Faced with increasing threats to ocean health, Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) have been established on the West Coast to protect and help rebuild depleted near shore marine ecosystems. Partnering with state agencies and academic institutions, MARE has been conducting baseline and long-term monitoring surveys of the deep subtidal portions of California’s MPAs since 2003.
MPA LONG-TERM MONITORING
In an effort to provide the State with information on MPA effectiveness, MARE and California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) previously conducted baseline surveys in MPAs and reference sites statewide. Now that the California MPA network has been in place since 2012, the State is funding MARE and our partners to resampling select sites to determine how MPA protection may have potentially benefited these deep-water ecosystems.
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Working in partnership with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, MARE completed one the most comprehensive deep-water assessments of California’s coastal waters. Looking both inside and outside of MPAs, MARE completed surveys at over 138 sites statewide. The imagery collected during this multi-year assessment builds upon years of surveys completed previously through this long-standing partnership.
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