Some of the most fascinating, historic shipwrecks that lie on the ocean floor off the coast of Massachusetts need to be protected, so researchers can “build upon successes” that started in 2019, federal authorities said this week.

The National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) warned boaters and fishermen to keep 400 feet away from known wrecks in the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, an 842-square-mile marine protected area at the mouth of Massachusetts Bay between Cape Ann and Cape Cod.

Gear caught on the underwater wrecks could “cause serious damage to shipwrecks that have historical significance,” NOAA said.

There are more than 200 wrecks in the sanctuary, according to NOAA, which specifically mentioned the World War II minesweeper USS Heroic, the trawler Josephine Marie and the 55-foot North Star, along with eight unnamed ships with their coordinates. 

The steamboat Portland is the most iconic and best studied wreck, in large part because of its massive loss of life and the grandiose nature of the ship. 

“In addition to exploring the wreck of Portland, the research team will be working to solve a maritime mystery,” NOAA said on its website. “In 2003, sanctuary scientists located a new shipwreck, dubbed the ‘mystery coal schooner.’

“In the 19th and 20th centuries, schooners carried coal to heat homes, power factories, and fuel railroads,” according to the NOAA, which added that “researchers hope to learn the identity of the mystery coal schooner through the combination of high resolution imagery of the entire wreck and historical research.”

The shipwreck of the steamship Portland is home to a variety of marine life. (WHOI/NOAA)

Map of the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary off Massachusetts, where over a dozen historically relevant ship wreckages are being explored.  (NOAA)

NOAA provided the coordinates to 11 specific shipwrecks in the map of the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary off Massachusetts. (NOAA)

Besides the interest in the physical wrecks, researchers are studying the scope of marine life. 

“Shipwrecks are underappreciated as habitats, but they host abundant biological communities,” Kirstin Meyer-Kaiser, the lead scientist for the project, said in a statement last year. “This project is designed to shed light on wrecks as habitats, answer some of our scientific questions and help preserve them for years to come.”

Since 2019, the sanctuary has been exploring the wreck with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and Marine Imaging Technologies, collecting video imagery to develop virtual 3-D models, studying the invertebrate community, and bringing the excitement of underwater research to the public via real-time broadcasts.