December 8, 2022 — This year marks the 50th anniversary of the National Marine Sanctuaries, a crowning conservation achievement akin to National Parks. Places with this designation protect 620,000 square miles of beautiful and diverse ocean and Great Lakes habitats for future generations. By protecting ecosystems and sustainable fisheries, as well as promoting tourism and recreational opportunities, the sanctuaries and other coastal habitats contribute $160 billion to the $373 billion blue economy, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration estimates. Sanctuary managers are turning to new information technology to identify emerging threats to ocean life caused by the absorption of excess heat and carbon dioxide produced by human industrial activity.
From 2014-2015, a massive marine heat wave, dubbed “the blob,” developed in the Gulf of Alaska and spread down the West Coast triggering a cascade of harmful events from Washington to Southern California. Higher ocean temperatures can stress ecosystems by decreasing marine productivity and oxygen levels and disrupting the balance of microscopic algal species, called phytoplankton, to favor harmful species. Some toxic algae produce high levels of a neurotoxin that accumulates in the marine food chain — including important shellfish species such as mussels, clams and crabs — and poisons shellfish-consuming marine mammals and humans.