MARINE PROTECTED AREAS
SLIDE 1 (Title)
I’m going to talk to you about another reason why Piedras Blancas
is special. In addition to our wonderful elephant seals and the
Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary you heard about from
Carolyn, Piedras Blancas is designated as a Marine Protected Area
under California state law.
SLIDE 2
The Piedras Blancas Marine protected areas extend in the north
from Point Sierra Nevada just beyond Arroyo del la Cruz to VP 2
in the South, Arroyo Laguna.
For one mile out it is designated a State Marine Reserve, which
means no fishing is permitted. From there to the three mile limit it
is a State Marine Conservation Area, where only fishing for
salmon and albacore is permitted in season.
Some of you may never have heard of Marine Protected Areas, and
others may be aware they have generated a lot of controversy. I’m
going to try to give you a little history of marine protected areas in
general, a little science, and some details on California Marine
Protected areas.
SLIDE 3 (The Science of MPAs)
All over the world, we are becoming aware of the signs of over use
and declining health of our oceans including overfishing, pollution,
and habitat destruction. You may have seen pictures of huge fish
that were caught in the past off our shores - ……efforts to control
overfishing by placing limits have not been successful. Scientists
and others concerned with the health of our oceans have been
putting a lot of focus on protected areas as a tool to protect our
ocean ecosystems. Marine reserves have been used in the past, and
have been shown to improve ocean health.
SLIDE 4 (Anacapa Island)
For example, a marine reserve established by the National Park
Service at Anacapa Island has been monitored for 20 years and
compared with nearby fished areas. The marine reserve has a
healthy kelp forest, which has persisted through that time.
However, outside of the reserve the kelp forest has become barren
during El nino events. Any ideas as to why?
The difference is caused by the effects of fishing, specifically
spiny lobsters. In the reserve, lobsters were 6 times as abundant as
in the fished area. They ate more urchins, which graze on kelp.
Eliminating fishing restored the natural balance that kept the kelp
forest healthy.
There are lots of examples of increased number of fish in protected
areas But Marine protected areas also have been effective in
increasing the number of fish outside of the protected areas and
will improve fishing outside of those areas over time. How does
that work?
SLIDE 5 (Vermillion rockfish)
This is the BOFFFF example – the big fat, female, fecund fish.
Fish in protected areas will grow larger, and larger fish produce
significantly more offspring. In this case, a 7.5 pound rockfish will
produce 10 times more offspring than a 1.8 pound fish. And like
with elephant seals, the young of the older larger fish are more
likely to survive.
So how does that improve fishing outside of the protected areas?
SLIDE 6 (How No Take Marine Reserves Work)
While the adults tend to stay in a particular area, offspring will
drift into adjacent areas, increasing the number of fish, which
improves fishing.
SLIDE 7 (state law)
The state of California attempted to take this science into account
in establishing the California Marine Life Protection Act of 1999,
which requires a comprehensive science-based network of
protected areas to foster healthy habitats and improve fishing.
SLIDE 8 (state law)
The plan was to establish a statewide network by 2011. The state
was divided into five study regions, with each region going
through a lengthy process of community meetings involving
stakeholders such as commercial and recreational fishers,
environmentalists, and tour operators along with a science advisory
team, a blue ribbon task force and the California department of fish
and game
Central Coast was the first region to be completed in 2007 – the
North Central Coast was just completed and other areas are in
process except for San Francisco Bay, which is expected to start
late this year.
Quite a bit of controversy – the south coast group submitted 3
proposals.
SLIDE 9 (Central Coast)
This chart shows all the MPA’s along the Central Coast, from
Pigeon Point in San Mateo County to Point Conception in Santa
Barbara County
The areas are spaced to encourage repopulation –
SLIDE 10 (Central Coast)
There are 29 protected areas on the central coast – 13 marine
reserves prohibit fishing, which is 7.5% of the area
14 marine conservation areas limit fishing – 10% of the area
Others of interest to visitors from this area may be the SMCA in
Cambria and the Morro Bay State Marine Recreation Management
Area, where resources may be taken by special permit or license.
Hunting of Brandt is permitted in Morro Bay.
SLIDE 11 (back to Piedras Blancas)
The Piedras Blancas MPAs, were selected for a number of reasons
including the elephant seal rookery, our other marine mammals
and the extensive kelp forest. Offshore a deepwater rocky reef
attracts large forage fish populations and provides shelter for
rockfish
SLIDE 12 (monitoring)
Scientific monitoring to evaluate effectiveness is an important part
of the MPA process
Monitoring includes catch and release fishing and netting, and
observation by submersibles
You may see evidence of monitoring from the bluffs.
SLIDE 13 (interpretation)
When we are on the bluffs talking to our visitors about the elephant
seals, we should take the opportunity to mention the broader
unique marine environment of this area, where marine life and
habitats have been given the opportunity to recover
We recently received a grant from the Monterey Bay Sanctuary
Foundation to provide us with materials so that both our docents
and our visitors can learn more about MPAs. (Packs, notebooks)