October 20, 2026 by David McGuire
Last week, the California Fish and Game Commission decided on 15 petitions adding new marine protected areas (MPAS) or modifying existing MPAs in the State network.
On October 16th, the California Fish and Game Commission (CFGC) voted to approve the Mishopshno State Marine Conservation Area off Carpinteria near the Carpinteria Slough and a white shark aggregation area. A new MPA was also expanded off the Point Sal State Marine Conservation Area near the Guadalupe Dunes in northern Santa Barbara County. Both of these MPAs were proposed by Chumash tribes, making them the first tribally nominated protected areas in the state’s MPA network. The MPA off of Point Sal is adjacent to the newly designated Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary. It will be given a new name in consultation with the Chumash people. The CFGC also approved an expansion of the Point Dume’ State Marine Conservation Area (SMCA) in Malibu in Los Angeles County. The new designation also increased protection at Pyramid Point SMCA 20 miles north of Crescent City, protecting declining salmon and fish populations while preserving tribal harvest.
The new areas created an opportunity for state agencies and Chumash tribes to work together on stewardship, building on the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary, and the state’s goal of expanding tribal stewardship.
Positive Steps Toward Achieving 30 x 30 Goals of Marine Protection
The increase in State protected waters is a positive step towards Governor’s Gavin Newsom’s 2020 Executive Order N-82-20, to achieve 30% of land and water protection by 2030. The 30×30 goal is part of an international conservation initiative to effectively protect and manage 30% of all land, freshwater, and ocean areas by the year 2030. This initiative was formally adopted in December 2022 as Target 3 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework during the COP15 UN biodiversity conference to conserve land and marine habitat for wildlife protection. The 30×30 goals heavily emphasizes creating connected habitats (like wildlife corridors and connected marine areas) rather than isolated “islands” of nature to help ensure ecosystems can successfully thrive.
In his 2016 book, Half-Earth: Our Planet’s Fight for Life, renowned biologist E.O. Wilson proposed dedicating 50% of the Earth’s surface to nature as a radical solution to halt the ongoing mass extinction crisis and preserve global biodiversity. The concept catalysed a movement following a paper in Science titled “Space for Nature.” The authors, scientist Jonathan Baillie of the National Geographic Society and biologist Ya-Ping Zhang of the Chinese Academy of Sciences called on world governments to mandate a minimum target of 30% land and ocean protection by 2030, with an ultimate trajectory toward 50% by 2050. Backed by over 190 countries, governments set minimum targets of 30% of the oceans and land to beprotected by 2030, with a focus on areas of high biodiversity and/or productivity, and to aim to secure 50% by 2050.
The new MPA designations bring California’s coastal waters under marine protection up to 22.2%.
The votes follow three years of public meetings, tribal engagement, and scientific review as part of the state’s first MPA Decadal Management Review (DMR) of its MPA network. Following the assessment the Commission officially opened a public window for Regulation Change Petitions in August 2023. This allowed California tribes, scientists, and ocean stakeholders to propose concrete changes to the network in what is termed Adaptive Management. In total, 20 total petitions were submitted requesting various modifications. Several were accepted, modifying minor adjustments to facilitate management and enforcement, or to meet planned goals. The CFG denied the proposal to expand Duxbury Reef SMCA in Marin County to extend the conservation status to the entire reef. The original petition filed by the Environmental Action Committee of West Marin (EAC) proposd making the State Marine Conservation area and no-take State Marine Reserve. After local opposition, mostly from the beach hamlet of Bolinas, the petition was walked back to maintain the shore fishing allowance but expand it to the entire reef habitat. This would have added 0.69 square miles to the SMCA, around 0.1% addition of State waters, but would have connected the south and north ends to the existing MPA. Duxbury Reef is the largest shale reef in California and one of the largest in North America. This State Marine Conservation Area protects the rocky reef habitat of more than 200 different marine species.
The Commission’s decision is not immediate. A formal rule-making process lies ahead, and the new areas will not take effect for a period between two to three years.
Shark Stewards, with our Golden Gate MPA Collaborative network will continue to work with local stakeholders, the Commission, the Ocean Protection Council, the Department of Fish and Wildlife, and tribal partners to make ensure future protection for local marine life, adding climate resilience, and and supporting coastal communities.
Citations
“The Global Solution to Extinction.” By E.O. Wilson, Opinion, The New York Times, March 12, 2016.
Wilson, E. O. (2016). Half-Earth: Our planet’s fight for life. W. W. Norton & Company.
Space for Nature Jonathan Baillie and Ya-Ping Zhang, Science 14 Sep 2018 Vol 361, Issue 6407 p. 1051 DOI: 10.1126/science.aau1397
Environmental Action Committee of West Marin Fish and Game Commission Agenda Item 9C: Regulation change petitions (marine): Referred petitions: Petition 2023-32 Duxbury Reef. February 6, 2026