 |
|
|
December 9, 2008
Divers and fishermen worry about possible expansion of marine sanctuary By SUSAN WEST  Fishermen and divers urged federal officials to hold-the-course and not expand the boundaries of the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary at a meeting Thursday, Dec. 4, at the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum. “I’m more than happy with the status quo”, John Pieno, owner of a diving business in Hatteras, told representatives of the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries. Pieno said he did not support expansion of the sanctuary to include other shipwrecks, such as merchant vessels sunk by German U-boats during World War II. Increased restrictions on anchoring vessels and fishing would prove harmful to Outer Banks communities, he said. The meeting at the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum was one in a series of public scoping meetings held as revision of the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary management plan gets underway. The wreck of the Civil War ironclad rests about 16 miles offshore of Cape Hatteras. In 1975, the one-mile area surrounding the wreck became the country’s first national marine sanctuary. The sanctuary is managed by a plan written in 1983 that protects the wreck from damage by human activities, such as vessel anchoring and fishing, and controls access to the site through a permitting system. David Alberg, Monitor Sanctuary superintendent, said a comprehensive review is long overdue. “Ideally management plans should be reviewed every five years, but that’s not a federal requirement,” he explained. Public comment Thursday indicated that restricted access to additional offshore waters is a huge concern for many Outer Banks residents. Steve Wilson of Ocracoke drew a comparison to the creation of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore and subsequent restrictions on off-road vehicle and pedestrian access to the seashore. “As we’ve learned, there are no guarantees, and expanding the sanctuary could have unforeseen consequences detrimental to the villages,” Wilson warned. Hatteras charter-boat captain and sanctuary advisory council member Jay Kavanagh added, “The concern is that any expansion could be a vehicle to introduce future fishing restrictions.” The National Marine Fisheries Service regulates fishing in federal waters, but sanctuary management also affects fishing. In 2007, protected areas within the Channel Islands Sanctuary were expanded to permanently ban fishing in almost 111 square miles. Alberg noted that while comments Thursday night in Hatteras ran against expansion of the sanctuary, comments at other public meetings have supported protection of resources outside of the current site. He said all comments would be reviewed. Expansion of existing sanctuaries is not uncommon. In November, an updated management plan for the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary off California increased the size of the protected area by 775 square feet. Expansion of the Flowers Garden Banks Sanctuary in the Gulf of Mexico has been proposed, and legislation expanding the Thunder Bay Sanctuary was introduced last summer. Alberg said the Monitor management review process is expected to take anywhere from two to three years. A draft management plan should be developed by the summer of 2010. The Office of National Marine Sanctuaries will take comments on management of the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary until February 1, 2009. Comments can be sent to shannon.ricles@noaa.gov or to Monitor NMS, 100 Museum Dr., Newport News, Va. 23606. More information is available at http://monitor.noaa.gov. |
|
  |
|
|
|