Data Management Plan

The National Marine Sanctuary Program (NMSP) updates and revises the management plans for each of its 13 sanctuaries. This process, which is open to the public, enables each site to revisit the reasons for sanctuary designation and assess whether they are meeting their goals, as well as to set new goals consistent with the mandates of the National Marine Sanctuaries Act. Issues raised by the public during this process are evaluated and a determination is made as to whether they will be incorporated into the updated plan. Many of these issues focus on topics such as the implementation of marine zoning or sanctuary boundary adjustments, both of which require information on the distribution of resources within and around the sanctuary. Recognizing this, NMSP and NOAA's National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) formalized an agreement to collaborate in the revision process by developing such information through a series of biogeographic assessments conducted in selected sanctuaries. The resulting products are then supplied to sanctuary managers and staff for use in the policy and decision making process. This collaborative effort began along the west coast of the U.S. with the Cordell Bank, Gulf of Farallones, and Monterey Bay national marine sanctuaries, and is herein centered on the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary (CINMS).

Process Steps:

• 2005-01-01 00:00:00 - The substrate data ranges from Washington to the U.S.-Mexico border (32o-48.5o latitude) and from 50-200 km from the shoreline (excluding estuaries). Benthic substrate data for California encompasses nearly 165,000 km2 of the continental shelf and slope and are classified into approximately 33 different habitat types. The level of spatial resolution varies across the dataset based on the quantity and quality of the original data sources used to construct this substrate map. As such, fine scale inaccuracies may exist throughout the range of the data. In addition to assessing the distribution of substrate types throughout the southern California region, the map was used as an input for deterministic habitat suitability models (HSM) for a select group of fishes and invertebrates. Linking the 33 classes of habitat types to species life history information from scientificliterature was difficult; thus, a separate substrate attribute was used for habitat suitability modeling which defined the substrate as either hard or soft. Model results for invertebrates were reviewed in June 2004 by a panel of experts. They expressed concern that the map underestimated the amount of hard bottom, most notably at depths between 0-30 m along the mainland south of Point Conception and around the Channel Islands. Additionalhard substrate data were then provided by scientists from UCSB who converted non-digital substrate maps developed by the Minerals Management Service (MMS) into a format suitable for use within a GIS. These data extend from Morro Bay to the U.S.-Mexico border and were combined with the NMFS substrate data, resulting in a better estimation of hard substrate in southern California. (Citation: Moss Landing Marine Laboratory - Substrate data)