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ABOUT THE SANCTUARY
Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary is one of the largest near shore live-bottom reefs of the southeastern United States. It is just one of 14 marine protected areas that make up the National Marine Sanctuary System that encompass more than 150,000 square miles of marine and Great Lakes waters from Washington State to the Florida Keys, and from Lake Huroon to American Samoa; and one of three marine sanctuaries that make up the Southeast Region. It is governed by the National Marine Sanctuaries Act and managed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary is the only natural area protected off the Georgia coast. The 17.5 square nautical miles (about 11,000 acres) of Gray's Reef is just a tiny part of the vast Atlantic Ocean off the Georgia coast, yet its value as a natural marine habitat is recognized both nationally and internationally.
Within the sanctuary there are both rocky ledges and sandy flat places. Gray's Reef is not a coral reef such as those found in the tropics. It is not built by living hard corals as tropical reefs are. Instead it is a consolidation of marine and terrestrial sediments (sand, shell and mud) which was laid down as loose aggregate between six and two million years ago. At one time, Gray's Reef was dry land!
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History
| Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary was named in recognition of Milton "Sam" Gray, who studied the area in the 1960's as a biological collector and curator at the University of Georgia Marine Institute on Sapelo Island, GA. The near-shore hard-bottom reef off the coast of Sapelo Island was recognized by Sam Gray in 1961 in connection with his extensive biological surveys of the ocean floor off the Georgia coast. Collections made during the surveys are under the protective supervision of the University of Georgia Natural History Museum and maintained as the "Gray's Reef Collection". In 1974, Jesse Hunt, a graduate student working under Dr. V. J. Henry was the first scientist to study the reef. He proposed the name "Gray's Reef" for this live-bottom habitat to commemorate Sam's valuable contribution to the understanding of offshore habitats and marine organisms, especially those of the near-shore continental shelf of Georgia. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources submitted a nomination to the Secretary of Commerce in June 1978 recommending the designation of Gray's Reef as a marine sanctuary. Milton "Sam" Gray biography.
Gray's Reef was made an Active Candidate for Sanctuary Designationin in1979. Final designation as a National Marine Sanctuary came January 16, 1981.
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Resources
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Gray's Reef is a consolidation of marine and terrestrial sediments (sand, shell, and mud) which was laid down as loose aggregate between 6 and 2 million years ago. Some of these sediments were probably brought down by coastal rivers draining into the Atlantic and others were brought in by currents from other areas. More of these sediments accumulated until a dramatic change began to take place on Earth during the Pleistocene Epoch, between 2 million and 8,000 years ago. It was during this time that the area which is now Gray's Reef was exposed land and the shoreline was as much as 80 miles east of its present location. As a result of this exposure, the sediments there became solidified into porous limestone sandstone rock. As the glacial ice melted, the water flowed back towards the sea, filling the basins back to their original levels. |
| Gray's Reef is a submerged hard bottom (limestone) area that, as compared to surrounding areas, contains extensive but discontinuous rock outcropping of moderate ( 6 to 10 feet) height with sandy, flat-bottomed troughs between. The series of rock ledges and sand expanses has produced a complex habitat of caves, burrows, troughs, and overhangs that provide a solid base for the abundant sessile invertebrates to attach and grow. This rocky platform with its carpet of attached organisms is known locally as a "live bottom habitat". This topography supports an unusual assemblage of temperate and tropical marine flora and fauna. Algae and invertebrates grow on the exposed rock surfaces: dominant invertebrates include sponges, barnacles, sea fans, hard coral, sea stars, crabs, lobsters, snails, and shrimp. The reef attracts numerous species of benthic and pelagic fish, including black sea bass, snapper, grouper, and mackerel. Since Gray's Reef lies in a transition area between temperate and tropical waters, reef fish population composition changes seasonally. Loggerhead sea turtles, a threatened species, use Gray's Reef year-round for foraging and resting and the reef is part of the only known winter calving ground for the highly endangered northern right whale. Fossil bivalves and gastropods , and mastodon bones located in this area indicate that the reef was once a shallow coastal environment and an exposed land form as recently as 10,000 years BP. As a terrestrial environment there may exist at Gray's Reef extant prehistoric cultural resources. |
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Staff
A staff of eight full-time and one part-time are responsible for the daily operations of the sanctuary.
George R. Sedberry, Sanctuary Superintendent
912-598-2439 or George.Sedberry@noaa.gov
Sarah Fangman, Southeast Region / Associate Science Coordinator
912-598-2428 or Sarah.Fangman@noaa.gov
Gail Krueger, Outreach Coordinator
912-598-2397 or Gail.Krueger@noaa.gov
Greg McFall, Research Coordinator & Line Office Dive Officer for National Ocean Service
912-598-2416 or Greg.McFall@noaa.gov
ENS Chad M. Meckley, NOAA Corps / Vessel Operations Coordinator
912-598-2432 or Chad.Meckley@noaa.gov
Debbie Meeks, IT Coordinator / Webmaster
912-598-2434 or Debra.Meeks@noaa.gov
Captain Todd Recicar, Marine Operations Manager
912-598-2383 or Todd.Recicar@noaa.gov
Cathy Sakas, Education Coordinator
912-598-2417 or Cathy.Sakas@noaa.gov
Becky Shortland, Stewardship Coordinator
912-598-2381 or Becky.Shortland@noaa.gov
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