The state of California has created two new marine protected areas and strengthened and expanded two more to conserve coastal waters in the face of U.S. President Donald Trump’s efforts to increase oil drilling off the coast.
“Our ocean is essential to who we are. It’s part of our DNA as Californians,” Governor Gavin Newsom said in a release. “While Donald Trump attempts to roll back decades of environmental protections and open our shoreline to new oil drilling, we’re protecting more of our coast and ocean than ever before. In partnership with California tribes, we’re safeguarding coastal communities, marine life, and ways of life that depend on a healthy ocean.”
The California Fish and Game Commission (CFGC) voted to approve two new marine protected areas 15 October: the Point Sal State Marine Conservation Area and the Mishopshno State Marine Conservation Area. They are the first new marine protected areas to be added to the state’s network in more than a decade.
“A protected area network is only as strong as its willingness to keep adapting. By adding new MPAs a decade after the network was implemented, California is showing the world how a living network is meant to evolve,” Marine Conservation Institute President Lance Morgan said in a release.
They are also the first tribally-nominated marine protected areas to be created by the state, with the Chumash Tribes proposing the additions.
“We are heartened and encouraged by the Fish & Game Commission’s decision to approve our petition to create the Mishopshno Marine Protected Area,” said Kenneth Kahn, Tribal chairman for the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians. “We are grateful to co-petitioners the Natural Resources Defense Council and Environmental Defense Center as well as the Ocean Protection Council for their efforts and support throughout this process. This area has important cultural and spiritual values that deserve to be protected for future generations.”
The Chumash Tribes were also involved with the creation of the federal Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary in 2024 under then-U.S. President Joe Biden. That sanctuary preserved 4,543 square miles of water off the central coast of California. At the time, the Biden administration said NOAA would share management of the marine sanctuary with the Chumash and Salinan Tribes in a “collaborative, co-stewardship framework.”
In addition to the new state marine protected areas, California expanded the Point Dume State Marine Conservation Area to protect more kelp forest off of Malibu and strengthened the Pyramid Point State Marine Conservation Area to protect declining fish populations on the North Coast.
The actions increases the amount of protected coastal waters by 15,000 acres, bringing the total percent of conserved coastal waters in California to 22.2 percent. The state has set a goal to conserve 30 percent of its coastal waters by 2030.
“This is a landmark moment in our work with tribes to protect the ocean and our coast,” California Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot said in a release. “Climate change is heating up the ocean and creating dangerous conditions for sea life and our coastal communities. These new protected areas proposed by tribal partners provide important protections at a critical time.”
