Good news for all who care about healthy coastal marine ecosystems! 

     In an important step toward fulfilling California’s far-reaching Marine Life Protection Act, more than 85 square miles of waters along the state’s northern coast have been designated marine protected areas.  The Act, the first of its kind in the country, requires California to establish a system of marine protected areas all along its coastline.   Waters in the northern and southern ends of the state have already been set aside under the Act, and protected status will be in place for areas all along California’s 1,100 mile coastline in 2011.  The protections will not interfere with fishing along close to 90% of the state’s coast.

     The recent step protects such special north central California sites as Point Reyes Headlands, the Farallon Islands, and Bodega Head. 

     “The Marine Life Protection Act allows us to create a legacy of healthy, resilient oceans for our kids and grandkids,” says Karen Garrison of the Natural Resources Defense Council.  Scientists who have researched marine reserves in the Channel Islands and the Great Barrier Reef report that such reserves benefit fishermen as well as fish.  

     The new marine protected areas will be monitored by scientists as part of the most comprehensive study ever undertaken of California’s coastal ocean.–April Moore

Point Reyes Headland

Farallon Islands

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 29th, 2010 at 11:37 am and is filed under Good news for Mother Earth!. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.