The Dominican Republic’s Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources and NOAA have established the world’s first sister sanctuary linkage protecting an endangered migratory marine mammal species on both ends of its range. The Santuario de Mamíferos Marinos de la República Dominicana (SMMRD-Marine Mammal Sanctuary of the Dominican Republic) and NOAA’s Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary (SBNMS) off the coast of Massachusetts, two marine protected areas 3,000 miles apart, provide critical support for the same humpback whale population (of around 900 whales), which spend spring and summer in the rich feeding grounds of Stellwagen Bank before heading south to the warmer waters of the Dominican Republic in late fall to mate and give birth to their young. The sister sanctuary agreement was designed to enhance coordination in management efforts between the two sanctuaries and help improve humpback whale recovery in the North Atlantic.

Additional reference information: 

• NOAA News Release (January 29, 2007)
• Stellwagen Bank Marine Sanctuary
• Sanctuary Memorandum of Understanding Between the United States National Ocean Service and the Santuario de los Mamiferos Marinos of the Dominican Republic to Collaborate on International Protection of the Humpback Whale

Last updated September 8, 2020