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2008 report header

report year 2007-2008
Our ocean and its creatures have never been more in need of our help.

Threats like pollution, marine debris, habitat destruction and climate change are endangering some of our most precious ocean treasures. Entire ecosystems are in peril of collapse.

Coral reefs are ailing worldwide, once-productive fisheries are suffering severe declines, and endangered whales face ever-present hazards from marine debris entanglement and vessel strikes. Discarded cigarette lighters and other pieces of plastic trash make their way across thousands of miles of ocean, ending up in the stomachs of albatross chicks in the remote Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.

Today, perhaps as never before, our National Marine Sanctuary System is part of a larger means to address the fundamental problems confronting the nation. National marine sanctuaries offer more than just the protection of special marine areas; these special places provide opportunities to address many of the critical problems of our time, such as climate change and adaptation, sustainable economies, and national security. Our system of marine sanctuaries helps builds communities, encouraging Americans to find common ground and reach collective solutions of nationwide significance.

This report looks back on the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries' accomplishments over the past year. While 2008 was a busy and productive year for the sanctuaries, 2009 brings with it a host of new challenges and opportunities. This report begins our dialogue with you: our exploration of how we can move forward together, making solutions part of our daily lives. The men and women of the national marine sanctuaries work tirelessly to make the sanctuary system a leader in preserving our ocean resources, as well as a leader in addressing the challenges threatening our quality of life.

Please use the report outline to your left to learn more about a specific National Marine Sanctuary or topic area that interests you.

Download the entire report here. (pdf, 3.1MB)
Download Recommendations: Because of occasional download conflicts with web browsers, we recommend that you download these pdf files to your desktop by right-clicking on the link for PC users and click and hold for Macintosh users. Then open them using Acrobat.


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