California designates new Marine Protected Areas

The California Department of Fish and Game has created a new network of state-designated Marine Protected Areas, as Tony Barboza reported today in the Los Angeles Times. This action, controversial because of its restrictions on fishing in the protected areas, begins to fulfill the promise of California’s decade-old Marine Life Protection Act.  As this detailed map of the new reserves shows, the new reserves are in Southern California, and many of them are located off the Channel Islands.

California coast, California Department of Fish and Game, Channel Islands, Marine Life Protection Act, marine protected areas, MLPA