Marine Protected Area

Definition of Marine Protected Areas (MPA)

California state law defines an MPA as a “named discrete geographic area that has been designated by law, administrative action, or voter initiative to protect or conserve marine life and habitat. MPAs are intended to protect or conserve marine life and habitat, and are considered to be a subset of marine managed areas (MMAs). The distinction between the two groups is that all MPAs have specific regulations designed to limit the take of living resources (Dept. Fish and Game).”

The IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature) defines an MPA as “any area of intertidal or subtidal terrain, together with its overlying water and associated flora, fauna, historical and cultural features which has been reserved by law or other effective means to protect all or part of the enclosed environment (IUCN 1988).”

California State Law under the Marine Life Protections Act (MLPA) and the Marine Managed Area Improvement Act recognize the three following types of MPAs in California waters (high tide mark to three miles offshore).

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State Marine Reserve
Prohibits all extractive activities, “no take” area

State Marine Park
Prohibits all commercial extractive activities and potentially some recreational activities

State Marine Conservation Area
Limits recreational and/or commercial extractive activities

MARINE LIFE PROTECTION ACT

A California state law passed in 1999 requires the state to develop a network of Marine Protected Areas that are connected by the waters of California. The process of designating these MPAs is a stakeholder driven, science based process that is currently taking place. For more information visit: www.dfg.ca.gov/mlpa
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[CLICK HERE FOR HISTORY OF LOCAL ORANGE COUNTY MPAs]

MPAs were initialed developed as extensions of terrestrial protected areas, such as the California state park’s system of under water parks. In the past decade MPAs have been recognized as their own independent biosphere, providing an emphasis of protecting ecosystems as a whole. In the face of declining fish and shellfish stocks worldwide it has become apparent that managing resources on an individual species level is no longer reasonable or effective. Ecosystem based management recognizes that ecosystems as a whole needs to be protected as a single natural resource in the effort to maintain biodiversity. Other benefits of MPAs include the protection of critical habitat, the protection of cultural or archeological resources, maintenance of genetic biodiversity, research areas and location for educational activities.

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Although fishery enhancement is not a major objective of all MPAs the available evidence and theoretical considerations strongly suggest that fishery enhancement is a nice side effect of reserves. Recent studies have provided evidence that marine reserves really do allow fish to grow larger and become more abundant and far more reproductively active in places where they are not being killed. It stands to reason that large fish within reserves will eventually swim out of the boundaries of MPAs and larger fish spawn exponentially more eggs than smaller fish. The ecosystem effect of fisheries collapse can be seen in the kelp forest and intertidal areas of the southern California coast. A shift in ecosystem dynamics has been well documented with the loss of keystone predators through out the ages. The most compelling examples include the loss of sea cows during the indigenous era, the loss of sea otters during fur trading, the recent collapse of the red sea urchin fishery, and the reduction in size (physical and population) of the various commercially viable species including but not limited to rockfish species, sheephead, calico bass, yellowtail, and the California spiny lobster.