California Creates Channel Islands Marine Reserves

SANTA BARBARA, California, October 24, 2002 (ENS) - A California commission has voted to create the largest system of marine reserves off the U.S. west coast. Effective January 1, 2003, the decision sets aside 132 square nautical miles (175 square miles) within the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary in 13 separate areas where most or all fishing will not be allowed.

The vote by the California Fish and Game Commission to establish no fishing zones is aimed at helping to reverse the alarming drop over the past decade in the population of several marine species that were once plentiful off the California coast, including red snapper, angel sharks and abalone.

The view from Inspiration Point on Anacapa Island, looking west toward West Anacapa Island. (Photo courtesy National Park Service)

Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary sits at the junction of warm and cold ocean streams, offering a unique marine environment that provides exceptional habitat and breeding areas for many aquatic creatures, including more than 20 threatened or endangered species.

The Sanctuary covers a total of 1,500 square miles (3,885 square kilometers) off the coast of Santa Barbara. Before Tuesday's vote, just one percent of the Channel Islands area was off limits to all fishing.

The new marine reserves cover about 19 percent of the state waters surrounding the five islands that form the Channel Islands Sanctuary: Anacapa, Santa Cruz, San Miguel, Santa Rosa and Santa Barbara Islands.

Kayaks, like these at Bechers Bay on Santa Rosa Island, will still be allowed within the new reserves. (Photo courtesy National Park Service)

The plan for a network of reserves - also known as Marine Protected Areas - was first proposed in 1998 by a group of sportsfishers. In response, the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) and the Sanctuary launched a process that drew upon a group of stakeholders known as the Marine Reserves Working Group that developed a range of approaches to address the problem.

The stakeholder group included representatives from fishing groups, kelp harvesters, academia, environmental groups, and state and federal government officials. An independent blue ribbon panel of experts advised the Working Group, eventually recommending that between 30 percent and 50 percent of the sanctuary's waters be closed to fishing.

Four large public forums were also held to receive public input. More than 9,000 public comments were received, with the majority supporting a reserve network in the Channel Islands.

Research has shown that commercial and sport fisheries report greater catches of larger fish near marine reserves that include no take zones. Fish that breed within the sanctuaries help to seed nearby areas with healthy fish, studies indicate.

Sunrise over Smugglers Cove on Santa Cruz Island, reveals several fishing boats. (Photo courtesy National Park Service)

The 175 square miles of protected areas around the Channel Islands are the nation's third largest marine reserve, behind the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary and the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.

The planned next phase of the California project would expand the network of reserves into federal waters - those lying beyond the three mile boundary of state water that encircle each island. The full system of marine reserves would cover 322 nautical miles (426 square miles), and if adopted by the federal government, would make California the home of the largest network of marine reserves in the continental United States.

Next year, the California DFG will be looking at creating additional marine reserves and no fishing zones along much of the state's 1,150 mile coastline. The projects are part of an ecosystem wide strategy of protecting critical habitat for breeding fish and other sea life, called for by the state's 1999 Marine Life Protection Act.

But the DFG will also need to look at the economic impacts of proposed fishing closures. According to an analysis ordered by the California Fish and Game Commission, the new Channel Islands reserve could result in losses of $3 million per year for commercial fishers, and up to $6 million a year for sport fishing and dive boat owners.

Gazing upward in a giant kelp forest in the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary. (Photo courtesy National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)

Commissioner Bob Hattoy, one of two members of the five member commission to vote in favor of the final proposal, told the fishers he believed "there is more than enough science to show that the Channel Islands need to be protected."

"Some of you will call me wrong," he told the audience. "But I think your grandchildren will call me right."

Hattoy and Commissioner Sam Schuchat, both appointed by Governor Davis, voted in favor of the new reserves, with Mike Chrisman, appointed by former Governor Pete Wilson, casting the only no vote. The remaining two commissioners were not present for the vote.

The Channel Islands reserves will include about 19 percent of the state waters surrounding the five islands that comprise the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary. (Map courtesy Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary)