Our Ocean Backyard: Marine Sanctuaries Move North

The National Marine Sanctuary system is now moving forward with an expansion of the Gulf of the Farallones and Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuaries, the northern most outposts of California’s four sanctuaries which also include the Monterey Bay and the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuaries. Cordell Bank would expand offshore, adding 757 square miles, and the Gulf of the Farallones would expand northward to Alder Creek just north of Point Arena and offshore, adding 2,014 square miles. “Three decades of bipartisan pressure from mayors, county officials, fishing interests, state legislators, congressional representatives, U.S. senators, and every sitting California governor have finally led us to today’s historic announcement,” said Richard Charter, a long-time environmentalist who serves as senior fellow with The Ocean Foundation, “The people have spoken, and the White House is apparently listening.”