2023-15MPA

Submitted by: Blake Hermann

Summary: Reclassify three State Marine Reserves (Footprint SMR, Gull Island SMR, Santa Barbara Island SMR) in the Northern Channel Islands as SMCAs and allow either limited take of highly migratory species and possession of coastal pelagic species, or allow take of pelagic finfish through one of four options.

A legend for the maps that follow, where State Marine Reserves are shown in red, no-take State Marine Conservation Areas or SMCAs are shown in purple, SMCAs are shown in blue, State Marine Recreational Management Areas are shown in green, and Special Closures are shown in pink.

Use the slider in the image below to visualize the proposed designation changes.

A slider-controlled map showing the existing MPA network on the left and the proposed change on the right. The map is centered around the northeastern portion of the Channel Islands off the coast of Ventura County in southern California. On the left, existing MPAs are shown with Gull Island SMR, Footprint SMR, and Santa Barbara Island SMR highlighted. On the right, the network is again shown, but these three MPAs are symbolized in blue with a crosshatch design to signify the proposal to change their designation to SMCA.
A slider-controlled map showing the existing MPA network on the left and the proposed change on the right. The map is centered around the northeastern portion of the Channel Islands off the coast of Ventura County in southern California. On the left, existing MPAs are shown with Gull Island SMR, Footprint SMR, and Santa Barbara Island SMR highlighted. On the right, the network is again shown, but these three MPAs are symbolized in blue with a crosshatch design to signify the proposal to change their designation to SMCA.