Office of National Marine Sanctuaries National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration stellwagen bank national marine sanctuary 2020 CONDITION REPORT FINDINGS OF STATUS AND TRENDS 2007-2018 BANK STELLWAGEN U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross Under Secretary of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Dr. Neil Jacobs (acting) Assistant Administrator for National Ocean Service Nicole LeBoeuf (acting) Director, Office of National Marine Sanctuaries John Armor Cover photo: Two American lobsters (Homarus americanus) and a school of cunner (Tautogolabrus adspersus) use a historic shipwreck as home and habitat. The underwater photographer, Keith Ellenbogen, is the recipient of a Ernest F. Hollings Ocean Awareness Award to use the art of underwater photography to raise awareness about Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. Photo: Keith Ellenbogen Suggested Citation: Office of National Marine Sanctuaries. 2020. 2020 Condition Report: Findings of Status and Trends for 2007-2018. U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, Silver Spring, MD. 263 pp. Stellwagen Bank | Condition Report 2020 TABLE OF CONTENTS Table of Contents ..................................................................................................................... 1 Authors ..................................................................................................................................... 3 Office of National Marine Sanctuaries .................................................................................... 4 Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary ......................................................................... 4 Framework for Condition Reports .......................................................................................... 5 About This Report .................................................................................................................... 7 Executive Summary ................................................................................................................. 9 Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary Summary of Resource Conditions ..............17 Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary Summary of Ecosystem Services ................23 Site History and Resources ....................................................................................................26 Overview ...............................................................................................................................26 Location .................................................................................................................................27 Discovery of the Bank ............................................................................................................29 Setting ...................................................................................................................................31 Water.....................................................................................................................................31 Habitat ...................................................................................................................................31 Living Resources ...................................................................................................................34 Maritime Heritage Resources ................................................................................................36 Driving Forces and Pressures on the Sanctuary ..................................................................40 Driving Forces .......................................................................................................................40 Pressures ..............................................................................................................................42 State of Drivers and Pressures ..............................................................................................65 Driver Rating (Question 1) .....................................................................................................65 Pressure Ratings (Questions 2–5) .........................................................................................67 State of Sanctuary Resources ...............................................................................................88 Water Quality (Questions 6–9) ..............................................................................................88 Habitat (Questions 10–11) ................................................................................................... 102 Living Resources (Questions 12 –15) .................................................................................. 110 Maritime Heritage Resources (Question 16) ........................................................................ 141 State of Ecosystem Services ............................................................................................... 143 Ecosystem Services Indicators ............................................................................................ 144 Cultural (Non-Material Benefits)........................................................................................... 146 Provisioning (Material Benefits) ........................................................................................... 166 Response to Pressures ................................................................................................................... 174 Noise ................................................................................................................................... 175 Marine Debris and Pollution ................................................................................................. 176 Whale Watching .................................................................................................................. 176 Recreational Diving ............................................................................................................. 177 Recreational Fishing and Boating ........................................................................................ 177 Commercial Fishing ............................................................................................................. 177 Commercial Shipping .......................................................................................................... 179 1 Stellwagen Bank | Condition Report 2020 Liquefied Natural Gas Deepwater Ports ............................................................................... 179 Outfall Discharges and Dump Sites ..................................................................................... 179 Submerged Cables and Pipelines ........................................................................................ 180 Climate Change ................................................................................................................... 180 Impacts to Maritime Heritage Resources ............................................................................. 181 Conclusion .......................................................................................................................... 183 Concluding Remarks ............................................................................................................ 184 Acknowledgements .............................................................................................................. 185 Literature Cited ..................................................................................................................... 186 Appendix A: Rating Scheme for System-Wide Monitoring Questions .............................. 205 Appendix B: Description of Ecosystem Services and Methods to Determine Ratings .... 223 Appendix C: Stellwagen Bank 2007 Condition Report Ratings ......................................... 230 Appendix D: Consultation with Experts, Documenting Confidence, & Review ................ 233 Appendix E: Driving Forces and Pressures — Supplemental Graphs and Figures ......... 238 Appendix F: Ecosystem Services — Supplemental Graphs and Figures ......................... 242 Appendix G: Glossary .......................................................................................................... 263 2 Stellwagen Bank | Condition Report 2020 AUTHORS Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary Ben Haskell Leila Hatch, Ph.D. Matthew Lawrence Anne-Marie Runfola Tammy Silva, Ph.D.1 Anne Smrcina Alice Stratton Michael Thompson David Wiley, Ph.D. NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries Brad Barr, Ph.D. Kathy Broughton Stephen R. Gittings, Ph.D. Vernon R. Leeworthy, Ph.D. Danielle Schwarzmann, Ph.D. Mystic Aquarium Peter J. Auster, Ph.D.2 Rochelle Kurth University of Connecticut Christian W. Conroy, Ph.D. University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography Anna Robuck3 1 Tammy Silva was supported by the NOAA Dr. Nancy Foster Scholarship to conduct dissertation research on toothed whale occurrence in SBNMS relevant to this report. 2 Peter Auster was supported by a grant from the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation to conduct analyses and synthesize information related to habitat, living marine resources, and biodiversity presented in this report. 3 Anna Robuck is supported by the NOAA Dr. Nancy Foster Scholarship in pursuit of Ph.D. research relevant to SBNMS water and habitat quality. 3 Stellwagen Bank | Condition Report 2020 OFFICE OF NATIONAL