{"id":272524,"date":"2026-04-17T12:20:23","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T12:20:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/272524\/"},"modified":"2026-04-17T12:20:23","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T12:20:23","slug":"five-unique-la-cafes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/272524\/","title":{"rendered":"Five unique LA caf\u00e9s"},"content":{"rendered":"

More than a decade after California began setting aside patches of ocean for conservation, change could be coming to its marine protected areas<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The state is considering a variety of changes to the network \u2014 a few proposals shrink those areas or remove certain protections, while most propose expanding existing protected areas or adding new ones. The levels of protection can range from a total ban on commercial fishing and certain recreational activities, to highly limited allowances. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife is in the process of reviewing dozens of proposals<\/a> from tribes, environmental groups, the fishing industry and other stakeholders.<\/p>\n

The discussion comes amid escalating pressures on our ocean \u2014 from plastic pollution and offshore energy efforts to rapidly warming temperatures that have, in recent years, led to some of the worst mass dieoffs of marine life ever seen.<\/p>\n

So far, the department has recommended denying<\/a> all 10 of the non-tribal proposals. They have yet to release their recommendations for the five remaining petitions from tribes, including a new protected area proposed<\/a> by the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians that would encompass about 9 square miles off the coast of Santa Barbara.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, the decision on whether to approve or deny the petitions lies with the five governor-appointed members<\/a> of the state\u2019s Fish and Game Commission. A decision is expected this summer.<\/p>\n

Some say the state isn\u2019t being bold enough in its approach to boosting protections for marine life, while others argue the existing network is strong enough. There is agreement, however: Marine protected areas can be a powerful tool in boosting certain fisheries and building resilience to climate change.<\/p>\n

How to get involved in the process<\/p>\n

Find all proposals here<\/a>. <\/p>\n

The proposals in each region will be discussed at the following upcoming public meetings: <\/p>\n

Del Norte County-Monterey County proposals<\/p>\n

When: April 21, 8 a.m.
Where: San Mateo, Elks Lodge
Join the livestream here<\/a>. <\/p>\n

San Luis Obispo County, Santa Barbara County and Northern Channel Islands proposalsWhen: May 5 and 6, 8 a.m.Where: Goleta, Hilton Garden InnJoin the livestream here<\/a>.
\nLos Angeles County, San Diego County and Catalina Island proposalsWhen: May 19, 8 a.m.Where: San Clemente, Holiday Inn ExpressJoin the livestream here<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Find full details for all of these meetings here<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Creating underwater refuges<\/p>\n

California started the process of protecting areas off its coast in 1999, when the Marine Life Protection Act<\/a> was signed into law. That kickstarted the process of establishing an interconnected network of marine protected areas off the state\u2019s coast.<\/p>\n

But the process to get that done was a long and arduous one, slowed by competing interests and political infighting. It wasn\u2019t until 2012 that the state completed the existing coastal network of more than 120 underwater refuges.<\/p>\n

That network provides protections from fishing and other activities for a little over 16% of California\u2019s coast. By 2030, the state\u2019s goal, codified by an executive order from Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2020, is to protect 30%<\/a> of its lands and waters by 2030.<\/p>\n

The science of marine protected areas<\/p>\n

Marine protected areas have improved the health of underwater ecosystems.<\/p>\n

A state review of its network, released in 2023<\/a>, found that marine protected areas were largely working \u2014 supporting larger, healthier and more abundant populations of many species, as well as creating a \u201cspillover effect\u201d that boosts certain lucrative fisheries, such as lobster, outside the bounds of the protected area. For example, a 2021 study<\/a> found that a 35% reduction in fishing area due to protected area designation off the Channel Islands resulted in a 225% increase in total lobster catch after just six years.<\/p>\n

Marine protected areas have also been found to improve resilience for some species in the face of climate change, as the ocean absorbs nearly one-third of the carbon pollution in our atmosphere and about 90% of the excess heat that that pollution would otherwise generate.<\/p>\n

Researcher Kyle Cavanaugh and his team at UCLA analyzed satellite data of kelp forests<\/a> off the California coast in the decades before and after the establishment of the state\u2019s protected areas, focusing on the changes after a severe marine heat wave between 2014 and 2016.<\/p>\n

\u201cMarine protected areas recovered more quickly, more strongly compared to the non-protected areas in Southern California,\u201d Cavanaugh said.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Sheephead fish are natural predators of sea urchins that can destroy kelp forests. <\/p>\n

(<\/p>\n

Courtesy Laguna Beach Bluebelt Coalition<\/p>\n

)<\/p>\n

He said that\u2019s likely because these areas protect predators of sea urchins, which graze on kelp and can destroy entire forests if left unchecked. Their predators, such as sheephead fish and lobster, are found in Southern California\u2019s waters.<\/p>\n

But the story was a little different in Northern California. Cavanaugh\u2019s team found that marine protected areas didn\u2019t have the same rebound effect for kelp forests there, likely because sea urchin predators up north are sea otters and sea stars.<\/p>\n

\u201cSea otters are protected [by the state] anyway, and sea stars basically have been wiped out across California due to sea star wasting disease,\u201d Cavanaugh said. That disease led to a proliferation of urchins up north, and a dieoff of around 85% of the kelp forest in just the last 10 years.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A seal swims in a marine protected area off Laguna Beach. <\/p>\n

(<\/p>\n

Alex Cowdell<\/p>\n

\/<\/p>\n

Courtesy Laguna Beach Bluebelt Coalition <\/p>\n

)<\/p>\n

Though more conservation is likely necessary (and increasingly complicated as climate change shifts ecosystems), a blanket approach to protected areas is not a silver bullet, Cavanaugh said.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u200aThere’s different things going on in different locations, and there’s not going to be a one size fits all approach at all,\u201d he said. \u201cWe might lose kelp in certain areas in a warming world, and so figuring out which patches might be more resilient to temperatures and protecting those is important.\u201d<\/p>\n

Understanding the specific challenges to kelp forest growth or decline in varying regions is key, Cavanaugh emphasized. At the same time, California\u2019s marine protected area network is still young (compare a little over a decade of protections to the more than 150 for many of our national parks), and there\u2019s much to learn about the role they play in boosting the health of our ocean overall.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are baby protected areas, and that means we’re still learning how they function,\u201d said Douglas McCauley, an ecologist at UC Santa Barbara. \u201cThat also means that we’re still beginning to see how they mature and the benefits that they can create over time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Competing interests, shared connection to the ocean<\/p>\n

For Chris Voss, that specificity around the gains of certain marine protected areas is key.<\/p>\n

Voss is a lifelong commercial fisherman and president of the nonprofit Commercial Fishermen of Santa Barbara<\/a>. He said marine protected areas have been a boon for some industries, such as lobster, but not all, such as urchin fishers.<\/p>\n

He argues that the existing network is strong, and that more regulations will harm the fishing industry, which has been declining over the past two decades. He\u2019s particularly concerned about the proposals to expand or add entirely new marine protected areas.<\/p>\n

\u200a\u201dWe are all small, independent businessmen with families and kids and a desire to scratch out a living from the ocean, but also produce a high quality food product in a sustainable way from the marine environment,\u201d Voss said.<\/p>\n

His group, along with the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen\u2019s Associations<\/a> and a handful of recreational fishing groups, want state commissioners to deny the proposals.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey didn’t put the initial network on low-value real estate in the ocean. They put it on a very high-value real estate in the ocean,\u201d Voss said. \u201cThe fishing community has adapted.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Seagulls gather near a fishing boat in Northern California.<\/p>\n

(<\/p>\n

Brian van der Brug<\/p>\n

\/<\/p>\n

Los Angeles Times via Getty Images<\/p>\n

)<\/p>\n

He pointed to multiplying pressures on the industry, such as expanded offshore wind and oil drilling (the group opposes both) and aquaculture efforts, as well as the science that not every marine protected area benefits marine life in the same way.<\/p>\n

Voss said urchin fishers, for example, could help reduce kelp-eating urchin overpopulation in some areas. Such efforts have yet to scale, and urchins in kelp-barren areas are not very lucrative, though some researchers say urchin fishing as a management tool before kelp forest collapse could be a potential avenue.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s nuance that we should embrace,\u201d Voss said. \u201cWe need to think with and understand the complexity of the different fisheries and their impacts, and then make decisions with a more complete understanding so that we can get win-win situations.\u201d<\/p>\n

A blue belt off Laguna Beach<\/p>\n

Ocean advocates and recreational fishers and divers in Laguna Beach have proposed to<\/a> extend the marine protected area to fully encompass the city\u2019s coast. The area is a key link for genetic dispersal of sea life between Palos Verdes and La Jolla, as well as a major draw for ocean tourism.<\/p>\n

\u201cMarine life within the marine protected areas of Laguna Beach are really thriving, but as soon as you move past the boundary, there’s less sea life,\u201d said Mike Beanan with the nonprofit Laguna Bluebelt Coalition<\/a>. \u201cThe kelp forests that were in South Laguna are gone.\u201d<\/p>\n

A recent survey commissioned by the Laguna Bluebelt Coalition and Orange County Coastkeeper<\/a> brought United Nations-approved underwater survey group Reef Check to Laguna Beach, where they found<\/a> only female sheephead outside of the bounds of the protected areas and a proliferation of kelp-eating urchins. Female sheephead don\u2019t eat urchins like their male counterparts (all sheephead are born female, then turn into males as they age and grow<\/a>, which can take decades). Sheephead are targeted by spearfishers and commercial fishing in the area.<\/p>\n

\u201cWithout sheephead, the sea urchins take over and eat the base of the kelp forest, and then the kelp forest goes away,\u201d said Beanan. \u200a<\/p>\n

\u201cFor centuries,\u201d he added, \u201cwe thought the ocean was an inexhaustible source of food, and now we’re finding out that that really isn’t the case.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Two<\/p>\n

Tidepools in Laguna Beach.<\/p>\n

(<\/p>\n

Mike Stice<\/p>\n

\/<\/p>\n

Courtesy Laguna Beach Bluebelt Coalition<\/p>\n

)<\/p>\n

A lifelong diver who grew up in a working class household and often fished for food off the Orange County coast, Beanan said he\u2019d hoped the petition process would finally lead to full protections, but the Department of Fish and Wildlife has recommended denial of the proposal to protect all of the Laguna Beach coastline.<\/p>\n

Local fishing businesses have opposed the expansion. Beanan and his Orange County Coastkeeper counterpart, Ray Hiemstra (who is also a recreational fisher) both said they understand the concerns about expanding protections from local fishing businesses.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere’s going to have to be a sacrifice, and I don’t want to belittle the impact on the commercial fishers,\u201d Hiemstra said. \u201cBut I think this is a small, incremental, necessary step, and this is the time and the process where we’re able to take action on that.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"More than a decade after California began setting aside patches of ocean for conservation, change could be coming…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":267289,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[48,52,51,47,50,49],"class_list":{"0":"post-272524","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles","8":"tag-la","9":"tag-la-headlines","10":"tag-la-news","11":"tag-los-angeles","12":"tag-los-angeles-headlines","13":"tag-los-angeles-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/272524","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=272524"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/272524\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/267289"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=272524"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=272524"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=272524"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}