CalOceans | News

A Happy New Year for the Ocean!

December 31st, 2011

Tomorrow, Southern California will celebrate the grand opening of a series of underwater parks, or “marine protected areas,” that includes wildlife hot spots such as the La Jolla kelp forest, Laguna tidepools, and Catalina Island's coral gardens. These parks will join a growing system that currently dots the shore from Santa Barbara to Mendocino, and will soon stretch the length of California’s coast.

California will be the first state in the nation to develop a science-based statewide network of marine protected areas, protecting productive reefs, kelp forests and tide pools. The Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA), enacted in 1999 with bipartisan support, called for this network of protections to improve the health of California’s ocean wildlife and habitats.

“Our nation has been protecting treasured areas on land for 150 years, and now California is doing the same for our ocean, through the Marine Life Protection Act,” said Karen Garrison, Oceans Program Co-Director at the Natural Resources Defense Council. “From Point Reyes to Big Sur to La Jolla, the state is creating Yosemites of the sea so future generations can experience their grandeur.”

“After decades of treating the ocean as inexhaustible, California has turned the tide towards restoring its legacy of abundant sea life,” said Kaitilin Gaffney, Pacific Program Director of Ocean Conservancy. “California’s new protected areas are a smart investment in a healthier ocean and a more sustainable coastal economy.”

The marine protected areas going into effect January 1 were designed by local citizens, including fishermen, surfers, conservationists and business leaders, to protect productive ocean areas while leaving about 90% of the coast open for fishing (see a map of fishing areas left open). Many of the are located alongside public beaches and state parks, creating great opportunities for education, research, and recreation.

California’s coast and ocean generate $22 billion in revenue and drive over 350,000 jobs each year, and more than 90 percent of visitors comes to walk the beach, dive, surf, swim, or kayak, making the new ocean parks a smart investment in the region's environmental and economic health.

Explore southern California's new underwater parks

December 22nd, 2011

On January 1, California will celebrate the grand opening of a series of underwater parks along the south coast. Enjoy this visual tour!

Marine protected areas boost resilience

March 29th, 2011

We hear a lot about the science showing that Marine Protected Areas led to healthy habitat and abundant sea life. A lesser-known but still critical benefit of MPAs is their ability to make the ocean more resilient.

Case in point: a recently completed decade-long study from the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science. Researchers examining an MPA in the Tortugas, or “Florida’s Yellowstone,” noted the protected waters’ remarkable ability to rebound from overfishing and seasonal
storms.

Professor Jerry Ault discusses his findings in the video, Taking Stock: Fisheries Studies in the Florida Key Marine Protected Areas.

Tortuga National Park is a remote area in the Florida Keys known for its extensive coral reefs, fish, sharks and marine life. The Tortuga reefs aren’t just recovering from decimation, they’re actually flourishing at surprising rates. Despite being hit by six major hurricanes in the last eight years, researchers were surprised to find how quickly the MPA has transformed into a rich spawning ground for game fish in the Keys.

The findings of the study confirm the importance of marine protected areas to ensure a healthy and productive ocean. It also showcases the incredible ability of the ocean to heal itself after protected areas are established.

Protecting the ocean and traditional tribal uses

February 11th, 2011

California’s Marine Life Protection Act is well-known for its visionary leadership on ocean conservation. Last week the State advanced this leadership – taking action to incorporate respect for tribal traditional ocean uses as part of its ocean conservation efforts. Everyone, state officials and stakeholders alike, has expressed an interest in ensuring that traditional tribal uses of California’s marine resources—and the tribes’ stewardship practices--are incorporated into networks of underwater parks along the coast. Last week California turned that from a promise into a reality in Sonoma County.

In a precedent-setting victory, both for the tribes and ocean conservation, the Fish and Game Commission voted unanimously to ensure continuation of Kashia Pomo traditional tribal harvest at Stewart’s Point. Stewart’s Point lies smack in the heart of a Sonoma County marine protected area created during the North Central Coast regional marine protected area planning process last year. Conservation organizations and tribal leaders had worked together on the proposal adopted by the Commission.

Archeological evidence indicates the tribe has used Stewart’s Point for 12,000 years to collect mussels, abalone, seaweed and fish, and hold ceremonies. The Commission’s decision ensures those traditional practices can continue while still protecting sensitive plants and marine wildlife in the surrounding area.

This welcome announcement follows closely on the heels of newly-appointed Natural Resources Secretary John Laird’s commitment to working with tribes and tribal communities. In his first month on the job, Laird has already sat down with a number of tribes and more meetings are planned to ensure their interests are considered as the state moves towards the completion of the MLPA process.

"I believe they are listening and I believe they are hearing us," said Thomas O'Rourke, chair of the Yurok Tribe. "Bottom line, we all want the same thing, and that's to protect our resources. We understand each other there."

Kudos to Laird for his leadership in directing the FGC to prioritize the issue of tribal rights (you can read about how state officials are approaching the matter in the North Coast here). This is strong evidence that stewardship for our environmental and cultural resources go hand-in-hand.

Decision day for south coast MLPA

December 15th, 2010

It's a historic day for southern California: after two years, and 50 public meetings, the ocean protection plans developed by local stakeholders are up for a vote before the Fish and Game Commission.

The Marine Life Protection Act calls for a new kind of conservation, grounded in science, and focused on whole ecosystems. Marine protected areas are a proven tool that allows sea life and habitats to thrive safe from disturbance, boosting the health and productivity of the ocean. By setting aside a few small areas where fish and shellfish feed and breed, California can enjoy more bountiful and sustainable harvests, and more resilient and diverse marine systems.

Our nation has been protecting treasured landscapes for over a century, and it's high time we extended that conservation ethic offshore, creating a system of underwater parks. The compromise plan before the Commission would protect popular areas like south La Jolla, Catalina Island, and Point Dume while leaving nearly 90% of the coast open for fishing.

Hundreds of divers, surfers, business people, elected officials, and kayakers are expected to speak up for ocean protection at today's meeting in Santa Barbara. Let's hope the Commission recognizes the wisdom of investing in a strong marine protected area network before it's too late. Like ecological savings accounts, our state's new marine protected areas will pay dividends for years to come, in the form of more and bigger fish, and a healthier ocean for all.

Marine preserves pay

May 13th, 2010

Marine Ecologist Enric Sala (a National Geographic Explorer and Scripps Institution of Oceanography Professor) explains that the "economy versus environment"frame for ocean protection is a false choice. We can have more fish and catch them too with well-designed marine protected areas and reserves.
Sala says that marine preserves can increase the quality of fishermen's catches in the near term, increase their long-term job security, and boost tourism and recreation. As Sala puts it, a marine reserve is a savings account and you have to keep up a principle balance in order to maintain an income from it.

Additionally, marine reserves actually create jobs, and for just a fraction of the cost of what we're currently spending on unsustainable fishing subsidies.

Belize marine reserve is "a model of hope"

May 6th, 2010

This recent New York Times article higlights Glover's Reef, the latest example of how marine reserves succeed at restoring the health of depleted ocean habitat. Belize’s largest “no-take” marine reserve, a 17,500-acre zone where all types of fishing are prohibited, has done wonders for the local reef habitat and the fish populations have increased significantly.

The area is known as Glover’s Reef, and the Times article features the research conducted by the Wildlife Conservation Society on the local sharks and rays – which has revealed that sharks play a critical role in the ecosystem. Check out a video here.

According to Ellen K. Pikitch, a marine biologist at the Stony Brook University School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences and runs the Institute for Ocean Conservation Science:

“I think Glover’s Reef is a model of hope. The effort at Glover’s shows that marine reserves, even small marine reserves, can work. I think it’s very transportable this concept.”

Along with other top predators, sharks help keep barracuda populations in check, which is important because barracuda consume algae grazers like parrotfish that prevent runaway algae growth from choking the corals.

Northern California's new MPAs go into effect May 1

April 8th, 2010

Today, California’s Fish & Game Commission voted unanimously to move ahead with plans to protect Point Reyes Headlands, Bodega Head, the Farallon Islands, Fitzgerald Marine Reserve, and other northern California ocean hot spots with a new network of underwater state parks.

Last August the Commission approved a marine protected area plan for state waters between Pigeon Point and Point Arena. The plan, designed by local stakeholders and based on the best available marine science, will set aside the region’s richest kelp forests, rocky reefs, and canyons to boost the health and productivity of the entire coastline. It will go into effect on May 1, 2010, and the Commission has already approved plans for university and citizen scientists to monitor the new protected areas to track their effectiveness.

The network includes 21 marine protected areas designed to protect the region’s most sensitive sea life and habitats while - leaving almost 90 percent of the coast open to fishing.

North coast MPA planning gets underway

February 4th, 2010

After several months of public outreach and education, the north coast Regional Stakeholder Group process--where local leaders representing a variety of industries and interests will work together to map out a network of marine protected areas that will extend from Point Arena to Oregin--is ready to begin.

The north coast Regional Stakeholder Group (RSG ) includes members of the conservation, fishing, business, tribal, science, and education communities. Many of them worked together in the Tri-County Working Group to find common ground ahead of the RSG process.

The first north coast RSG meeting will be held at the Red Lion Hotel in Eureka on February 8 and 9. Click here for information about all upcoming MLPA meetings on the north coast.

Spotlight on the south coast

December 22nd, 2009

The planning meetings have come and gone. The Blue Ribbon Task Force, Regional Stakeholder Group, Science Advisory Teamand general public have all had their say. Now the future of southern California’s coastal waters sits with the Fish and Game Commission, which met December 9, to gather input from the community and MLPA advisors before sending off four marine protected area plans for further economic and scientific analysis.

South coast residents can still weigh in via mail or email, and will have additional opportunities to comment in person when the Commission returns to southern California for three more meetings in 2010.

Although the Commission has adopted the BRTF’s Integrated Preferred Alternative as the “proposed project,” all four of the current proposals for marine protected areas on the south coast remain on the table.

So what does that mean? It means now is the time to remind the Fish and Game Commission that science should guide our state’s resource management decisions. And the conservation plan—also known as Proposal 3—is the only one that meets science guidelines and protects all southern California’s iconic ocean places, like Naples Reef, Point Dume, Palos Verdes, Laguna, Catalina Island and La Jolla. At the December 9 meeting, Dr. Steve Murray of the Science Advisory Team confirmed that Proposal 3 would produce the greatest ecosystem benefits.

Please send an email or note to the Commissioners voicing your support for Proposal 3.

Marine Life Protection Act Initiative
c/o California Natural Resources Agency
1416 Ninth Street, Suite 1311
Sacramento, CA 95814

Tell them to adopt a plan that will serve the region’s economy and environment. We only get one shot at this and we need to get it right!

Solutions for a changing ocean

December 4th, 2009

Ocean Beach resident Mike Laude has been diving and fishing southern California's waters for three decades. He remembers swimming from Windansea to Bird Rock, "gawking at halibut, lobsters, abalone, moray eels, starfish, urchins, garibaldi, schools of sargo, barracuda, opal eye, and bait fish."

Like many south coast watermen, Laude enjoys watching sea life, and hunting for his dinner amid the kelp forests and rocky reefs. In a December 4 North County Times op-ed he writes about catching lobsters nearly as old as he was, and watching abalone numbers dwindle.

Richard Holt, who serves on the Advisory Council for the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary, has been fishing and diving south coast waters even longer than Laude. The picture above is from his website, showing a typical day's catch at Palos Verdes from the 1950's (all caught without SCUBA gear.)

Fish and shellfish are getting smaller and fewer each year, and habitat protection is a key part of the solution. Mike Laude has followed Marine Life Protection Act process, and come out in support of the compromise plan for southern California.

Many other divers and anglers, along with scientists, conservationists, and educators are expected to attend a December 9 Marine Life Protection Act meeting in Los Angeles to voice their support for a strong marine protected area plan. The future bounty of our ocean is at stake.

The world is blue

November 10th, 2009

Water covers 70% of our planet, and yet most of give little thought to what lies beyond our shores. Not so for Dr. Sylvia Earle, explorer in residence at National Geographic.

Dr. Earle has been diving for 50 years, and has seen drastic changes to the health of the ocean, and abundance of sea life during that time.

She believes that marine protected areas--like the ones California is working to create through the Marine Life Protection Act--are a critical part of the solution for the world's oceans.

On NPR Friday, she said, “If there are to be fisherman, there have to be fish. And for there to be fish, you have to protect their breeding areas, their feeding areas, the places where the little ones grow up...We've taken on the order of 90 percent of the tunas, the swordfish, the sharks, groupers, snappers. There have to be some places that the fish can recover and serve as a source of renewal to places that have been so drastically depleted.”

Setting aside high quality, productive habitats as marine protected areas will help rebuild fisheries and restore ocean ecosystems.

Dr. Earle called the world's 4,500 marine protected areas "places of hope," but adds that only 1% of the ocean is currently protected. To ensure the health of our blue planet, we have to do better.

A sea change for Southern California?

October 26th, 2009

Oceanographer Sylvia Earle has logged more than 6500 hours underwater during her 50 years exploring the world's oceans. She has seen many changes to plant and animal life over the years, and feels the ocean is now at a tipping point. The good news, she says, is that we still have a chance to "tip things back in the right direction--if we act now."

The Marine Life Protection Act is our opportunity to create a sea change that will restore depleted sea life and habitats throughout California's coastal waters. If we follow the science and create a strong, science-based marine protected area network, we can turn things around and leave a legacy of healthy oceans for our kids and grandkids.

In this Los Angeles Times opinion editorial, Sylvia explains why the conservation plan--or "Proposal 3"--is the best choice for southern California's ocean. It will protect iconic places like south La Jolla, Naples Reef, Point Dume, and Laguna while leaving nearly 90% of the area open for fishing.

The Los Angeles Times editorial board agrees--they too urge the Marine Life Protection Act Blue Ribbon Task Force to recommend Proposal 3 to ensure south coast waters remain healthy and productive for generations to come.

Dr. Earle likens marine protected areas to jewels on a necklace: treasured areas where kelp flourishes, fish and invertebrates grow and multiply, and divers, snorkelers, and scientists can glimpse marine life at its healthiest.

Join the Los Angeles Times, along with southern California divers, surfers, educators, conservationists, scientists, and kayakers in supporting meaningful protection for our special ocean places.

CalOceans News