Craft

Clifton Craft, Jack Ferguson, and William Wilson (“appellants”) appeal the district court’s order affirming the assessment of civil penalties by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (“NOAA”) for violations of the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act. NOAA assessed the penalties following a four week administrative trial, in which appellants were found to have violated NOAA regulations protecting the seabed and historic resources of the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary. We have jurisdiction and we affirm.

I

The Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act, 16 U.S.C. §§ 1431 -1445a, provides for the establishment of marine sanctuaries to protect important and sensitive marine areas and resources of national significance. Id. § 1431; S.Rep. No. 595, 100th Cong., 2d Sess. 1 (1988), reprinted in, 1988 U.S.C.C.AN. 4387. Pursuant to this law, NOAA designated the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary (“CINMS”) in 1980. The Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary, 45 Fed.Reg. 65,198 (Oct. 2, 1980). The CINMS includes the marine waters surrounding several islands off the coast of California out to a distance of six nautical miles from the…