Marine Protected Areas Coming to Southern California

[jennfeinberg]

Thanks to everyone for your thoughts and concerns. The Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) calls for a network of MPAs and the areas within this network will have varying levels of protection. There will be areas set aside where no take will be allowed (marine reserves), areas where only recreational fishing will be allowed (marine parks), and areas where a mix of recreational and commercial fishing will be allowed (marine conservation areas).

It is not the intent of the MLPA or NRDC to create one large MPA along the entire coastline of Southern California. In fact, the MLPA process contemplates a network of smaller MPAs (between 9 and 36 square miles) as a way to avoid the impacts associated with creating one giant MPA in Southern California. The idea is to create MPAs that are large enough to encompass the home range of some portion of adult fish and close enough together to allow some larvae to settle and grow in areas that won't be fished. The intent is to increase the number of bigger, older fish, thereby improving productivity and resilience of fished populations.

Additionally, leaving some areas relatively undisturbed provides insurance in the face of uncertainty. There is a lot of uncertainty in our data on fish population abundance and for many species caught in state waters, there is very little fishery-independent data. In the past, we used to see more of a decline in landings as fish populations declined, but with the effectiveness of tools like sonar, fishermen are now much better at finding fish and keeping catches high even when the overall population is declining rapidly (this is what happened with cod in New England and Newfoundland and with commercial abalone in California). Marine Protected Areas can serve as refuges where fish are protected, which can be especially important for fisheries where we have no quotas or stock assessments.

DwayneJ, the creation of marine protected areas is an ecosystem-based management tool that should be used in conjunction with fisheries management. Instead of managing for single species as fishing licenses and size/bag limitations do, marine protected areas will preserve entire ecosystems, creating areas where the ocean can rebuild and create resilience to better withstand the long-term impacts associated with climate change, pollution, overdevelopment, etc.

 

[robint]

I would love to see more protected areas but I know there are many people in Calif who would find it too restrictive for their personal preferences.
A big issue with me is that I would like to see mooring pins put down for dive boats to use all around the Channel Islands. It may not be practical, but it is something I wish would happen. I was very disturbed to see the very boat I was diving from with an anchor and chain right across part of Farnsworth bank and rubble of the purple hydrocoral from this time and other times boats were anchored there. Moorings are being used successfully across the world and help keep the reef structures safer, I hope Calif can someday implement them, too.

robin

 

[White Knight]

As long as I get to have places where I can hunt and those places are not places chosen because wheather and currents usually make them undiveable. I can sign up for 25 percent of the shoreline being of limits to fishing. All that said, divers are not the problem. Commercial fishing is the problem. I'd like to see more areas closed to commercial fishing but open to spearfishing and hook and line fishing. As of now, it is usually all or nothing. Let's try something new. The economy needs sports fishermen--whether Hook and line or spear gun. It would be devastating if it all went away. Again, I support 25 percent areas closed to any fishing at all. I would also support another 25 percent closed to commercial fishing. Let's face it, commercial fishermen need to find a new occupation. I don't dislike them, I just can't see the resource keeping up with them, that's all.

 

[DwayneJ]

Moorings are being used successfully across the world and help keep the reef structures safer, I hope Calif can someday implement them, too.

robin

I agree with Robin - Moorings are used extensively on the great barrier reef in Australia and it would be great if they could be used more here in California in the MPA's.

The local marine geology around here is interesting in that most of the South bay is sandy bottom. Rock formations extend from the Palos Verdes peninsula to a depth of around 100' about a 1/2-3/4 miles from shore are mostly populated with kelp which helps to keep boats away and is detrimental to hoop and line fishing.

Many fishing boats tend to sit on top of the artificial reefs spread around the area - in fact there is a local book which details the locations of all the artificial reefs and is sold to divers and fishermen.

As I see, the only area in 20 miles that would qualify for consideration for an MPA (in whatever form) is the Palos Verdes peninsula. As such I am interested to see what will be proposed.

 

[drbill]

Robin, I recently compiled all my video footage from my dives at Farnsworth Banks. Included in that are exam0ples of the anchor damage to the hydrocoral as well as a large fishing net draped over the rocks at about 150 ft (if I remember correctly... haven't dived there in over a year). Mooring buoys would be great but the question always is Who will maintain them and accept the liability? I hope some entity steps up.

 

[drbill]

There are so many factors that need to be considered in the designation of MPA's. What is the minimum size necessary to ensure adequate breeding populations for the majority of the species? Where are the regions of greatest persistence (or, optionally, resilience)? What direction does the prevailing current flow (relevant for larval dispersal to areas outside). Disturbance regime?

For example, on the latter issue (one of my criteria)... to designate many MPA's in the southern area of Catalina (near Avalon) might be self-defeating for a number of species. Currents usually flow from the north so larvae would get dispersed out to see. Reserves designated up on the NW end of the island would allow larval transport out of them along both the windward and leeward coasts. Of course if the larvae are of long duration, they will likely get swept off to sea as well.

Even Catalina has a variety of environmental regimes as I outlined in my research back in the 90's. There are difference disturbance regimes on the windward (storm) and leeward (thermal) coasts. The NW end is colder than the SE end creating a gradient of species from one end to the other.

These are complex issues that need to consider not only environmental characteristics, but the genetics and natural history of the species involved (all of which have their own uniqueness.

Some of my research papers are on my web site on the following page:

Star Thrower Educational Multimedia (S.T.E.M.) Scientific Research

The best overall paper to read is probably this one:

http://www.starthrower.org/research/kelpgis/ijmargeo.htm

I still think it is a shame that what was supposed to be a process defined mostly by the science has become so politicized. Another example of why we rarely really find the right or necessary solutions IMHO.