Press Releases

CONTACT:
Rachel Saunders
Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary
(831) 647-4237

Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, managed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), is seeking applicants for sanctuary advisory council seats representing agriculture, business and industry, commercial fishing, recreational fishing, recreation, research, and conservation, as well as two at-large positions.

Candidates will be selected based on their expertise and experience in relation to the seat for which they are applying, community and professional affiliations, and philosophy regarding the protection and management of marine resources. A primary and alternate member will be chosen for each seat and terms run for three years. Current seat holders may reapply. The advisory council meets every two months in daytime public sessions held in varying locations along the coast bordering the sanctuary. Applicants who are selected to serve on the advisory council will begin their terms in April 2007.

The Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council was established in March 1994 to ensure continued public participation in the management of the sanctuary. Serving in a volunteer capacity, the council’s 20 voting members represent a variety of local user groups, the public, and seven local, state and federal governmental jurisdictions. Alternates attend meetings when primary members are not available and assume a seat if a primary member resigns. Since its establishment, the council has played a vital role in advising the sanctuary and NOAA on critical issues and has recently been focused on the sanctuary’s development of a new management plan.

Sanctuary advisory council member application packages are available on the sanctuary’s Web site, http://montereybay.noaa.gov, or can be obtained by contacting Paul Chetirkin, council coordinator, at (831) 647-4210 or by email at paul.chetirkin@noaa.gov. Completed applications must be submitted to Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, 299 Foam St., Monterey, CA 93940 by close of business Friday, Feb. 23, 2007.

Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary stretches along 276 miles of central California coast and encompasses more than 5,300 square miles of ocean area. Renowned for its scenic beauty and remarkable productivity, the sanctuary supports one of the world’s most diverse marine ecosystems, including 33 species of marine mammals, 94 species of seabirds, 345 species of fishes and thousands of marine invertebrates and plants.

NOAA’s National Marine Sanctuary Program, which manages the Monterey Bay sanctuary, seeks to increase the public awareness of America’s marine resources and maritime heritage by conducting scientific research, monitoring, exploration and educational programs. Today, the sanctuary program manages 13 national marine sanctuaries and one marine national monument that together encompass more than 150,000 square miles of America’s ocean and Great Lakes natural and cultural resources.

In 2007 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, an agency of the U.S. Commerce Department, celebrates 200 years of science and service to the nation. From the establishment of the Survey of the Coast in 1807 by Thomas Jefferson to the formation of the Weather Bureau and the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries in the 1870s, much of America's scientific heritage is rooted in NOAA.

NOAA is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and information service delivery for transportation, and by providing environmental stewardship of our nation's coastal and marine resources. Through the emerging Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), NOAA is working with its federal partners, more than 60 countries and the European Commission to develop a global monitoring network that is as integrated as the planet it observes, predicts and protects.

On the Internet:
NOAA
NOAA's National Ocean Service
National Marine Sanctuary Program
Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary
Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council