Now, instead of volunteers handing out brochures at tidepools, shorelines and bays, a lot of information is available online with interactive maps and promoted on social media to help educate more people headed to the shore.Įnforcement has also improved with a dedicated team of wardens keeping watch over the sensitive areas. In the 10 years since the network of MPAs was created, research and monitoring has changed with science and outreach became even more important tool in their success, officials said. It bridges San Diego and Los Angeles counties.” Evolution and enforcement “Laguna was very important to protect because it played a pivotal role.
“In Laguna, we’re seeing a big increase in the number of California sheepshead, kelp bass and lobster,” Wertz said, adding that getting it protected was controversial in the beginning because of the amount of recreational and commercial fishing done in waters near the rocky outcroppings and towering cliffs. At Crystal Cove State Park, the protected area includes more than 3 square miles.Īnd in Laguna Beach, almost the entire coastline is an MPA and includes protection for more than 6 square miles of rocky and sandy habitats, including diverse rocky intertidal and shallow kelp reefs out to depths of more than 1,200 feet. Upper Newport Bay has an upland lagoon habitat with flat and coastal marshland. In Orange County, the Bolsa Chica reserve covers a square mile along Coast Highway in Huntington Beach and includes 1,200 acres of the Bolsa Chica saltwater wetlands. The county also includes MPAs around Catalina Island. Another key area is at Point Vincente in Rancho Palos Verdes at Abalone Cove. Among the most significant MPAs in Los Angeles County at Point Dume in Malibu that features sandy beaches, a rocky shoreline, kelp forests, surfgrass beds and deep submarine canyons.
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