Despite its name, the sanctuary reaches far north of Monterey. It runs from Rocky Point in Marin County, just north of the Golden Gate Bridge, to Cambria, with 276 miles of shoreline and 6,094 square miles of ocean, and it was designated on September 18, 1992. NOAA manages it.
Fitzgerald Marine Reserve in Moss Beach is administratively part of the sanctuary. The sanctuary is home to at least 36 species of marine mammals, 94 species of seabirds and 525 species of fish. Offshore oil drilling and seabed mining are banned there.
The sanctuary supports commercial fisheries for Dungeness crab and market squid, and it allows kayaking, diving and surfing.
More on this site: the beaches