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June 2012: California Completes Coastal Protection

1. Past Actions

California’s north coast – from the Oregon border to Mendocino County – now has the same protection afforded to other coastal waters throughout the state: a new network of Marine Protected Areas!

The network, adopted on June 6, 2012 by the California Fish and Game Commission had broad community support. It includes 19 Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), a recreational management area, and seven special closures covering approximately 137 square miles of state waters, which is about 13 percent of this region’s coastal waters.

This decision brings to a close the process to adopt a statewide network of protected areas within California’s 5,285 square miles of open coast state waters.

California now has the largest network in the world – 119 marine protected areas covering approximately 16 percent of all open coast state waters. Around half of these are multiple use areas, with the remaining being no-take zones.

California's landmark Marine Life Protection Act, the first statutory mandate of its kind in the nation, required that California's Marine Protected Areas be designed based on the best available science, with identified goals and objectives, and with the advice and input of stakeholders and experts to create a statewide network.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium is proud to have been a part of this historic achievement and grateful to all of its supporters, members and donors for their support throughout the process.

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