Gulf of the Farallones Sanctuary CONDITION REPORT 2010
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Office of National Marine Sanctuaries National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Marine Gulf of the Farallones Sanctuary CONDITION REPORT 2010 August 2010 U.S. Department of Commerce Gary Locke, Secretary National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Jane Lubchenco, Ph.D., Administrator Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere National Ocean Service David M. Kennedy, Acting Assistant Administrator Office of National Marine Sanctuaries Daniel J. Basta, Director National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office of National Marine Sanctuaries SSMC4, N/ORM62 1305 East-West Highway Silver Spring, MD 20910 301-713-3125 http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary 991 Marine Dr., The Presidio San Francisco, CA 94129 415-561-6622 Cover credits: http://farallones.noaa.gov Report Preparers: Map: Bathymetric grids provided by Office of National Marine Sanctu- Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary: aries. Feb. 2003. 70 meter bathymetric data. Original data sets Jan Roletto from NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey, and Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute. Office of National Marine Sanctuaries: Kathy Broughton, Stephen R. Gittings Photos (from top right, clockwise): Humpback whale photo, R. Schwemmer, ONMS; Pigeon Guillemot, Office of National Marine Sanctuaries West Coast R. LeValley; Elephant seals, J. Stout, NOAA; Opalescent sea slug, Regional Office: E. Siegel, CAWQCB; Pacific white-sided dolphins, M. Richlen, Robert Schwemmer NOAA/NMFS/PRD; California mussels, S. Tezak, GFNMS; Estero Americano, T. Yarrish; Krill, B. Saenz, PRBO Conservation Science Clancy Environmental Consultants, Inc. Karen Fox Suggested Citation: Office of National Marine Sanctuaries. 2010. Gulf of the Farallones Copy Editor: Matt Dozier, NOAA ONMS National Marine Sanctuary Condition Report 2010. U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Layout: Matt McIntosh, NOAA ONMS Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, Silver Spring, MD. 97 pp. Table of Contents About This Report ........................................................................................................2 Summary and Findings ................................................................................................2 National Marine Sanctuary System and System-Wide Monitoring ..............................3 Coastal and Offshore Environment Condition Summary Table ....................................5 Estuarine and Lagoon Environment Condition Summary Table ...................................8 Site History and Resources.........................................................................................11 Overview .......................................................................................................................11 Regional Cultural History ..............................................................................................12 Designation of the Sanctuary........................................................................................14 Geology ........................................................................................................................14 Water ............................................................................................................................15 Habitat ..........................................................................................................................15 Living Resources ..........................................................................................................16 Maritime Archaeological Resources .............................................................................21 Pressures on the Sanctuary ........................................................................................22 Vessel Traffic ................................................................................................................22 Marine Debris ...............................................................................................................23 Dredged Material ..........................................................................................................24 Radioactive Waste ........................................................................................................25 Non-Indigenous Species...............................................................................................25 Fishing ..........................................................................................................................26 Nonpoint Source Pollution ............................................................................................26 Wildlife Disturbance ......................................................................................................27 State of Sanctuary Resources: Coastal and Offshore Environment ............................29 Water Quality ................................................................................................................29 Habitat ..........................................................................................................................32 Living Resources ..........................................................................................................38 Maritime Archaeological Resources .............................................................................46 State of Sanctuary Resources: Estuarine and Lagoon Environment ...........................49 Water Quality ................................................................................................................49 Habitat ..........................................................................................................................52 Living Resources ..........................................................................................................55 Maritime Archaeological Resources .............................................................................58 Response to Pressures ...............................................................................................60 Jurisdictional Authorities of the Sanctuary ....................................................................60 Vessel Traffic ................................................................................................................62 Marine Debris ...............................................................................................................63 Dredged Material ..........................................................................................................64 Radioactive Waste ........................................................................................................65 Non-Indigenous Species...............................................................................................65 Fishing ..........................................................................................................................66 Nonpoint Source Pollution ............................................................................................66 Wildlife Disturbance ......................................................................................................67 Maritime Archaeological Resources .............................................................................69 Concluding Remarks ..................................................................................................70 Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................71 Cited Resources..........................................................................................................72 Additional Resources .................................................................................................82 Appendix A: Rating Scheme for System-Wide Monitoring Questions ........................84 Appendix B: Consultation with Experts and Document Review .................................94 1 Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary • 1,279 square statute miles (966 square nautical miles) encompassing rich and diverse marine life • Congressionally designated in 1981 as a national marine sanctuary • Includes bays, estuaries, coastal and oceanic waters • Largest concentration of breeding seabirds in the contiguous United States • Home to one of the largest concentrations of adult white sharks in the world around the Farallon Islands • A destination feeding ground for endangered blue and humpback whales About this Report Summary and Findings This “condition report” provides a summary of resources in the Na- Located off the Central California coast and encompassing 966 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Gulf of the Farallones square nautical miles, Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanc- National Marine Sanctuary (sanctuary), pressures on those resources, tuary protects a diversity of highly productive marine habitats and current conditions and trends, and management responses to the pres- supports an abundance of species. It is a complex system of bays, sures that threaten the integrity of the marine environment. Specifically, estuaries, mudflats, marsh and intertidal, coastal and oceanic wa- the document includes information on the status and trends of water ters, and is influenced by the highly urbanized San Francisco Bay quality, habitat, living resources and maritime archaeological resources, area populated by nearly 8 million people.