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Baltimore Canyon Urban National Marine Sanctuary Nomination

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Baltimore Canyon Urban National Marine Sanctuary Nomination BALTIMORE CANYON URBAN NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARY NOMINATION ® December 2016 Section I – Basics Title: Baltimore Canyon Urban National Marine Sanctuary Nomination Nominator Name and Affiliation: John Racanelli, President and Chief Executive Officer, National Aquarium Nomination Point of Contact: Kris Hoellen, Senior VP and Chief Conservation Officer, National Aquarium; 501 E Pratt Street, Baltimore, MD 21202; 410-576-3865; [email protected] Section II – Introduction Narrative Description The National Aquarium is pleased to nominate the Baltimore Canyon as our nation’s first urban national marine sanctuary. Our nomination will demonstrate the ecological significance of this canyon along with the opportunity to create a movement of ocean literacy in our urban areas. Baltimore Canyon is among the largest of more than 70 submarine canyons found along the continental shelf of the Mid-Atlantic and is home to fragile, slow-growing deep-sea corals not typically found in other Mid-Atlantic habitats. The delicate, slow-growing nature of these deep- sea corals makes them particularly vulnerable and once damaged, may take centuries to recover and regrow. The Baltimore Canyon was the first place in the Mid-Atlantic with documented presence of Lophelia pertusa, an important structure-forming cold-water scleractinian coral. Discovered during a research cruise in September 2012, this coral was determined to be genetically distinct from other populations of L. pertusa in the Gulf of Mexico, southeastern United States and the New England seamounts (Brooke & Ross, 2014). Using measured and inferred growth rates, the age of L. pertusa colonies in the Baltimore Canyon was determined - the largest colony estimated to have a maximum age of 400 years. The canyon itself is dense with biologically important nutrients and chemicals that support a robust food web of bacteria, corals, mussels, sponges, anemones, crabs, lobsters and fish. Moreover, the Baltimore Canyon is home to the fist methane cold seep discovered in the Mid- Atlantic as well as to one of the largest seeps in the region. Deep-sea corals and rare methane seeps form the basis of a unique ecosystem that nourishes and supports a rich food chain extending upwards more than a mile into the water column. The Baltimore Canyon is an ecological treasure, unique in its attributes, and deserves protective sanctuary designation. While Baltimore Canyon itself is not easily accessible by large audiences, we have an unprecedented opportunity with this sanctuary designation to connect diverse urban communities to the science of deep-sea exploration through cutting edge technology, thus making it a truly urban national marine sanctuary – and creating an opportunity to change our paradigm of how we perceive distance and connectivity to our deep seas. Designating the Baltimore Canyon as our nation’s first urban national marine sanctuary will appropriately recognize and protect its ecological diversity while sustaining appropriate uses. It will also catalyze partnerships between a wide array of stakeholders including educational institutions, conservation organizations and technology companies (many of whom are listed as 1 supporters in the appendix), to expose, educate and prepare our youth for the next frontier of exploration, creating much needed new STEM career pathways. The National Aquarium has amassed over 2,900 petition signatures from residents in 38 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and eight other countries all expressing support for the designation of the Baltimore Canyon as our nation’s first urban national marine sanctuary. We have also met with and sought input from a wide array of stakeholders in preparing this nomination, and have received strong support from educational and research institutions, the technology, energy, maritime, and tourism industries, conservation organizations, civic groups and philanthropic foundations. All agree it is time to invest in our urban areas and our deep seas. Goals Description The goals associated with the nomination of the Baltimore Canyon as a national marine sanctuary are as follows: 1. Protect important marine habitats and the ecosystems that depend on them. The hard substrate of the Baltimore Canyon is home to a variety of deep-sea corals, methane cold seeps and a wide diversity of life. These important benthic habitats sustain bottom-dwelling marine life and support pelagic animals, including highly migratory species of recreationally and commercially important fish in the upper water column. Deep-sea corals and methane seep communities are slow growing, making them highly susceptible to disturbance and damage. 2. Increase ocean literacy, particularly amongst urban youth, by creating new and expanded opportunities for engagement with ocean research and exploration through technology. By developing partnerships between Baltimore’s educational and scientific communities and researchers exploring the Canyon, national marine sanctuary status would provide an opportunity to expose the public, particularly young people, to ocean exploration technology while sparking new STEM career pathways. An urban national marine sanctuary will be accessible to everyone, but programs will intentionally engage youth from historically under-resourced communities. 3. Encourage research to improve our understanding of the Baltimore Canyon ecosystem and the threats associated with its ability to thrive. Less than 1 percent of our ocean has been explored. While recent ocean exploration missions have partially focused on the Baltimore Canyon, relatively little is known about the myriad of environmental factors that lead to the rich biodiversity within the Canyon walls and the threats they face. Sanctuary designation could facilitate additional research. 4. Build a regional hub of public and private partners to support marine exploration, environmental education, job skills training and ocean stewardship. Sanctuary designation for the Baltimore Canyon will incentivize private investments to complement public resources toward a more ocean-literate public. Already, several representatives from marine industries, technology companies and education institutions have begun to form a unique consortium supporting the concept of the Baltimore Canyon as the first urban national marine sanctuary. This diverse and growing group of public and private partners, focused on a common purpose, will be able to build and implement a robust set of educational programs designed to inspire conservation of our deep seas and foster a sense of connectedness. 5. Support and catalyze economic opportunities through the promotion and development of current and future sustainable activities around Baltimore Canyon. The multi-use 2 nature of national marine sanctuaries will allow the current uses of the Baltimore Canyon to continue while promoting additional initiatives to spark future economic growth. Sanctuary status could positively influence technology, research, exploration, maritime, tourism, hospitality and recreation industries as place-based programs are developed and initiated. Moreover, protection of the Baltimore Canyon will ensure this area remains a viable resource for fishermen. 6. Establish and maintain a transparent and participatory sanctuary management process. Designation of Baltimore Canyon as a sanctuary will complement other ocean resource management by bringing together diverse stakeholders to advise science-based management and community-focused programs. Sanctuary designation provides both a process and forum for collaborative decision-making, which is necessary to meet the needs of multiple users and achieve common ground. Location Description The Baltimore Canyon is among the largest of more than 70 submarine canyons found along the continental shelf of the Mid-Atlantic. An example of a shelf-sourced submarine canyon, it was formed millions of years ago by an ancient channel of what is now the Delaware River. The Canyon is 45 km (28 miles) long and over 8 km (5 miles) wide at the mouth. The head, or shallowest part of the canyon, is 109 km (68 miles) east of Ocean City, Maryland, and 122 km (76 miles) southeast of the mouth of the Delaware Bay. By extension, the Canyon lies less than 109 km (68 miles) off the coast of Maryland and close to the over 9 million people currently living in the Baltimore-Washington, D.C. corridor. The incision of the Canyon in the continental shelf begins at approximately 70 meters (230 feet) depth and extends well beyond 1,800 meters (5,906 feet) at the mouth. NOAA co-sponsored preliminary exploration of the Baltimore Canyon by the NOAA ship Nancy Foster in 2011 (sonar mapping only) and 2012 (via deep-sea remote operated vehicle). This exploration informed our knowledge of the ecological significance and educational value of the Baltimore Canyon, while also demonstrating how much is left to be explored. Proposed sanctuary boundaries for Baltimore Canyon. 3 The proposed Baltimore Canyon Urban National Marine Sanctuary boundaries would encompass 386 km2 (149 square miles) of ocean area. The boundary is depicted in the map above and is defined by the following coordinates; A. 38º 26’ N, 73 º 89’ W, B. 38º 08’ N, 73º 89’ W, C. 37º 97’ N, 73º 66’ W, D. 38º 07’ N, 73º 58’ W, E. 38º 16’ N, 73º 81’ W, and F. 38º 26’ N, 73º 81’ W. The proposed boundary encompasses a high concentration of known deep-sea coral locations (NOAA, n.d. a), a methane cold seep site (Dr. Steve Ross, pers. comm., 2016), deep-sea coral habitat designated as very high
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