Underwater Refuges
One of NOAA's ocean protection duties is administering the National Marine Sanctuaries, the underwater equivalent of national parks or protected wildlife refuges. Since it was established in 1972, the sanctuary program has set aside special ocean areas for marine ecosystems to flourish with minimal human disturbance. There are now more than a dozen NMS sites, covering about 20,000 square miles of the U.S. ocean area. Two more sites have been proposed.
National Marine Sanctuaries
| Site | Year designated | Size (Square Miles) |
| Key Largo, Fla. | 1975 | 132 |
| Monitor (sunken ship), N.C. | 1975 | 1 |
| Channel Islands, Calif. | 1980 | 1,658 |
| Gray's Reef, Ga. | 1981 | 23 |
| Gulf of the Farallones, Calif. | 1981 | 1,255 |
| Looe Key, Fla. | 1981 | 7 |
| Fagatele Bay, American Samoa | 1986 | .37 |
| Cordell Bank, Calif. | 1986 | 526 |
| Florida Keys, Fla. | 1990 | 3,707 |
| Hawaiian Islands, Hawaii | 1992 | 1,721 |
| Humpback Whale, Hawaii | 1992 | 1,300 |
| Stellwagen Bank, Mass. | 1992 | 842 |
| Flower Garden Banks, Texas | 1992 | 56 |
| Monterey Bay, Calif. | 1992 | 5,328 |
| Olympic Coast, Wash. | 1993 | 3,310 |
| Thunder Bay, Mich. | (proposed) | 400 |
| Northwest Straits, Wash. | (proposed) | 728 |
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