NOAA NMFS List of MMAs

Welcome to the National Marine Fisheries Service
Inventory of Marine Managed Areas

Northeast Southeast Pacific Islands Southwest Northwest Alaska

The table below identifies areas of the marine environment currently regulated by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) that have been identified as marine managed areas (MMAs) on the NOAA-Interior website for implementation of Executive Order #13158 on Marine Protected Areas. This NMFS listing supplements the preliminary National MMA Database developed by the Departments of Commerce and the Interior with two additional columns of information - "Purpose" and"Primary Restrictions." While the table below provides an abbreviated summary of fishing restrictions, the regulations cited should be consulted for details on the specific restrictions. Additional information about the areas listed below may be obtained from the Fishery Management Plan/Amendment, organizations, or web site reference identified for each site. It is important to note that most areas listed only restrict the use of a particular gear type or fishing activity and remain open to other commercial and recreational fishing activity.NMFS has used area restrictions to protect and manage fisheries, marine mammals, threatened and endangered species, and their habitats for many years and continues to rely on area-based management as a key tool in conserving the Nation's living marine resources.

The sites below restrict fishing activities on a year round basis. Additional sites that restrict activities on a seasonal multi-year basis will be added.

Go Back to: MPA Web Page ; Go Back to: Habitat Protection Home Page

Region	Nearest State/Territory	Marine Managed Area	Program Type	Purpose	Primary Restriction(s)	Regulation Citation	Establishing Date	'Other' Agency or Bureau	Legal Basis (statute)	References (eg. Website)
NE	Massachusetts/ Rhode Island	NE Multispecies Closed Area I (portion of Georges Bank)	Federal Fisheries Management Zone	conserve and restore depleted groundfish stocks	closed year round except to specific gear types	50 CFR 648.81(a)	01/13//1995	New England Fishery Management Council	Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act; Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan, Amdt. #7	http://www.Nero.nmfs.gov/ro/doc/
NE	Massachusetts/ Rhode Island	NE Multispecies Closed Area II (portion of Georges Bank)	Federal Fisheries Management Zone	conserve and restore depleted groundfish stocks	closed year round except to specific gear types	50 CFR 648.81(b)	01/13/1995	New England Fishery Management Council	Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act; Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan, Amdt. #7	http://www.Nero.nmfs.gov/ro/doc/
NE	Massachusetts	NE Multispecies Nantucket Lightship Closed Area	Federal Fisheries Management Zone	conserve and restore depleted groundfish stocks	closed year round except to specific gear types	50 CFR 648.81(c)	01/13/1995	New England Fishery Management Council	Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act; Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan, Amdt. #7	http://www.Nero.nmfs.gov/ro/doc/
NE	Massachusetts/ Rhode Island	Great South Channel Northern Right Whale Critical Habitat	Federal Threatened/Endangered Species Protected Area	protect endangered Northern right whales	closed July thru March only, rest of year gear restrictions apply	50 CFR 226.203(a); 229.32 (c)(4); 229.32 (d)(3)	06/03/1994		Endangered Species Act; Marine Mammal Protection Act	http://www.Nero.nmfs.gov/whaletrp/
NE	Massachusetts/ New Hampshire	Cape Cod Bay Northern Right Whale Critical Habitat	Federal Threatened/Endangered Species Protected Area	protect endangered Northern right whales	sink gillnets prohibited Jan. thru May, restricted sink gillnets remainder of year	50 CFR 226.203(b); 229.32 (c)(3); 229.32 (d)(2)	06/03/1994		Endangered Species Act; Marine Mammal Protection Act	http://www.Nero.nmfs.gov/whaletrp/
NE	New Jersey/ Delaware/ Maryland	Carl N. Shuster, Jr. Horseshoe Crab Reserve	Federal Fisheries Management Zone	to protect Atlantic coast stock of horseshoe crab	prohibits fishing for and possession of horseshoe crabs year-round	50 CFR 697.23(f)	3/7/2001	Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission	Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act	http://www.asfmc.org/serv02.htm
NE	Maine/ New Hampshire/ Massachusetts	Western Gulf of Maine Area Closure	Federal Fisheries Management Zone	to protect Gulf of Maine cod and other depleted groundfish stocks	closed year round to gear capable of groundfish/multispecies catch (trawls - sink gillnets)	50 CFR 648.81(i)	5/1/1998	New England Fishery Management Council	Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act; Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan	http://www.nefmc.org
NE	Massachusetts/ Rhode Island	Great South Channel Sliver Restricted Area (gillnet)	Federal Marine Mammal Protected Area	to reduce the risk of serious injury to or mortality of large whales (North Atlantic right whales, fin, humpback, and minke whales) due to accidental entanglement in commercial fishing gear	year-round use of anchored gillnets allowed but with mandatory use of break-away gear (buoy weak links, net panel weak links, anchoring system)	50 CFR 229.32(c)(1); 50 CFR 229.32(d)(1)&(4)	4/1/1999		Marine Mammal Protection Act	http://www.Nero.nmfs.gov/waletrp/
NE	Massachusetts/ Rhode Island	Great South Channel Restricted Gillnet Area	Federal Marine Mammal Protected Area	to reduce the risk of serious injury to or mortality of large whales (North Atlantic right whales, fin, humpback, and minke whales) due to accidental entanglement in commercial fishing gear	April - June all gillnets prohibited; the rest of the year anchored gillnets prohibited, other gillnets with weaklinks and break away gear mandatory. (buoy weak links, net panel weak links, and anchoring system)	50 CFR 226.32(c)(1); 50 CFR 229.32(d)(1)&(3)	4/1/1999		Marine Mammal Protection Act	http://www.Nero.nmfs.gov/waletrp/
NE	New Hampshire/ Massachusetts	Cashes Ledge Closure Area	Federal Fisheries Management Zone	to protect Gulf of Maine cod and other depleted groundfish stocks	prohibits gear capable of catching groundfish (e.g., bottom trawls, sink gillnets) year round	50 CFR 648.81(h)	5/1/2002	New England Fishery Management Council	Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act; Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan	http://www.nefmc.org
SE	North Carolina	Flynet Closure	Federal Fisheries Management Zone	protect weakfish and other sciaenids	prohibit use of flynets	50 CFR 697.7 (a)(5)	10/22/1997	Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission	Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act	http://www.asmfc.org
SE	Florida	Madison-Swanson Spawning Site	Federal Fisheries Management Zone	maintain species diversity and integrity of coral reef community	all fishing prohibited except for highly migratory species	50 CFR 622.34 (k)	06/19/2000	Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council	Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act; Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish FMP, Reg. Amdt.	http://caldera.sero.nmfs.gov/fishery/newsbull.200/nr00-024.evy
SE	Florida	Steamboat Lumps Spawning Site	Federal Fisheries Management Zone	maintain species diversity and integrity of coral reef community	all fishing prohibited except for highly migratory species	50 CFR 622.34 (k)	06/19/2000	Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council	Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act; Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish FMP, Reg. Amdt.	http://caldera.sero.nmfs.gov/fishery/newsbull.200/nr00-024.evy
SE	Virgin Islands	Hind Bank Marine Conservation District	Federal Fisheries Management Zone	Marine Conservation District to protect coral habitat and preserve declining reef fish stocks	prohibit fishing and anchoring of fishing vessels within the Marine Conservation District	50 CFR 622.33 (b)(1)	12/06/1999	Caribbean Fishery Management Council	Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act; Caribbean Reef Fish FMP, Amdt. 1	http://caldera.sero.nmfs.gov/fishery/newsbull.99/nr99-061.evy
SE	Florida	East Florida Coast Closed Area	Federal Fisheries Management Zone	to protect juvenille swordfish	prohibits the use of pelagic longline gear year-round	50 CFR 635.21(c)(2)	3/1/2001		Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act; Atlantic Tunas Convention Act; Atlantic Highly Migratory Species Fishery Management Plan, Regulatory Amendment	http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/ole/Southeast/VMS/ClosedAreaDefinitions_3.htm http://www.publicaffairs.noaa.gov/releases2000/aug00/noaa00r137.html
SE	Florida	Florida Middle Ground Habitat Area of Particular Concern	Federal Fisheries Management Zone	protect Habitat Areas of Particular Concern	prohibit fishing with bottom longline, bottom trawl, dredge, pot, or trap year round	50 CFR 622.34(b)	08/22/1984	Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council	Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act; Gulf of Mexico Coral Plan, Amdt. 1	http://caldera.sero.nmfs.gov/fishery/regs/inter622.htm
SE	Texas	West and East Flower Garden Banks Habitat Area of Particular Concern	Federal Fisheries Management Zone	protect Habitat Areas of Particular Concern	prohibit fishing with bottom longline, bottom trawl, dredge, pot, or trap year round	50 CFR 622.34(j)	08/22/1984	Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council	Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act; Gulf of Mexico Coral Plan, Amdt. 1	http://caldera.sero.nmfs.gov/fishery/regs/inter622.htm
SE	Florida	Oculina Bank Habitat Area of Particular Concern	Federal Fisheries Management Zone	protect unique habitat containing large communities of ivory coral	prohibit all snapper-grouper fishing (except for two satellite areas and part of the eastern HAPC), and anchoring by fishing vessels	50 CFR 622.35(c)(1)	07/23/1984 (Coral FMP)	South Atlantic Fishery Management Council and Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council	Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act; Atlantic Snapper-Grouper FMP, Amdts. 1, 4, 6 (began with Coral FMP)	http://caldera.sero.nmfs.gov/fishery/newsbull.200/nr00-032.evy and http://www.access.gpo.gov/
SE	Florida	Experimental Oculina Research Reserve (Closed Area)	Federal Fisheries Management Zone	protect unique habitat containing large communities of ivory coral	prohibit bottom trawling, anchoring by fishing vessels, and all snapper-grouper fishing	50 CFR 622.35(c)(2)	06/27/1994 (eff. date Amdt. 6)	South Atlantic Fishery Management Council	Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act; Atlantic Snapper-Grouper FMP, Amdts. 1, 4, 6	http://caldera.sero.nmfs.gov/fishery/newsbull.200/nr00-032.evy and http://www.access.gpo.gov/
SE	Florida	Tortugas Shrimp Sanctuary	Federal Fisheries Management Zone	protect juvenile shrimp grounds	trawling restricted	50 CFR 622.34(i)	05/15/1981	Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council	Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act; Gulf of Mexico Shrimp FMP, Amdt. 6	http://caldera.sero.nmfs.gov/fishery/regs/inter622.htm
SE	Florida/Georgia	Southeastern Right Whale Critical Habitat	Federal Threatened/Endangered Species Protected Area	protect endangered Northern right whales	use of gillnet gear restricted	50 CFR 226.203 (c); 229.32 (f)	06/03/1994	National Marine Fisheries Service	Endangered Species Act; Marine Mammal Protection Act	http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/prot_res/species/Cetaceans/rightwhales.html
SE	Forida-Texas	Longline Bouy Gear Area Closure	Federal Fisheries Management Zone	to protect reef fish and reef fish habitat	restricts use of longline or buoy gear to reef fish bag limits or 5% by weight of all fish on board or landed year-round	50 CFR 622.34( c)	2/21/1990	Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council	Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act; Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Fishery Management Plan, Amendment 1
SE	Florida-Texas	Reef Fish Stressed Area	Federal Fisheries Management Zone	protect reef fish and habitat	prohibits powerheads, roller trawls, and fish traps	50 CFR 622.34 (g)	02/21/1990	Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council	Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act; Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish FMP, original FMP	http://caldera.sero.nmfs.gov/fishery/regs/inter622.htm
SE	Florida	Desoto Canyon Closed Area	Federal Fisheries Management Zone	protect juvenile swordfish	prohibits use of pelagic longline gear	50 CFR 635.21 (c)	11/01/2000	National Marine Fisheries Service, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, Division of Highly Migratory Species	Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act; Atlantic Highly Migratory Species FMP, Reg. Amdt.	http://www.gulfcouncil.org/fishrules.htm
SE	Alabama	Alabama Special Management Zone	Federal Fisheries Management Zone	to protect snappers, groupers, and other fish in and around artificial reefs	use of commercial and recreational fishing gear is restricted year round	50 CFR 622.34(a)	2/7/1994	Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council	Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act
SE	Florida	Tortugas Marine Reserves (Tortugas North and Tortugas South)	Federal Fisheries Management Zone	to protect important marine fisheries and habitat	prohibits all fishing and anchoring of fishing vessels in the two reserves year round	50 CFR 622.34(d)	10/17/2001	Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council	Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act; generic amendment to seven Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council Fishery Management Plans	www.gulfcouncil.org/oldstories/2000-07-20-Tortugas%20Reserves%20approved.htm
PI	Hawaii	Monk Seal Critical Habitat	Federal Threatened/Endangered Species Protected Area	protect critical habitat of endangered Hawaiian monk seals	critical habitat within 20 fathoms around certain Northwestern Hawaiian Islands; all lobster fishing prohibited within 20 nm around Laysan Island and within the EEZ landward of the 10 fathom line elsewhere and longlining prohibited	50 CFR 226.201; 660.26 (a,b); 660.46	05/26/1988	Western Pacific Fishery Management Council	Endangered Species Act; Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act	http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/prot_res/species/Pinnipeds/pinnipeds.html
PI	Hawaii	Hancock Seamount	Federal Fisheries Management Zone	protect pelagic armorhead	prohibit fishing for bottom fish and seamount groundfish	50 CFR 660.68	08/27/1986	Western Pacific Fishery Management Council	Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act; Western Pacific Bottom Fish and Seamount FMP, original FMP	http://swr.ucsd.edu/paowww.htm
PI	Hawaii	Lobster Closed Areas	Federal Threatened/Endangered Species Protected Area	protect endangered Hawaiian monk seals	all lobster fishing prohibited within 20 nm around Laysan Island and within the EEZ landward of the 10 fathom line elsewhere	50 CFR 660.46	03/09/1983	Western Pacific Fishery Management Council	Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act; Western Pacific Crustacean FMP, original FMP	http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/prot_res/prot_res.html
PI	Hawaii	Westpac Bed	Federal Fisheries Management Zone	protect precious corals	fishing for coral on Westpac Bed prohibited	50 CFR 660.87	09/23/1983	Western Pacific Fishery Management Council	Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act; Western Pacific Precious Corals FMP, original FMP	http://swr.ucsd.edu/paowww.htm
PI	Hawaii	Longline Protected Species Zone - 3-50 nm (Northwestern Hawaiian Islands)	Federal Threatened/Endangered Species Protected Area	protect endangered Hawaiian monk seals (also benefits sea turtles and sea birds)	longlining prohibited	50 CFR 660.26 (a,b)	10/18/1991	Western Pacific Fishery Management Council	Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act; Western Pacific Pelagics FMP, Amdt. 3	http://swr.ucsd.edu/paowww.htm
SW	California	Pacific Whiting Klamath River Salmon Conservation Zone	Federal Threatened/Endangered Species Protected Area	prevent bycatch of salmon in whiting fishery	whiting fishing prohibited	50 CFR 660.323	04/22/1993	Pacific Fishery Management Council	Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act; Pacific Coast Groundfish FMP; Endangered Species Act	http://www.nwr.noaa.gov/1sustfsh/new660.htm
NW	Oregon/ Washington	Pacific Whiting Columbia River Salmon Conservation Zone	Federal Threatened/Endangered Species Protected Area	prevent bycatch of salmon in whiting fishery	whiting fishing prohibited	50 CFR 660.323	04/22/1993	Pacific Fishery Management Council	Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act; Pacific Coast Groundfish FMP; Endangered Species Act	http://www.nwr.noaa.gov/1sustfsh/new660.htm
Alaska	Alaska	Area 512	Federal Fisheries Management Zone	protect molting red king crab	trawling prohibited	50 CFR 679.22(a)(1)	1987	North Pacific Fishery Management Council	Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act; Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands Groundfish FMP, Amdt. 10	http://www.fakr.noaa.gov/regs/
Alaska	Alaska	Bristol Bay Red King Crab Savings Area	Federal Fisheries Management Zone	protect molting king crab	bottom trawling prohibited	50 CFR 679.22(a)(3)	01/1995	North Pacific Fishery Management Council	Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act; Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands Groundfish FMP, Amdt. 37	http://www.fakr.noaa.gov/regs/
Alaska	Alaska	Nearshore Bristol Bay Closure Area	Federal Fisheries Management Zone	protect red king crab aggregations and habitat	trawling prohibited	50 CFR 679.22(a)(9)	06/1995	North Pacific Fishery Management Council	Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act; Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands Groundfish FMP, Amdt. 37	http://www.fakr.noaa.gov/regs/
Alaska	Alaska	Pribilof Islands Area Habitat Conservation Zone	Federal Fisheries Management Zone	protect juvenile blue king crab	trawling prohibited	50 CFR 679.22(a)(6)	04/1994	North Pacific Fishery Management Council	Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act; Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands Groundfish FMP, Amdt. 21a	http://www.fakr.noaa.gov/regs/
Alaska	Alaska	Kodiak Red King Crab Closure Area, Type I	Federal Fisheries Management Zone	reduce bycatch of red king crab and habitat protection	trawling, other than pelagic trawling, is prohibited	50 CFR 679.22(b)	12/28/1992	North Pacific Fishery Management Council	Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act; Gulf of Alaska Groundfish FMP, Amdt. 26	http://www.fakr.noaa.gov/regs/
Alaska	Alaska	Bering Sea Subarea Bogoslof District Steller Sea Lion Protection Area - 3-10 nm or 3-20 nm (8 sites) [in review]	Federal Threatened/Endangered Species Protected Area	protect Steller sea lions from interactions with the groundfish fishery	groundfish fishing restricted by gear type and area	50 CFR 679.22(a)(7)	06/1992	North Pacific Fishery Management Council	Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act; Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands Groundfish FMP, Amdt. 20	http://www.fakr.noaa.gov/regs/ and http://www.fakr.noaa.gov/protectedresources/stellers/plb/default.htm
Alaska	Alaska	Aleutian Islands Subarea Steller Sea Lion Protection Area - 3-10 nm or 3-20 nm (17 sites) [in review]	Federal Threatened/Endangered Species Protected Area	protect Steller sea lions from interactions with the groundfish fishery	groundfish fishing restricted by gear type and area	50 CFR 679.22(a)(8)	06/1992	North Pacific Fishery Management Council	Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act; Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands Groundfish FMP, Amdt. 20	http://www.fakr.noaa.gov/regs/ and http://www.fakr.noaa.gov/protectedresources/stellers/plb/default.htm
Alaska	Alaska	Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands Steller Sea Lion Protection Area - to 3 nm (25 sites)	Federal Threatened/Endangered Species Protected Area	protect Steller sea lions	with limited exceptions, no discharge of firearms, and no approach in buffer areas	50 CFR 223.202	11/1990	North Pacific Fishery Management Council	Endangered Species Act	http://www.fakr.noaa.gov/regs/stellerregs.html
Alaska	Alaska	Sitka Pinnacles	Federal Fisheries Management Zone	protect groundfish stocks and their habitat	commercial fishing, except salmon trolling, and halibut sport fishing prohibited; anchoring restricted	50 CFR 679.22	12/11/2000	North Pacific Fishery Management Council	Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act; Gulf of Alaska Groundfish FMP, Amdt. 59	http://www.fakr.noaa.gov/regs/
Alaska	Alaska	Southeast Alaska Closed Area	Federal Fisheries Management Zone	protect deep-water living substrate, including red tree coral	trawling prohibited	50 CFR 679.7	03/23/1998	North Pacific Fishery Management Council	Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act; Gulf of Alaska Groundfish FMP, Amdt. 41	http://www.fakr.noaa.gov/regs/
Alaska	Alaska	Gulf of Alaska Steller Sea Lion Protection Area - 3-10 nm or 3-20 nm (multiple sites) [in review]	Federal Threatened/Endangered Species Protected Area	protect Steller sea lions	groundfish fishing restricted by gear type and area	50 CFR 679.22(b)(2)	1/2000	North Pacific Fishery Management Council	Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act; Gulf of Alaska Groundfish FMP	http://www.fakr.noaa.gov/regs/ and http://www.fakr.noaa.gov/protectedresources/stellers/plb/default.htm
Alaska	Alaska	Steller Sea Lion Critical Habitat [in review]	Federal Threatened/Endangered Species Protected Area	protect critical habitat of endangered (Western population) and threatened (Eastern population) Steller sea lions	critical habitat includes rookeries, haulouts, and associated areas; pollock trawling prohibited and, with limited exceptions, no discharge of firearms and no approach in buffer areas	50 CFR 223.202; 226.202; 679.22 (a)(7); 679.22 (a)(8); 679.22(b)(2)	8/27/1993	North Pacific Fishery Management Council	Endangered Species Act; Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act	http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/prot_res/prot_res.html and http://www.fakr.noaa.gov/protectedresources/stellers/plb/default.htm