishery Management Council," said Brad Barr, sanctuary manager.
Stellwagen Bank was selected as the research site because of its proximity to major ports and the wealth of site data presently available, including detailed baseline maps produced by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) over the past year. Based on USGS side-scan sonar studies within the sanctuary, researchers have found a broad range of sedimentary habitat types, from mud and fine sand to gravel deposits and boulder fields.
National marine sanctuaries are administered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, a Commerce Department agency. Sanctuaries are marine and coastal areas of special national significance that may support unique ecosystems, commercial fishing, or habitats of endangered species, or are valued for their recreational, historical or aesthetic resources.
The Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary was designated in 1992 by Congress because of its productive ecosystem and high concentration of endangered right, humpback and fin whales. In addition, the sea floor and waters of the sanctuary support commercial and recreational fisheries and a diversity of marine organisms.