The Ocean Protection Council has awarded $4 million to "support initial monitoring" of the recently designated North Central Coast marine protected areas (MPAs) under Governor Arnold Schwarzengger's widely-contested Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Initiative. Researchers will combine new and historical data, collected inside and outside the MPAs, to document key aspects of the region’s ecological and socioeconomic characteristics before and around the time of their establishment. From this baseline data, they will be able to document initial changes in marine habitats, species, fisheries and recreation that may be associated with new protections. The results of the projects will lay a foundation for future assessments of the effectiveness of the MPAs in meeting the state’s policy goals. Broader ecological, social and economic trends in the region will also be evaluated to distinguish possible effects of the MPAs from other influences on the region’s ecology and coastal use patterns.

For more information about the California Sea Grant program and a list of selected projects and their leaders contact: Christina S. Johnson, California Sea Grant, 858-822-5334, csjohnson@ucsd.edu. To learn why California Fish and Game Wardens think the MLPA is unenforceable, see the 31 January Op-ed in The Sacramento Bee by Jerry Karnow, “Another View: Wardens not staffed for sufficient enforcement”: www.sacbee.com/2010/01/31/2500939/wardens-not-staffed-for-sufficient.html. For a 10 January editorial in the San Francisco Bay Area Independent Media Center by John Lewallen go to: www.indybay.org/newsitems/2010/01/10/18634867.php. For more information on NOAA’s California Sea Grant College Program go to: www.csgc.ucsd.edu. Further information on each of the projects will be available in March on the California Sea Grant website at www.csgc.ucsd.edu.