Evaluating Greater Farallones Marine National Sanctuary (Essay Sample)

Greater Farallones Marine National Sanctuary
Student’s Name
Institution Affiliation
Course/Class Name
Professor’s Name
Assignment Due Date
Greater Farallones Marine National Sanctuary
For more than four decades, the United States' national marine sanctuaries have contributed heavily to protecting special places in America's vast ocean and Great Lake waters. Hence few places in the world can compete with the diversity contained in the National Marine Sanctuary System. The system believes that a healthy ocean is the foundation of thriving recreation, tourism, and commercial activities that drive the surrounding coastal economies (National Marine Sanctuaries, 2020). The office of the National Marine Sanctuaries also spearheads the National Marine Protected Areas Center, a body that ensures the building of effective and innovative partnerships and tools that protect the nation's special oceans.
The Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary (GFNMS) lies off the shore of Northern California. It is an underwater national park. It covers 3,295 square miles of federally protected open sea waters and coastal waters of North-central California. It was started in 1981 to preserve and protect a fragile and one-of-a-kind ecological system (Farallones Org, 2019). Moreover, the Sanctuary sought to protect one of the largest seabird colonies present in America and abundant marine mammals. The Sanctuary is funded by the Greater Farallones Association, among other stakeholders ambassadors for conservation and protection of marine sanctuaries.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) added the Sanctuary under its protection because of the globally expanding nature of its coastal waters and the presence of nutritious elements in the upwelled waters that flow into GFNMS via wind currents. Under the National Marines Sanctuaries Act, NOAA has the jurisdiction to expand marine sanctuaries provided they meet the policies of the Act. The Act dictates that NOAA ensures coordinated and comprehensive management of these marine sanctuaries and any activities affecting these areas.
The acts of the governing institution should be within the regulatory provisions of the National Marine Sanctuaries Act (Kaiser, 2017). Additionally, the law also requires that the existing biological communities present in the marine sanctuaries be protected and where necessary, restorations and enhancements of the natural habitats and ecological systems should be done. Since the Sanctuary is under the management of NOAA, the Act maintains that the institution should conduct regular review and evaluation of progress regarding the management plans of the Sanctuary (Kaiser, 2017).
It is very important to protect the GFNMS because apart from being the regional driver for productivity in the coastal economy of North-central California, it also supports a rich marine food web made up of a plethora of species of algae and marine invertebrates (National Ocean Service, 2021). It also provides Sanctuary to endangered seabirds such as the albatross and sea mammals like the blue whale, salmon sharks, and shearwaters. Plus, Farallon Islands is the home to the nation's largest breeding ground for seabirds, and their success depends on the masculinity and health of the supporting ecosystem.
A disrupted ecosystem will starve the adults and their young ones, posing a great danger to their existence. Due to the sensitive nature of the marine life present in the expanding area, it is fit to protect and preserve the Sanctuary's critical resources from destructive human activities and marine pollution. Generally, protecting the Sanctuary will aid in preserving its scenic beauty, biodiverse and unique marine ecosystem, historical authenticity, and the economic drive of its precious underwater resources that serve the coastal economy.
It is home to one of the unique, biodiverse marine ecosystems that are very productive globally. It is responsible for the creation of spectacular marine ecosystems on the planet. The GFNMS is a habitat for one of the largest feeding grounds for the white sharks, several species of both dolphins and whales, and over 390 species. The Sanctuary also houses several invertebrate species, deep-sea coral reefs, and the crustacean families (NOAA, 2020). It has rookeries for over half of the California nesting marine bird population and also boasts of being home to the planet's largest habitat for the seasonal adult white sharks that frequent the Sanctuary.
Due to its seasonal wind currents, ornithology, and oceanography, the area makes up one of the productive upwelling ocean water bases in the world that support the productive nature of the Sanctuary. The nutrient-rich waters propelled downwards by the wind currents aids the thriving nature of recreational and commercial fishing, vast wildlife assemblages, and the kelp forests. Moreover, it harbors huge predators like killer whales, white sharks, sea lions, baleen wha