Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary

Description

Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary is an ocean park teeming with life. The natural live-bottom habitats of the sanctuary are representative of others across the region. Volunteers at Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary have supported the sanctuary and contributed to its success for over forty years. This long-term support from volunteers is critical to every aspect of sanctuary including public events, community engagement, and providing programs at the Gray’s Reef Ocean Discovery Center.

The offshore sanctuary provides year-round opportunities for sport fishing, recreational diving, and boating. The research area within the sanctuary hosts one of the only designated no-take zones in the region, which makes Gray's Reef a catalyst for scientific research studying water quality, ocean noise, hurricane prediction, and climate change. Gray's Reef is part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Office of National Marine Sanctuaries - the trustee for a network of underwater parks encompassing more than 620,000 square miles of marine and Great Lakes waters.

The 22 square-mile sanctuary protects a vibrant, hard-bottom ocean area off the Georgia coast, about 19 miles east of Sapelo Island, and 40 miles southeast of historic Savannah, Georgia. The average depth of the sanctuary is 65 feet.