The protections, which include Malibu’s Point Dume, ban commercial fishing and other activities considered harmful to marine life.
The California Fish and Game Commission on Wednesday adopted regulations to create a new suite of marine protected areas (MPAs) in Southern California. The MPAs include an area off the coast from Point Dume in Malibu.
At a commission meeting in Santa Barbara, the regulations were adopted as part of the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA), which requires California to reexamine and redesign its system of MPAs with the goals to, among other things, increase the effectiveness of MPAs in protecting the state’s marine life and habitats, marine ecosystems and marine natural heritage.
According to a press release from the commission, after gathering recommendations generated through a two-year public planning process, the regulations will create 36 new MPAs encompassing approximately 187 square miles (8 percent) of state waters in the study region. Approximately 116 square miles (4.9 percent) have been designated as no-take state marine reserves (82.5 square miles/3.5 percent) and no-take state marine conservation areas (33.5 square miles/1.4 percent), with the remainder designated as state marine conservation areas with different take allowances and varying levels of protection. In addition to approving the MPA regulations, the Commission also certified the environmental impact report prepared pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act.
The public planning process for the South Coast region, from Point Conception in Santa Barbara County to the California border with Mexico, began in July 2008 and included more than 50 days of meetings with formal public comment held for a 64-member Regional Stakeholder Group, a Science Advisory Team and a Blue Ribbon Task Force appointed by the Secretary of the California Natural Resources Agency. In addition, more than 12,000 written public comments were submitted through the regulatory and environmental review processes to help inform recommendations on south coast region MPAs.
The California Department of Fish and Game, the lead agency charged with managing the state’s marine resources, will be responsible for implementing the MLPA program which will include enforcement, education, monitoring and research activities. The South Coast MPA regulations are anticipated to go into effect in mid 2011 after appropriate filings with the Office of Administrative Law and the Secretary of State.