Central Coast National Marine Sanctuary Possibilities
The designation of new marine sanctuaries and the expansion of existing sanctuaries is gaining importance, as discussed at the 2011 Sanctuary Advisory Council Summit.
•The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is being asked by many communities to consider the addition of new sanctuaries to the existing system.
•The office of National Marine Sanctuaries (ONMS) is being asked to increase its GIS capabilities and continue to work with partners, communities, etc. to identify and evaluate potential new sanctuaries and address sanctuary boundary expansions.
•The Sanctuary Advisory Councils (SAC) chairs/representatives recognize that it is time to look at potential new sanctuaries by asking NOAA to reactivate the Site Evaluation List (SEL) and to consider possible sanctuary expansions.
As environmental groups and the public work together, we learn how important our coastal waters are to our economy. "From restaurants and hotels, to aquariums and kayak operators, the success of many businesses, millions of dollars in sales and thousands of jobs, directly depend on thriving national marine sanctuaries." (The National Marine Sanctuaries Socioeconomics Fact Sheet)
Dr. Linwood Pendleton, Acting Chief Economist, NOAA states: "I believe national marine sanctuaries are an essential part of the ocean infrastructure and one of our best hopes of making sure the ocean economy we have grown to depend on is sustainable and productive for generations to come." Coastal habitats need to be preserved for their ecosystem health, sustainable fishing, and our coastal and state economies.
Three previous marine sanctuary articles describe the California Central Coast's significant core areas that deserve marine sanctuary designation and protection.
In a marine sanctuary, a core area is usually an internationally or nationally significant oceanographic and or ecological unit that needs primary protection and becomes the central focus of a sanctuary. Vital ecosystems supporting significant marine life are clear candidates for protection. Nationally significant historical and cultural features are also nominated for protection. For example, within our proposed area of expansion, Chumash underwater archaeological sites could qualify for core area designation. Within this proposed expansion area, there are several core areas.
*Includes an internationally and nationally significant persistent nutrient-rich upwelling passing through the Arguello Canyon and rising between Point Sal and Point Conception (one of six known world-wide)
* Includes the Santa Lucia Bank, a cetaceous uplift block to within 400 meters of the surface
* Includes the five-fingered Arguello Canyon,running NE-SW to a depth of 3000 meters
* Contains a vast array of marine life: benthic (deep water) community of world-wide significance, simultaneous gathering of 13 whale and porpoise species, and large numbers of birds and fish
** feeds the web of life in both the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary and the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary
Core area one between Point Conception and Point Sal. The only persistent upwelling along California Coast
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 Santa Lucia Bank, Santa Lucia Escarpment, Arguello Canyon
and the Persistent Upwelling between Point Conception and Point Sal
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Core Areas 2, 3, and 4 of the Proposed Marine Sanctuary Expansion
(See Slo Coast Journal - October 2010)
*Significant California kelp forests
*Significant portion of the California sea otter range
*World-class fish diversity and densities in rocky intertidal regions
*Large numbers of pinnipeds,including a significant percentage of harbor seals and sea lions
*Marine life spawning areas and rookeries
*Fish nurseries
*Whale migration lanes and foraging areas
*Chumash archaeological sites continuously occupied between 8,000 and 10,000 or more years.
CORE AREA 2: POINT CONCEPTION to POINT HONDA
Kelp Forests, Wetlands, Endemic Flora, Birds and Sea Mammals, Haulouts,
Significant Chumash Archaeological Sites and Historic Major Ship Wrecks, and a County Beach
CORE AREA 3: POINT SAL to NIPOMO DUNES COAST (MAP-Core Area 3)
National Natural Landmark, Largest California Coastal Dunes Complex, Wetlands, Endemic Flora,
Birds and Sea Mammals, Haulouts
CORE AREA 4: NORTH SAN LUIS BAY INTERTIDAL CORE AREA (MAP-Core Area 4)
Kelp Forests, Haulouts, Rookeries, Birds and Sea Mammals, Southernmost Major Sea Otter ClusteR
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Core Areas 5 and 6 of the Proposed Marine Sanctuary Expansion
(See: Slo Coast Journal.com - November 2010)
Coastal and Nearshore Core Areas from Point San Luis to Santa Rosa Creek
*Significant California kelp forests
*Significant portion of the California sea otter range
*World-class fish diversity and densities in rocky intertidal regions
*Morro Bay National Estuary
*Large numbers of pinnipeds,including a significant percentage of harbor seals and sea lions
*Marine life spawning areas and rookeries
*Fish nurseries
*Whale migration lanes and foraging areas
*Chumash archaeological sites continuously occupied between 8,000 and 10,000 or more years.
Core Area 5: Point San Luis to Morro Bay
Core Area 6: Northern Estero Bay Intertidal Core Area
Heritage Fishing Area Map
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The Sierra Club is campaigning to create resilient habitats where plants, animals, and people can thrive on a warmer planet. It is focusing on California’s coastal marine ecosystems and supporting sanctuary designation for our San Luis Obispo coastal waters between the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary (CINMS) and the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (MBNMS).Andrew Christie, Director of the Santa Lucia Chapter of the Sierra Club, describes this sanctuary effort:
Stars are Aligning to Win National Marine Sanctuary Status for CA Central Coast
By Andrew Christie
The 14 national marine sanctuaries in the United States celebrate and safe-guard the nation’s richest underwater treasures. National marine sanctuaries are aquatic environments that are notable for their biodiversity and cultural history, and that ensure proper management of activities like fishing, whale watching, beach combing, and tide pooling. This classification ensures that these areas, activities and wildlife remain part of our country’s legacy far into the future.
In 1992, Congress debated the creation of both a Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary and a Central Coast National Marine Sanctuary. Local activists championed the nationally significant oceanographic, geological, biological and archaeological qualifications of Central Coast waters for sanctuary status. The Central Coast is a major rookery for migratory birds,contains the most significant wetland system in the area, rocky inter-tidal zones, major sea otter and coral communities, is a designated natural landmark containing the highest coastal dunes in the state, and three seasonal whale and porpoise feeding areas — clearly as deserving as Monterey Bay for sanctuary status.
But Congress drew a line in the ocean just south of San Simeon, decreeing 276 miles of shoreline and 6,094 square miles of ocean to the north of that line, from Cambria to the Marin Headlands, to be a national marine sanctuary, and the waters to the south to be out of luck.
Ever since, Monterey and Santa Cruz have reaped the benefits of national sanctuary status, including ocean tourism, federal marine research dollars, and a higher level of protection from marine pollutants. Despite years of effort by activists and local residents, San Luis Obispo has yet to win extension of those benefits to the Central Coast.
As a result, when San Joaquin Valley agricultural operations proposed to dispose of their toxic wastewater off the coast, the Bureau of Reclamation targeted Estero Bay for the dumping. When offshore oil drilling was proposed,
San Luis Obispo coastal waters were in the cross-hairs. If San Luis Obispo is reclassified as a National Marine Sanctuary, its valuable wildlife will no longer need worry about these man-made threats.
The California Coast Resilient Habitats Campaign wants to give the waters of San Louis Obispo the classification it deserves. Ideally, the CCRHC wants this area declared its own Central Coast National Marine Sanctuary, but extending the border of Monterey Bay NMS or the Channel Islands NMS in either direction are viable options for protecting this stretch of valuable aquatic life. the We want to finish unfinished business of 1992, help us win rights for this invaluable resource.
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There are two general possibilities for the designation of a Central Coast National Marine Sanctuary:
First: The Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary (CINMS) and/or the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (MBNMS) could expand into the San Luis Obispo coastal waters.
Second: NOAA needs to reauthorize the National Marine Sanctuaries Site Evaluation List (SEL), and the San Luis Obispo coastal waters needs to be one of the locations for consideration on the SEL.
Without sanctuary designation and protection, the California central coastal waters the residents and tourists value and take for granted could by diminished and destroyed.
This map shows the proposed possible expansions of the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary (CINMS) and/or the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (MBNMS)to include the coastal waters of SLO County.
Banner Image of Otter & Pup by Cleve Nash |
