Marine Life Protection On The North Coast: Balancing Conservation, Economics And Culture

 Photo courtesy of Arcata Photo Studio

Since its initial 1999 passage, the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) hasn’t had much rest – especially these past few months. The Marine Life Protection Act requires improving California’s existing hodge-podge of tiny underwater parks with a science-based system of marine protected areas (MPAs) designed to protect ocean habitat and biodiversity.  

The law is being implemented on a regional basis and new protections have already been developed or adopted between Point Arena and Mexico. The North Coast Planning effort is just getting underway.  

A North Coast Science Advisory Team, which includes local experts Dawn Goley, Eric Bjorkstedt, Dave Hankin, Ron LeValley and Craig Strong, has been meeting with a Blue Ribbon Task Force to discuss regional needs.

The Blue Ribbon Task Force includes three new members to represent our local issues: Humboldt County Supervisor Jimmy Smith, former North Coast Assemblymember Virginia Strom-Martin, and Roberta Cordero a lawyer/mediator and co-founder of the Chumash Maritime Association.

External marine protected area plans were due on February 1. Members of the Regional Stakeholder Group (RSG) – the local folks charged with designing marine protected areas– were chosen from a field of 80 nominees to include sport and commercial fishermen, Tribes, seaweed harvesters, and conservationists from all three counties. View the complete list of members here.

A New Way Of Doing Things

On the North Coast, efforts to find the balance between the economic benefits of resource extraction and the need for environmental protection dominate our recent history. The MLPA raises economic, social and cultural and environmental issues similar to those during the timber wars. But this time, many local stakeholders hope to evade polarization and transcend politics as usual by working together to develop solutions.  

In response to requests for increased local input, a new step was added to the marine protected area planning process, providing an opportunity for the North Coast community to develop their own marine protected area proposals in advance.

Many North Coast residents and interest groups took advantage of the opportunity to develop marine protected area designs.  

These local folks participated in a Tri-County Working Group, a collective of environmentalists, fishermen, kayakers, divers, seaweed harvesters and other ocean enthusiasts. They worked closely together over the winter months to develop an MPA proposal that will hopefully provide a solid starting point for the Stakeholder Group.

Each county (Del Norte, Humboldt, Mendocino) requested and received grant funding from the Resource Legacy Fund Foundation to facilitate idea sharing among stakeholders both prior to and during the official process. In Humboldt, the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District is the organizing agency. Marine Ecologist Pete Nelson evaluated proposed MPAs and HSU professor Betsy Watson facilitated the meetings.

The Harbor District also recently received a Headwaters Fund grant to be used toward assessing potential economic impact associated with the creation of marine protected areas. In addition to the MLPA staff contract with economic consulting firm Ecotrust to develop and analyze extensive data related to commercial and recreational fishing, the Harbor District will contract with Impact Assessment, Inc. to understand possible “beyond the dock” implications of proposed marine protected areas.

Tribal Issues

The customary uses, including subsistence, cultural, and ceremonial activities of indigenous people were not recognized or included in the Marine Life Protection Act.

On the North Coast, the need to rectify this flaw has become particularly clear: citizens of our many indigenous Tribes have worked to educate MLPA Initiative staff, as well as Blue Ribbon Task Force members and the Science Advisory Team about the need to acknowledge these Tribal customary uses and ensure they are not infringed upon in any way.

Support for the Tribes has been universal among the North Coast community working on MLPA issues. A speedy, acceptable resolution is hoped for – a lack of resolution will threaten the North Coast MLPA process.

 Special places

Sometimes the seemingly endless acronyms and jargon obscures what’s really at stake with the Marine Life Protection Act: our ocean, the great Pacific. Inspiration for a thousand iconic California images, crucial to our earth’s survival and yet only a small percentage of our sea is protected.

The task of the North Coast Regional Stakeholder Group will be to find the right balance between improving marine protected areas to preserve ocean habitats and wildlife, and avoiding favored fishing spots to prevent harm to the fishing and seaweed harvest industries.

Some locations being discussed as possible marine protected areas are Pyramid Point, False Klamath Cove, Reading Rock, Patrick’s Point, Punta Gorda, Usal and Point Cabrillo.

These areas all offer valuable habitat for sea life, including birds and mammals, plus other features that make them worthy of special protection. False Klamath Cove, for example, hosts some of the region’s most extensive seabird colonies, as well as tidepools that offer important protection for young rockfish.

False Klamath Cove in Del Norte County, just north of the town of Klamath, hosts one of the areas’ most extensive seabird colonies, and being considered for designation as a Marine Protected Area. Photo: ECONEWS archives.

Get Involved

Stakeholders expect to receive input from the public, and public comment is invited at all upcoming meetings.
Click here for dates and locations.
Written comments are also accepted throughout the entire planning effort.
Sign up for the mailing list here.


Provide Feedback To MLPA Initiative Staff
Email:  MLPAComments@resources.ca.gov.
Call: (916) 654-1885.

Mail: Marine Life Protection Act Initiative
c/o California Natural Resources Agency
1416 Ninth Street, Suite 1311
Sacramento, CA 95814
For more information, visit CalOceans.org

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