For everyone who loves the ocean and Great Lakes, our national marine sanctuaries conserve these special places for all Americans.

The National Marine Sanctuary Foundation is the only national non-profit whose mission is to directly support our marine and Great Lakes sanctuaries for generations to enjoy.

The National Marine Sanctuary Foundation (NMSF) enhances national marine sanctuaries in their goal to protect essential US marine areas and to ensure a healthy ocean. It began as a simple idea. America's most influential ocean conservation leaders wanted to raise awareness of, and increase support for, the national marine sanctuaries and their critical role in ensuring a healthy ocean. The NMSF also plays a critical role in supporting international initiatives that work to improve and enhance the management of protected areas including protected areas specifically designated for marine mammals.

Perhaps the most difficult challenge facing most marine mammal protected areas (MMPAs) around the world today is that of securing sustainable funding for conservation and management. MMPAs provide important habitat for whales and dolphins and managing an MMPA is an expensive affair. The costs of waterborne patrol systems and simple transport within MMPAs is generally significantly higher than in terrestrial protected areas, and costs for outreach, neighboring community development projects, and other conservation activities only add to the burden. While many MMPAs enjoy a significant initial injection of funding from either government agencies, international conservation NGO's or development projects involved in the establishment of the MMPA, this funding often decreases dramatically or disappears altogether within a 3-5 year period after establishment.

The simple truth remains that these MMPA do not have proper financial support needed to address all their management needs. Government sources still account for 80% of biodiversity finance worldwide, and this funding can fluctuate with changes in government and policy.

The NMSF is working in collaboration with the International Committee on Marine Mammal Protected Areas in an attempt to alleviate the financial burden placed on Marine Mammal Protected Area sites and is asking for your support to do so. Any amount of contribution will greatly impact these Protected Areas and assist in their daily struggles to maintain operations such as; paying for patrols, continuing vital research of endangered species, and even the rehabilitation of injured mammals.

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©2021 Propeller

©2021 Propeller