Location
Key Information
| 247,183 km2 | MARINE AREA |
| 247,196 km2 | TOTAL AREA i |
Boundary: NOAA MPA Center (Unmodified)
2.0
May 2024
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Purpose
To protect approximately 61 million acres of submerged lands and certain waters of the Mariana Archipelago. The Islands Unit includes only the waters and submerged lands of the three northernmost Mariana Islands, Farallon de Pajaros, Maug, and Asuncion, below the mean low water line. Unique reef habitats support marine communities dependent on basalt rock foundations. These reefs and waters are among the most biologically diverse in the Western Pacific and include the greatest diversity of seamount and hydrothermal vent life yet discovered. They also contain one of the most diverse collections of stony corals, including more than 300 species, higher than any other U.S. reef area.
Species of Concern: Multiple
Regulations Summary
Restrictions
1. Commercial fishing is prohibited in the Islands Unit.
2. Non-commercial fishing is prohibited in the Islands Unit, except as authorized under permit and pursuant to federal procedures and criteria.
3. Commercial fishing outside the Islands Unit and non-commercial fishing within the Islands Unit during the same trip is prohibited.
4. Transferring a fishing permit is prohibited.
Allowed
1. Non-commercial fishing is permitted pursuant to federal procedures and criteria.
2. Recreational fishing allowed, with a Fishing Permit .
While recreational fishing, both the owner and operator of a vessel used to fish in the monument must hold either a non-commercial fishing permit or recreational charter fishing permit. NOAA Fisheries may issue a permit only to a community resident of Guam or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), or a charter business established legally under the laws of Guam or the CNMI.