CalOceans News

MPAs as living labs

California's new marine protected areas (MPAs) are being studied by legions of scientists working on the most comprehensive assessment of the state's coastal ecosystems ever undertaken.

Ongoing monitoring will enable scientists to track the effects of the new MPAs as well as climate change on the state's waters. From Peter Raimondi, professor and chair of ecology and evolutionary biology at UC Santa Cruz:

“The MPA monitoring program has made a real effort to bring together groups that can do rigorous assessments across all the coastal systems; it's assessing all the nearshore habitats in a very integrated way, and that just hasn't been done before.”

This monitoring effort is an example of California’s MPA network working as a “living laboratory,” allowing scientists to better understand how the ocean functions. As the science improves, so do our ocean management practices, which is good for all ocean users.

The results of the baseline monitoring surveys have just been published by the Partnership for Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans (PISCO).

Scientists warn that it may take five to 10 years to see the effects of the new protections, but if the thousands of MPAs used in countries around the world are any indication, California's ocean sanctuaries will produce more and bigger fish, and healthier, more resilient ecosystems.

• Tags:
• Marine Protected Areas
• monitoring
• enforcement
• ocean protection council
• baseline monitoring