Credit — Kip Evans

When volunteer anglers aboard the Huli Cat bait a hook trying to catch a rockfish, they’re not just fishing – they’re helping researchers learn more about California’s underwater parks. Recreational fishermen, SCUBA divers, PhD scientists and graduate students are working together to study California’s marine protected areas (MPAs), and results from their studies are being presented this week in Monterey.

Five years ago, California completed its network of MPAs on California’s central coast. This anniversary is being marked with the State of the California Central Coast Symposium, which brings together scientists, resource managers, policy makers, fishermen and conservationists to learn about new findings from dozens of monitoring efforts and discuss perspectives on MPA management.

Early results suggest that the reserves are on track, allowing fish like cabezon and lingcod to grow larger and more abundant inside MPAs, with habitats that are more biologically productive. This, along with steadily increasing revenues for fishermen, is good news for the Central Coast MPAs. However, researchers stress that these first five years of study are meant to create a baseline: a barometer of ecological health against which future MPA performance can be measured. So, how exactly are these reserves being studied? It turns out that monitoring is both sophisticated and wonderfully simple.

One great example of this is Dr. Rick Starr’s California Collaborative Fisheries Research Program (CCFRP), which uses local charter fishing boats to monitor four MPAs. Volunteer anglers from the local fishing community team up with graduate students by fishing for rockfish while painstakingly recording the weight and species of every fish they catch and release. They’ve caught over 40,000 fish in the past five years, and have noted how great the fishing is by the relative abundance of some species inside the MPAs.

Another monitoring project is Reef Check, which teams PhD researchers up with citizen scientists who strap on SCUBA gear to survey shallow and deep rocky habitats, kelp forests, rocky shores, estuaries, beaches and other key ecosystems along the central coast. They monitor ecologically and economically important species of fishes and invertebrates, and human activities including fishing and recreational use.

One consistent theme in these studies is that citizens of the coast are vital to the success of the marine reserves. Volunteers have been involved in scores of monitoring and outreach projects. Citizen science efforts like MPA Watch have trained hundreds of volunteers to monitor beach and coastal use in and around protected areas like Natural Bridges and Año Nuevo.

Save Our Shores’ Dockwalker program is another great example of an organization working with coastal citizens to help the MPAs. The Dockwalker program shares information with boaters and fishermen about MPAs, and conducts ocean protection workshops in local schools. In turn, schools are making visits to the underwater parks part of their outdoor education program, because in addition to enabling kids to watch wildlife in nature, many now feature full-color educational interpretive displays and instructor programs.

From school children looking to learn more about marine life to fishermen looking to catch more fish, California’s new marine protected areas are an investment in the future. By studying them with the assistance of citizen volunteers, we are learning about the full range of benefits they provide to marine ecosystems, and becoming better stewards of these places in the process.

A school of blue tang — NOAA

According to NOAA’s new study on the Tortugas Ecological Reserve, located in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, protecting fish is in everyone’s best interest.

The 151-square nautical mile reserve was established in 2001 to protect overfished species. According to Science Daily, the protections have boosted fish populations, with bigger and more abundant yellowtail, mutton snapper and black and red grouper appearing within the reserve. These results are consistent with findings marine reserves around the world, which find again and again that the size, abundance and diversity of marine life increase inside fully protected marine reserves.

The biggest news for resource managers, however, is the socioeconomic implications. The new study finds that commercial catches of reef fish in the region have increased along with the fish population increases, and that neither commercial nor recreational fishermen have experienced financial loss as a result of the reserve.

Sean Morton, sanctuary superintendent, told Science Daily:

“This research shows that marine reserves and economically viable fishing industries can coexist/ The health of our economy is tied to the health of our oceans. They are not mutually exclusive.”

This is good news for California, where extensive collaboration between commercial and recreational fishermen, divers, scientists and conservationists recently resulted in the completion of a statewide network of marine protected areas, including fully protected reserves. This study provides an encouraging outlook for the ability of marine protected areas to boost fish populations, while also benefitting local fishing communities.

Later this month, a symposium in Monterey, CA will gather scientists, resource managers and stakeholders to share research and baseline monitoring results on the Central Coast marine protected areas that have been in place for five years. We are hopeful that early findings will suggest similar success for both fish and fishermen.

Credit: NOAA

The first month of the year is perhaps the best time to experience California’s ocean at its finest – which is why the 5th Annual Underwater Parks Day on Saturday, January 19th is a great reason to hit the coast and enjoy one of over 100 new underwater parks, which protect entire ecosystems at iconic coastal areas such as La Jolla, Point Reyes, and Point Lobos. To find an event near you, we’ve included a full schedule of events by region linked below.

It’s already been a busy month for California’s new underwater parks. Grey whales are traveling south along the coast to lagoons in Baja, California where they will give birth to calves. Some preemies and their mothers are already showing up off the coast of Los Angeles and San Diego, delighting whale watchers.

Further north, in Piedras Blancas and Año Nuevo State Park’s marine protected areas, male elephant seals are engaging in their spectacular, violent mating rituals, while females are giving birth to a new generation of pups. Friends of the Elephant Seal and Año Nuevo State Park docents offer guided tours of the action to visitors, who should use extreme caution and approach seals only with the assistance of a guide. Can’t make it to the beach to see the action? Check out a slideshow of mothers and their new pups at Año Nuevo.

Stewards of the state’s underwater parks have planned activities and celebrations throughout the California coast at state beaches, aquaria, and nature centers, which are perfect for kids and adults to enjoy a day surrounded by sea life and learn more about the benefits of protecting California’s prime ocean habitats. Before you head out, don’t forget to check out our tips for watching wildlife to make sure everyone (including the animals!) stay safe.

Southern California Events (San Diego to Santa Barbara)
Central California Events (Morro Bay to Santa Cruz)
Northern California Events (San Francisco to Arcata).

Dive in above for a closer look at California’s recently completed statewide network of underwater parks, some of the species they protect, and the people that are enjoying them.

Over 120 new parks now dot the California coast, protecting habitat-rich areas and iconic locations like Point Reyes, La Jolla, Point Lobos, and Fitzgerald Marine Reserve. These parks have the potential to restore abundance to depleted areas, and ensure a healthy ocean full of fish for the future.

Read our in-depth look at the nation’s first statewide network of underwater parks here.

The brand spanking new Double Cone Rock State Marine Conservation Area. Photo Credit: Kip Evans/Ocean Conservancy

Each day, many of us do small things we hope will benefit the ocean. We bring our own coffee mug. We pack our groceries into cloth bags. We wash our cloth napkins in cold water and buy our detergent in bulk. We bring our own to-go containers to the sushi spot – and we always order our fish based on what’s sustainable.

But the ocean is in trouble, and needs more than individual efforts for deepened protection. In California, efforts to restore the state’s depleted fish populations resulted in the Marine Life Protection Act, which passed the legislature back in 1999.

Today, the California network – the first in our nation – finally becomes complete: The North Coast marine protected areas go into effect. From the Oregon border to the Mexican border, the fish, birds, mammals and plants that depend on the dynamic habitats of the California coast now have a series of reserves and conservation areas that will allow their populations to recover where needed and protect them from depletion in the future. Not only is this good for the sea creatures, but a thriving ocean benefits all of California, from the fishermen whose livelihoods depend on healthy fisheries to all aspects of the state’s tourism-dependent economy – people come to California to see the ocean, be awed by the magnificence of migrating whales, explore the glowing tide pools along our beaches, delight in barbecuing lingcod, fresh-caught or bought off the docks.

The Central Coast was finished first in 2007 and includes gems such as Point Arguello, home to tunas and rockfish, and critical for the recovery of southern sea otters. The North Central Coast followed in 2010, establishing greater protection for remarkable places likePoint Reyes, home to 45 percent of North American bird species. South Coast marine protected areas went into effect in 2012, creating safe places for ocean wildlife to thrive in iconic places including Big Sur and La Jolla.

The journey from inception of the Marine Life Protection Act to completion of the state network wasn’t easy, but along the way, we learned. Scientific studies highlighted the importance and success of marine protected areas around the world. Economic analysis helped broker compromise, where necessary, between commercial fishermen and ocean advocates. The state’s relationship with tribal citizens evolved dramatically – particularly in the North Coast, where ensuring historical tribal gathering could continue uninterrupted was a focus of every discussion. Joint efforts between tribal representatives, state elected officials, regional stakeholders and California’s Department of Fish & Game resulted in tribal use being incorporated into marine protected area regulations.

The North Coast is also notable for being the only region where all stakeholders – commercial and recreational fishermen, divers, birders, tribal representatives, conservationists, educators and harbor masters – agreed on a single proposal. Again, along the way, we learned.

The 19 new North Coast underwater parks span from just south of Fort Bragg up to the Oregon border and cover about 13 percent of the region. They include Pyramid Point’s rugged coastline; Point St. George Reef, home to the second largest nesting seabird colony south of Alaska, and waters at the mouth of waterways such as Ten Mile River that are critical for salmon and steelhead populations.

Efforts to solve the ocean’s problems must include the big steps as well as the small – but all matter. Today and in the future, we can celebrate the great achievement of the Marine Life Protection Act by visiting California’s beaches – picnic foods packed in reusable containers, stainless steel water bottles filling our cloth tote bag. And as we relax, we can admire the birds, seals, anemones and other sea life that make our ocean so amazing, and rejoice in the greater protection they’re now provided.

Watch a slide show celebrating California’s new underwater parks.

One of Southern California’s most renowned dive and snorkel sites, La Jolla Cove’s protected area has recently been expanded.

Globally, marine protected areas aren’t new — but they are news! And in California, the first state to adopt a network along its entire coastline, residents and visitors alike are exploring these fabulous ocean parks. Sunset magazine recently took note:

A new park system is being formed—but not where you think. It’s underwater. And in 100 years, this could be viewed the way the establishment of our national parks is seen today. In 2012, California will complete the nation’s first-ever statewide network of marine protected areas, which will preserve kelp forests, reefs, and tidepools in sanctuaries scattered down the coast like a string of pearls, maintaining them for divers and kayakers as well. Iconic spots like Cape Mendocino and the Point Reyes Headlands will get new safeguards, and docents are even being trained to give tours. Other states are catching on too—and we hope this means our entire coast will be protected in the years to come.

Download the Sunset Magazine PDF here.

Credit: NOAA

The evening was picture-perfect, a California postcard. There I stood, glass of wine in hand, on a deck at the Santa Cruz Yacht harbor gazing out over a glassy Pacific Ocean.

About 40 local activists from around the Monterey Bay region, including myself, had come together to commemorate and celebrate the 20^th anniversary of the establishment of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.

For those who have lived along California’s Central Coast for many years, the genesis story of the Monterey Bay Sanctuary is familiar. It has taken on a mythological aspect over time – complete with heroes and villains, plot twists and 11^th hour political wheeling and dealing.

Following a classic story arc, the history of the Monterey Bay Sanctuary starts with a terrible disaster, progresses through ups and downs, and culminates with a victorious, happy ending.

In 1969, an oil drilling platform six miles off the Santa Barbara coast blew out, fouling the coast with tens of thousands of barrels of crude oil. Dramatic images of oil-soaked seabirds and marine mammals dominated the evening news, resulting in public outrage that helped launch the environmental movement of the 1970s — including efforts to prohibit new oil drilling along the California coast and beyond.

In 1988, Ocean Conservancy (then the Center for Marine Conservation) and Santa Cruz-based Save Our Shores founded a conservation coalition with the goal of creating a national marine sanctuary at Monterey Bay to provide permanent protection from oil drilling. Local communities throughout the Central Coast joined in the effort; cities and counties as well as local, state and federal elected officials all got on board.

In 1992, Congressman Leon Panetta (now Secretary of Defense) secured congressional approval for a marine sanctuary at Monterey Bay. Conservationists and elected officials from the region supported a sanctuary boundary stretching from Cambria in San Luis Obispo County all the way to Point Reyes in Marin County — over 250 miles of coast.

Meanwhile, President George H. W. Bush was facing a fierce re-election fight with polls showing him trailing his opponent, Bill Clinton. Bush needed California to win, and he needed Independents and moderate Republican voters to win California.

Coastal protection has always been a bipartisan value in California, and in 1992, the Exxon Valdez tanker spill was still very much in the public eye. Banking on this fact, the White House announced that the federal government would implement the extended boundary for Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, making it the largest of all the marine sanctuaries in U.S. waters.

Bush’s bold move to establish the sanctuary didn’t win him the election, but it was a lasting victory for the California coast. With California’s adoption of the first statewide network of marine protected areas earlier this year, the state continues to improve protection for ocean habitat and wildlife.

And that’s certainly a piece of history worth a celebratory toast.