SECTIONS 36600-36620 - California Statutes

PUBLIC RESOURCES CODE

SECTION 36600-36620

36600. This chapter shall be known, and may be cited, as the Marine
Managed Areas Improvement Act.

36601. (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(1) California's extraordinary ocean and coastal resources provide
a vital asset to the state and nation. These resources are important
to public health and well-being, ecological health, and
ocean-dependent industries.
(2) The ocean ecosystem is inextricably connected to the land,
with coastal development, water pollution, and other human activities
threatening the health of marine habitat and the biological
diversity found in California's ocean waters. New technologies and
demands have encouraged the expansion of fishing and other activities
to formerly inaccessible marine areas that once recharged nearby
fisheries. As a result, ecosystems throughout the state's ocean
waters are being altered, often at a rapid rate.
(3) California's marine managed areas (MMAs), such as refuges,
reserves, and state reserves, are one of many tools for resource
managers to use for protecting, conserving, and managing the state's
valuable marine resources. MMAs can offer many benefits, including
protecting habitats, species, cultural resources, and water quality;
enhancing recreational opportunities; and contributing to the economy
through such things as increased tourism and property values. MMAs
may also benefit fisheries management by protecting representative
habitats and reducing extractive uses.
(4) The array of state MMAs in California is the result of over 50
years of designations through legislative, administrative, and
statewide ballot initiative actions, which has led to 18
classifications and subclassifications of these areas.
(5) A State Interagency Marine Managed Areas Workgroup was
convened by the Resources Agency to address this issue, bringing
together for the first time all of the state agencies with
jurisdiction over these areas. This group's report indicates that
California's state MMAs have evolved on a case-by-case basis, without
conforming to any plan for establishing MMAs in the most effective
way or in a manner which ensures that the most representative or
unique areas of the ocean and coastal environment are included.
(6) The report further states that California's MMAs do not
comprise an organized system, as the individual sites are not
designated, classified, or managed in a systematic manner. Many of
these areas lack clearly defined purposes, effective management
measures, and enforcement.
(7) To some, this array of MMAs creates the illusion of a
comprehensive system of management, while in reality, it falls short
of its potential to protect, conserve, and manage natural, cultural,
and recreational resources along the California coast. Without a
properly designed and coordinated system of MMAs, it is difficult for
agencies to meet management objectives, such as maintaining
biodiversity, providing education and outreach, and protecting marine
resources.
(8) Agency personnel and the public are often confused about the
laws, rules, and regulations that apply to MMAs, especially those
adjacent to a terrestrial area set aside for management purposes.
Lack of clarity about the manner in which the set of laws, rules, and
regulations for the array of MMAs interface and complement each
other limits public and resource managers' ability to understand and
apply the regulatory structure.
(9) Designation of sites and subsequent adoption of regulations
often occur without adequate consideration being given to overall
classification goals and objectives. This has contributed to
fragmented management, poor compliance with regulations, and a lack
of effective enforcement.
(10) Education and outreach related to state MMAs is limited and
responsibility for these activities is distributed across many state
agencies. These factors hamper the distribution of information to the
public regarding the benefits of MMAs and the role they can play in
protecting ocean and coastal resources.
(11) There are few coordinated efforts to identify opportunities
for public/private partnerships or public stewardship of MMAs or to
provide access to general information and data about ocean and
coastal resources within California's MMAs.
(12) Ocean and coastal scientists and managers generally know far
less about the natural systems they work with than their terrestrial
counterparts. Understanding natural and human-induced factors that
affect ocean ecosystem health, including MMAs, is fundamental to the
process of developing sound management policies.
(13) Research in California's MMAs can provide managers with a
wealth of knowledge regarding habitat functions and values, species
diversity, and complex physical, biological, chemical, and
socioeconomic processes that affect the health of marine ecosystems.
That information can be useful in determining the effectiveness of
particular sites or classifications in achieving stated goals.
(b) With the single exception of state estuaries, it is the intent
of the Legislature that the classifications currently available for
use in the marine and estuarine environments of the state shall cease
to be used and that a new classification system shall be
established, with a mission, statement of objectives, clearly defined
designation guidelines, specific classification goals, and a more
scientifically-based process for designating sites and determining
their effectiveness. The existing classifications may continue to be
used for the terrestrial and freshwater environments of the state.
(c) Due to the interrelationship between land and sea, benefits
can be gained from siting a portion of the state's marine managed
areas adjacent to, or in close proximity to, terrestrial protected
areas. To maximize the benefits that can be gained from having
connected protected areas, whenever an MMA is adjacent to a
terrestrial protected area, the managing agencies shall coordinate
their activities to the greatest extent possible to achieve the
objectives of both areas.

36602. The following definitions govern the construction of this
chapter:
(a) "Committee" is the State Interagency Coordinating Committee
established pursuant to Section 36800.
(b) "Designating entity" is the Fish and Game Commission, State
Park and Recreation Commission, or State Water Resources Control
Board, each of which has the authority to designate specified state
marine managed areas.
(c) "Managing agency" is the Department of Fish and Game or the
Department of Parks and Recreation, each of which has the authority
to manage specified state marine managed areas.
(d) "Marine managed area" (MMA) is a named, discrete geographic
marine or estuarine area along the California coast designated by law
or administrative action, and intended to protect, conserve, or
otherwise manage a variety of resources and their uses. The resources
and uses may include, but are not limited to, living marine
resources and their habitats, scenic views, water quality,
recreational values, and cultural or geological resources. General
areas that are administratively established for recreational or
commercial fishing restrictions, such as seasonal or geographic
closures or size limits, are not included in this definition. MMAs
include the following classifications:
(1) State marine reserve, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section
36700.
(2) State marine park, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section
36700.
(3) State marine conservation area, as defined in subdivision (c)
of Section 36700.
(4) State marine cultural preservation area, as defined in
subdivision (d) of Section 36700.
(5) State marine recreational management area, as defined in
subdivision (e) of Section 36700.
(6) State water quality protection areas, as defined in
subdivision (f) of Section 36700.
(e) "Marine protected area" (MPA), consistent with the Marine Life
Protection Act (Chapter 10.5 (commencing with Section 2850) of
Division 3 of the Fish and Game Code) is a named, discrete geographic
marine or estuarine area seaward of the mean high tide line or the
mouth of a coastal river, including any area of intertidal or
subtidal terrain, together with its overlying water and associated
flora and fauna that has been designated by law or administrative
action to protect or conserve marine life and habitat. MPAs are
primarily intended to protect or conserve marine life and habitat,
and are therefore a subset of marine managed areas (MMAs). MPAs
include the following classifications:
(1) State marine reserve, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section
36700.
(2) State marine park, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section
36700.
(3) State marine conservation area, as defined in subdivision (c)
of Section 36700.

36620. The mission of the state MMA system is to ensure the
long-term ecological viability and biological productivity of marine
and estuarine ecosystems and to preserve cultural resources in the
coastal sea, in recognition of their intrinsic value and for the
benefit of current and future generations. In support of this
mission, the Legislature finds and declares that there is a need to
reexamine and redesign California's array of MMAs, to establish and
manage a system using science and clear public policy directives to
achieve all of the following objectives:
(a) Conserve representative or outstanding examples of marine and
estuarine habitats, biodiversity, ecosystems, and significant natural
and cultural features or sites.
(b) Support and promote marine and estuarine research, education,
and science-based management.
(c) Help ensure sustainable uses of marine and estuarine
resources.
(d) Provide and enhance opportunities for public enjoyment of
natural and cultural marine and estuarine resources.