Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (MBNMS) is a federally protected marine area offshore of California's central coast. Stretching from Marin to Cambria, MBNMS encompasses a shorelinelength of 276 miles and 6,094square miles of ocean.
It is home to one of the world's most diverse marine ecosystems, including numerous mammals, seabirds, fishes, invertebrates and plants in a remarkably productive coastal environment.
MBNMS wasdesignated in 1992for the purpose of resource protection, research, education, and public use of this national treasure. MBNMS is part of a system of 14 National Marine Sanctuaries andtwo marine national monuments, administered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
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