Information and access
American Samoa has two designated National Marine Sanctuaries – Fagatele Bay National Marine Sanctuary and the Rose Atoll Marine National Monument.
Fagatele Bay National Marine Sanctuary on Tutuila island was designated in 1986 and is one of 13 sanctuaries and one marine national monument under the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries which protects and preserves natural and cultural resources in areas of special significance in the Oceans and Great Lakes of the United States. Fagatele Bay is home to a wide variety of animals and plants that thrive in the protect waters of the bay. The sanctuary contains many of the species native to this part of the Indo-Pacific biogeographic region including turtles, whales, sharks and giant claims, all of whom are protected in this area.
Visitors are welcome to visit Fagatele Bay and for further information visit the
Fagatele Bay National Marine Sanctuary website.
Rose Atoll Marine National Monument consists of approximately 13,451 square miles of emergent and submerged lands and waters of and around Rose Atoll.
Located approximately 130 nautical miles east-southeast of Pago Pago Harbor, it is the eastern most Samoan island and the southernmost point of the United States.
The Monument includes the Rose Atoll National Wildlife Refuge covering around 21 acres of emergent land and 1,600 acres of lagoon, with the outer boundary approximately 50 nautical miles from the mean low water line of Rose Atoll. The atoll is home to 270 species of reef fish as well unique plant life and bird life only found on this atoll.
Access to Rose Atoll is only for scientific and research purposes and permission must be sought from the US Fish & Wildlife Service. To contact them visit the
Rose Atoll Marine National Monument website.