Marine Protected Areas
Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are discreet areas that receive protection from human activity that helps enhance biodiversity, promote resilient ecosystems, and provide benefits to society. In a fisheries context, certain MPAs can restrict access. These restrictions can be permanent throughout the year, or only apply during particular seasons. Both state and federal authorities have implemented MPAs.
California manages a network of MPA areas providing different levels of protection. State Marine Reserves prohibit taking all marine resources, while No-Take State Marine Conservation Areas do the same, but some exceptions can exist. State Marine Conservation Areas may allow some recreational and commercial harvesting of marine resources. Finally, a State Marine Park allows some recreational take but not commercial. Recent research suggests that generally, the biomass of species targeted by fishing was positively associated with the level of regulatory protection and was greater inside no-take MPAs, whereas species not targeted by fishing had similar biomass in MPAs and areas open to fishing. California MPAs do not protect marine species from water pollution, sea level rise, or ocean acidification associated with climate change.
In 2000, federal managers implemented MPAs in federal waters to reduce overfishing of several rockfish species. These MPAs were essentially depth-based areas closed to fishing with certain gear types where the specific overfished rockfish species occurred. The restriction of certain gears was successful, such that the MPA measures effectively rebuilt nine of the ten overfished species with only yelloweye rockfish still currently managed under a rebuilding plan. Beginning in 2024, fishery managers reopened many of the closed areas, although some areas remain closed to protect vulnerable fish species and critical groundfish habitats such as rocky reefs, corals, and sponges.
Permanent no-take MPAs are controversial when they affect fishermen, as many believe there are more effective ways to regulate them, and question their effectiveness in preserving ecosystem health. One of their drawbacks is that they do not reduce fishing effort but only move the fishing pressure somewhere else. However, when other forms of fisheries management are not possible, as is true of many third-world countries, MPAs can benefit biodiversity and fisheries when serious overfishing is occurring, as well as benefit tourist sites and as reference sites for sedentary species. Overfished species that need MPA protection are not an issue in this region for San Diego fishermen.
Considering this, it’s important to remember the intrinsic value of small scale fisheries and why they also need to be protected. Small scale fisheries are a vital part of coastal communities in:
- Allowing for sustainable harvest of seafood
- Maintaining waterfront culture and history
- Securing the food chain and providing fresh seafood to local community and surrounding areas
- Providing jobs and supporting local maritime businesses
- Contributing data for fisheries management and scientific purposes
- Reducing carbon footprint by sourcing locally instead of from overseas