The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has said that two national marine sanctuaries off the Bay Area coast will be expanded soon, making it more than double in size.

According to NOAA, the change, published in the Federal Register on Thursday, has taken effect after 45 days of nonstop session of Congress.

After the change, Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary west of Point Reyes will expand to 1,286 square miles from 529 square miles and the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary just west of San Francisco Bay will expand to 3,295 square miles from 1,282 square miles.

The expansion will help in the protection of additional marine and coastal habitats and biological resources and ecological features of the region.

In a statement, Holly Bamford, NOAA deputy administrator and acting assistant secretary of conservation and management, said that they are delighted to declare the expansion of two of their sanctuaries in California.

NOAA's research and years of public comment have resulted into this expansion. NOAA along with its partners identified a zone off Point Arena where the nutrients well up to the ocean's surface and this zone flows south into the sanctuaries' original areas. The identification of this upwelling zone was the key reason for the expansion.

Maria Brown, superintendent of the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary, said that this zone may be the most productive upwelling zone in the world.

Brown added that the zone's productivity has shown its capability to support life, by feeding animals coming from as far away as Indonesia and New Zealand. He mentioned that the zone is like a restaurant for animals all around the Pacific Ocean.

Daniel Basta, director of NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, said, "This expansion is the outcome of a tremendous collaborative effort by government, local communities, academia and elected officials to provide additional protection for critical marine resources".