[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 6 (Monday, January 12, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S313-S314]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

       By Mrs. BOXER (for herself and Mrs. FEINSTEIN):
  S. 212. A bill to expand the boundaries of the Gulf of the Farallones 
National Marine Sanctuary and the Cordell Bank National Marine 
Sanctuary, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Commerce, 
Science, and Transportation.
  Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, the Gulf of the Farallones and Cordell 
Bank National Marine Sanctuaries Boundary Modification and Protection 
Act will protect one of the world's most biologically-diverse and 
productive marine regions. I am proud to be joined in this effort by 
Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey and Senator Dianne Feinstein.
  Established in 1981 and 1989 respectively, the Gulf of the Farallones 
and Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuaries have helped protect the 
special marine waters and coastline that are quintessentially 
Californian. My bill will protect an even greater part of my State's 
coast by expanding the sanctuaries' boundaries to include more of 
northern California's great coastal upwelling area, one of only four on 
the planet.
  Upwelling areas are places where deeper water comes up to the 
surface, bringing the nutrients needed by marine algae to grow and 
support all higher forms of marine life. Though coastal upwelling areas 
comprise only 1 percent of the world's ocean they produce 20 percent of 
its fish. The area from Point Arena to Bodega Bay, currently outside 
the sanctuaries' boundaries, is particularly important since it 
consistently has the most intense upwelling in all of North America and 
an enormous capacity to support marine life. I am proud that my bill 
will expand the sanctuaries' boundaries to protect this upwelling area.
  The unique productivity of this region is illustrated by the 
abundance and diversity of marine life it supports: 36 species of 
marine mammals, including the endangered blue and humpback whales; 
numerous coastal and migratory seabirds, including the black-footed 
albatross; endangered leatherback turtles; and Coho salmon. Expanding 
the existing sanctuaries to include this area is necessary to protect 
this remarkable ecosystem from pollution and habitat degradation.

[[Page S314]]

  My bill has broad, local support, including from the California 
Coastal Commission, the California State Lands Commission, the Counties 
of Sonoma, Marin, and Mendocino, and the cities in the expansion 
region. It is also supported by fishermen, including the Pacific Coast 
Federation of Fishermen's Associations, by far the largest and most 
active association of commercial fishermen on the West Coast. Fishermen 
recognize the urgency of passing this legislation to preserve the water 
quality and habitat essential for good fishing.
  My bill will help preserve an incomparable gem of an ecosystem. I 
look forward to working with my colleagues to move this important 
legislation.
                                 ______