Welcome to the Bodega Marine Laboratory (BML) and its home, the Bodega Marine Reserve (BMR). Just 65 miles from one of California’s largest urban centers, BML and BMR (part of the statewide UC Natural Reserve System) lie at the heart of one the most pristine, diverse, and productive coastal systems in the world. Choosing the site over 60 years ago for a major northern California marine lab was easy: Bodega Bay is located in one of only four upwelling regions of the world.

Here, cold, nutrient-rich waters seasonally rise to the ocean’s surface and nourish one of the richest and most prolific assemblages of plants and animals in the world’s oceans. Our kelp forests, diverse fisheries, and abundant seabirds and marine mammals represent an ecosystem that defines and sustains the lives of millions of Californians. The status of this stretch of coastline as both a State Marine Protected Area (Bodega Head State Marine Reserve) and its inclusion in the Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary bears witness to its importance to our state and the nation.