A 10-year review of California's controversial marine protected areas opens the door for debate over whether conservation efforts are working and if boundaries should change
On a hot August morning, more than a dozen volunteer anglers and researchers boarded the Sea Star in Oceanside as a deckhand sliced squid for bait in preparation for an all-day fishing trip where very few get to dip their hooks — inside Swami’s State Marine Conservation Area.
The idea behind an MPA is to leave it untouched so it can replenish naturally. The size of both the individual fish and the population as a whole should grow and eventually result in spillover, meaning marine life exceed the capacity of that area and move out to adjacent populations. There is also an opportunity for growth in habitat that will help combat the effects of climate change.
Early on in the excursion, a brown rockfish was captured with a tag from a previous trip. Elstner became enthusiastic and smiled as he tried to see the age of the tag. “But the early information is showing that it is working,” he said. “It just kind of takes time to be definitive.” The public has until November to petition for what else should be included in these recommendations or suggest changes.
One group, the San Diego MPA Collaborative, has discussed recommending changes in boundaries to the Batiquitos Lagoon, the Swami’s State Marine Conservation Area, San Elijo Lagoon and San Dieguito Lagoon, according to notes from a June 26 meeting reviewed by the Union-Tribune. There wasn’t a consensus on expanding the boundaries but there was more of an agreement to possibly align names to give clarity.
“You will never catch anybody saying is the plan, only because I think people have PTSD from the creation of MPAs and knowing that it led to such bad blood and lots of fighting between these different user groups,” said Lisa Gilfillan, ocean conservation manager for WILDCOAST. “... All they’re saying right now is that they’re considering turning maybe some of the state marine conservation areas into more like state marine reserves.
Similar research excursions have resulted in nearly 4,000 fish, across 42 species, caught in San Diego marine protected area sampling sites from 2017 to 2022. Jeffrey Gunther, 78, who has been on three of the trips thus far, remains far more dubious. He said fishing has not been better in the protected areas compared to elsewhere.
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