Protecting Corals - Protected places

Protecting and managing specific geographic areas is a primary tool used by countries to conserve coral reefs.

• Marine Managed Area: Marine Managed Areas (MMAs) are specific geographic areas designated by statute or administrative rule for the purpose of managing a variety of marine or estuarine resources and their use. The resources may include any type of marine life and their habitats.

• Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are reserved by Federal, State, territorial, tribal or local laws or regulations to provide lasting protection for part or all of the natural and cultural resources therein. MPAs are a subset of MMAs.

U.S. National Marine Sanctuaries encompass more than 620,000 square miles of marine and Great Lakes waters. Learn more and view a larger image.

These areas restrict or regulate human activities within designated areas of the ocean, with a goal of minimizing disturbances to coral reefs and their associated ecosystems. National laws often define the boundaries of MPAs, specify the kinds of activities that can be carried out within these boundaries, and establish penalties for violations.

National Marine Sanctuaries and Marine National Monuments protect areas of the marine environment with special national significance to the United States due to their conservation, recreational, ecological, historical, scientific, cultural, archeological, educational or aesthetic qualities. Marine monuments and national marine sanctuaries are both types of marine protected areas. The main difference between national marine sanctuaries and marine national monuments is the process and the laws under which they are established.

• Sanctuaries are designated by NOAA or Congress and are managed by NOAA using the National Marine Sanctuaries Act.

• Marine national monuments are established by presidential proclamation under the Antiquities Act of 1906. National monuments can be managed or co-managed by federal agencies, including NOAA, the National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, or the Bureau of Land Management.

The Rose Atoll Marine National Monument covers approximately 13,436 square miles (34,800 square kilometers) near American Samoa in the South Pacific. The two islands that make up the atoll are approximately 24 acres in size. Photo credit: NOAA Learn more and view a larger image.

Rose Atoll is named for the rose color of the crustose coralline algae that dominates the reefs there. View a larger image.