Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary

Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (MBNMS) is a federally protected marine area offshore of California's Big Sur and central coast in the United States. It is one of the largest US national marine sanctuaries and has a shoreline length of 276 miles (444 km) stretching from just north of the Golden Gate Bridge at San Francisco to Cambria in San Luis Obispo County. The deepest point is 12,743 feet (3,884 meters) in the Monterey Submarine Canyon, which is deeper than the Grand Canyon. The sanctuary provides habitat for at least 36 species of marine mammals, 94 species of seabirds, 525 species of fish, four species of sea turtles, 31 phyla of marine invertebrates, and 450 species of algae. Public recreation activities such as kayaking, scuba diving, and surfing are permitted, along with commercial fishing. Offshore oil drilling and seabed mining are banned to protect the sanctuary. The Sanctuary Advisory Council's 20 voting members represent a variety of local user groups, as well as the general public, plus seven local and California state governmental jurisdictions.