National Marine Sanctuary

The Bank National Marine Sanctuary Bermuda is strategically located between the northern feeding grounds of humpback whales and their southern calves.

U.S. National Marine Sanctuary System

There are places on our globe where all the complexities of the natural environment thrive - many of which are located in the thirteen National Marine Sandraaries and a Marine National Monument of the US National Marine Sandrays (NMS) system. Over forty years, national marine reserves have been working to conserve areas ranging from the seas of America to the Great Lakes, from the tropics of corals to eel woods and even secluded Pacific atlls.

It is a dense web of sheltered areas that allows unique and astonishing fish to flourish and places where you can see sea bass up to 800 lbs; the majestically threatened grouper; the huge Pacific squid, which is very infrequent in the wilderness; and corals in the middle of a breeding season, an unbelievable spectacle that takes place only once a year.

United States National Marine Sanctuaries were established in 1972 with the adoption of the National Marine Sanctuaries Act (NMSA) as part of our increasing awareness of the value of our marine eco-systems and the need to decommission areas for their wellbeing. While each of the thirteen NMS was established at different times and has different rules on what marine activity can take place, they all recognise the increasing needs of our local authorities to inform our populations about sustainability and to preserve our legacy and our relation to our vital marine world.

Jean-Michel Cousteau, his boy Fabien, his daugther Céline and his experienced diving crew made their first inspection of all thirteen of our National Marine Stars in 2005 and 2006. The Ocean Adventures crew dares under and above the sea off the coast of Michigan, Texas, Florida, North Carolina, Georgia, Massachusetts, California, Washington, Hawaii and American Samoa on a quest to show the spectators these vulnerable protected areas.

See unsere PBS-Dokumentationsreihe Jean-Michel Cousteau's Ocean Adventures - America's Underwater Treasures and Voyage to Kure.