(Describer) Under a round logo of a wave, title: Ocean Today.
Jim Delgado, Ph.D.:
There is good news
for people
that want
to protect the oceans--
that is,
marine protected areas,
but, in particular,
in the United States,
it's national
marine sanctuaries.
Sanctuaries were created
especially
to preserve,
to protect,
and to share why
they are important
with the rest
of the country.
These areas
are all very important
because, inside them,
they protect
not only coral reefs,
and fish populations,
or the migration routes
of whales or sharks,
they also protect
thousands of shipwrecks.
These wrecks are protected
and they sit
as exhibits
in an undersea museum.
At Thunder Bay,
hundreds of shipwrecks,
almost perfectly preserved
by the cold, fresh waters
of Lake Huron,
are available for divers
to explore,
while the Maritime
Heritage Center
back at the headquarters
in Alpena, Michigan,
gives visitors a chance to see
why these ships are important,
what they look like,
how they sunk,
and the people's stories
associated with them.
On the California coast,
we're working to document
more of these shipwrecks,
and discover wrecks
that history books
or newspapers say are out there,
but we haven't yet
put our eyes on.
Over the last few years,
we've discovered some wrecks.
Most recently,
we found a wreck
that wasn't even
supposed to be there.
It was a ship
that had disappeared
almost 100 years ago.
It still remained one of
the top mysteries of the ocean
until, thanks to a survey
of Greater Farallones
National Marine Sanctuary,
we found a shipwreck.
As we examined it,
it turned out to be
this long-missing ship
with 56 crew.
Not only were we able
to solve a mystery,
and able to say, "This is
an important wreck
protected in this sanctuary,"
but we were able to reach out
to the families of those men
and say, after 95 years,
"We know where your grandfather,
your great uncle, your cousins--
"we know where they are.
"They're at peace
at the bottom of the sea,
"in a shipwreck
full of marine life.
"It is their grave,
but also part
"of a rich and important
marine sanctuary
that has been set aside
to protect such things."
Not only do I think that gave
these families closure,
an opportunity to say,
"At last I know what happened,"
but also some satisfaction
that we're looking out
for these guys,
as we do so many other things
in the marine sanctuary system.
(Describer) Title: OceanToday.noaa.gov.
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Accessibility provided by the
U.S. Department of Education.
