The Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary was designated in 1980 to protect the region from oil and gas drilling. The sanctuary surrounds the five northern Channel Islands off the coast of Southern California.
A wide array of community and government stakeholders are involved in sanctuary management decisions through the Sanctuary Advisory Council. A large Marine Protected Area network has been established in sanctuary waters through a stakeholder-based process. Most of the protected areas are off-limits to fishing. The motivation came from observed declines in marine species and the resilience of fish populations within a nearby state-initiated marine reserve.
Sanctuary management also uses regulations, and educational and outreach strategies to accomplish conservation goals.
The 2009 sanctuary management plan emphasizes an ecosystem-based approach to management using the best available natural and social science information.
Mission
The mission of the Channel Island National Marine Sanctuary is to conserve, protect and enhance the biodiversity, ecological integrity, and cultural legacy of marine resources surrounding the Channel Islands for current and future generations.
Goals
The 2009 management plan established the following nine goals:
Lead Organizations
Federal
State
Key Parties
Federal
State
Local
Stakeholders
The Sanctuary Advisory Council includes the following stakeholders:
Sanctuary Superintendent
A sanctuary superintendent oversees day-to-day operations of the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary, which had 12 full-time federal employees and eight to 10 contractors in 2010. Other duties of the sanctuary superintendent include:
Sanctuary Advisory Council
A Sanctuary Advisory Council was formed in 1998 as a volunteer body to provide advice to the sanctuary superintendent. The council provides for a two-way flow of information between the sanctuary and its constituent groups, and acts as a forum for developing a consensus on management-related issues.
The council also includes six working groups that focus on topics such as research, conservation, education, fishing and the Chumash community. Working groups include members of the council and community members with an interest in the topic.
The council meets bi-monthly. The 21 voting members of the council include representatives of federal and state agencies, and the following constituent groups:
The Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary was designated in 1980 to protect the area from off-shore oil exploration. Federal protection of the Channel Islands dates to 1938, when Anacapa and Santa Barbara Islands were declared Channel Islands National Monument. The National Park Service was given jurisdiction over the management of the monument.
In 1968, declining sea life led the park service to restrict fishing and kelp cutting in portions of the monument, creating the first Marine Protected Area in the region.
In 1978, the state of California successfully sued for the right to regulate the taking of living marine resources within the area of the monument. California established a series of state ecological reserves. Fishing and kelp cutting was allowed, except in one 13-hectare marine reserve.
Federal protections over the resource were extended when Channel Islands National Monument was expanded to become Channel Islands National Park, which included the five northern Channel Islands. When Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary was created, it was the country’s third marine sanctuary.
The Ecosystem
Noted for its productive waters and diverse habitats and marine life, the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary lies within the northern Southern California Bight. It contains three bioregions: the cold water Oregonian Province, the warm water California Province, and a transition zone between the two. The sanctuary contains diverse habitats, including kelp forest, surfgrass and eelgrass, intertidal zone, nearshore subtidal, deep water benthic and water column habitats.
The varied habitats in the sanctuary support 496 species of algae and seagrass, benthic and pelagic invertebrates, more than 480 species of fish, four species of sea turtles, nearly 200 species of birds, and marine mammals that include whales, dolphins, porpoises, seals, sea lions and sea otters.
Threats
The primary stressors to the ecosystem are overfishing, kelp harvesting, and the impacts of vessel traffic, which diminish water quality and may harm marine mammals. Storms and other effects of climate change pose threats to the ecosystem. Ocean acidification has become a key concern.
Ship collisions with endangered blue whales also have become an issue. In fall 2007, four blue whales were killed in Santa Barbara Chanel because of collisions with ships.
In implementing ecosystem-based management in the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary, managers use a variety of strategies and tools, including regulations, Marine Protected Areas, community involvement through the Sanctuary Advisory Council, education and outreach, research and monitoring, and coordination of resources and expertise of multiple agencies and academic researchers.
The National Park Service and academic researchers conduct the greatest amount of research and monitoring in the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary. Although the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration manages the sanctuary, its budget and staff are limited.
Biological and physical oceanographic research occurs throughout the sanctuary. The park service has monitored the rocky intertidal zones and kelp forests for more than 25 years.
Monitoring also is conducted in the intertidal, subtidal and deep-water habitats.
Much of the monitoring is focused on the Marine Protected Area network. A report on the effectiveness of the network has been published using the findings of the monitoring effort.
Fishermen are incorporated into one component of monitoring, working with researchers from the University of California-Santa Barbara. Despite this effort, many other fishermen hesitate to give data to scientists because of a lack of trust and fears the data will be used to close or regulate additional areas of the fishery.
Since the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary began explicit efforts to use an ecosystem-based approach to management in the late 1990s, changes in the ecosystem and public understanding have been observed. Species diversity and density has increased within the Marine Protected Area network.
By prohibiting fishing, the marine reserves have allowed researchers to better understand the broader ecosystem.
The process of establishing the marine reserves led to greater public involvement with the sanctuary and raised public awareness of ecosystem-level issues. Ecosystem impacts are now a key consideration in Sanctuary Advisory Council decisions.
The Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary has been facilitated by three key factors:
Despite the success of the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary, it faces the following challenges in implementing an ecosystem-based approach to management:
People involved with the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary have learned:
Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary: http://channelislands.noaa.gov/