June 27, 2022
- The Office of National Marine Sanctuaries (ONMS) published a new Condition Report for Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary in March 2022. This report summarizes how the ecosystem is doing and describes the services that the ecosystem provided to people between 2008-2019.
- Sanctuary scientists used NOAA’s Integrated Ecosystem Assessment approach (IEA) to help update the report. This approach helps scientists prioritize key indicators that assess the status and trends of different parts of the ecosystem (e.g., water quality, physical drivers, and ecosystem services)
- National marine sanctuaries are designated protected waters, ranging from small isolated habitats to expansive ecosystems, and comprise a total of over 600,000 square miles of marine and Great Lakes waters.
- Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary is located within the ‘Usual and Accustomed Fishing Areas’ of four Coastal Treaty Tribes who have lived along this coastline since time immemorial. Treaties from the 1850’s signed by the Hoh, Makah, and Quileute Tribes and the Quinault Indian Nation specifically reserved rights to marine resources in the region, and tribes continue to serve as co-managers of fishery resources.