Channel Islands Marine Reserves Pay Off
New report shows Southern California fish populations flourish within state-protected areas
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An effort to protect and rejuvenate marine habitats off California's Channel Islands is bearing fruit.
In 2003, the California Department of Fish and Game turned 12 coastal areas around the Channel Islands into marine protected areas and restricted human activity within them. Scientists monitored the waters both inside and outside of the 110-square-mile protected areas since their inception to evaluate their ability to revive California sheephead fish, kelp bass and other species, as well as their impact on commercial and recreational fishing.
So far, the results are promising. In a 5-year period, the numbers of fish and species overall -- including kelp bass, sheephead, lingcod, copper and gopher rockfish and California spiny lobster -- are greater in the protected areas compared to neighboring waters. Scientists have observed that fish and lobsters within the reserves are also physically larger than their counterparts in the surrounding waters. A greater quantity of large, mature lobsters is a good sign for a thriving, reproducing population.
Some rockfishes and other slow-growing species will require 10 to 15 years of monitoring -- not just five -- to find out how they fare in the reserves.
Scientists also monitored changes in human activities. Before the protected areas were created, the number of recreational fishing boat trips had been decreasing steadily. Since 2003, those trips have increased each year, providing a boost to the recreational fishing industry. While many commercial fisheries at the islands saw their profits stay the same after the reserves were in place, or even increase in comparison with the rest of the state, the sea cucumber, sheephead and rockfish fisheries suffered losses after 2003. Further research will help determine if the marine protected areas contributed to those losses, or if environmental factors and market forces drove the declines.
The protected waters include 10 marine reserves and two conservation areas around Channel Islands National Park and Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary. Scientists from the Marine Sciences Institute at the University of California, Santa Barbara and the Partnership for Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans will continue to monitor these marine reserves to understand their benefits over a longer time period.
