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State of the California Central Coast Symposium
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The State of the California Central Coast is a public symposium that offered resource managers, policy makers, stakeholders and scientists an opportunity to reflect on the first five years of marine protected area (MPA) monitoring and management in California’s Central Coast region - the first region to implement MPAs under the Marine Life Protection Act. This symposium also looks ahead to informing adaptive management of the Central Coast MPA network.

We invite you to watch the videos associated with each session listed on the left. You may also watch all of the available videos in sequence.

At the symposium:

  • Invited speakers highlighted information gathered through the state-funded baseline MPA monitoring program and key partners to establish a benchmark of ecological and socioeconomic conditions in the region and assessed any initial changes following MPA implementation.
  • Agencies, research institutions, citizen scientists, organizations and groups that conduct coastal and ocean monitoring in the region shared their work and helped inform ocean resource management.
  • Participants joined agency representatives and key partners to discuss the lessons learned during the implementation of the Central Coast MPA network related to enforcement and governance.

Hosted by: the MPA Monitoring Enterprise (a program of the Ocean Science Trust), California Department of Fish and Game, and California Fish and Game Commission.

We invite you to watch the videos associated with each session on the left. You may also watch all of the available videos in sequence.

Symposium photos

All Conference Talks

Master of Ceremony
Skyli McAfee, Executive Director, Ocean Science Trust
Speaker
Michael Sutton, President, California Fish and Game Commission
Speaker
Charlton Bonham, Director, California Department of Fish and Wildlife
Speaker
Jason Burnett, Mayor, Carmel City
Speaker
John Laird, Secretary for Natural Resources, California Natural Resources Agency
Speaker
Paul Michel, Superintendent, Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary
Speaker
The Honorable Fred Keeley, Treasurer, County of Santa Cruz, California
Key findings from the first 5 years of MPA monitoring in the Central Coast
Michael Sutton, President, California Fish and Game Commission
John Laird, Secretary for Natural Resources, California Natural Resources Agency
Mark Carr, Professor, PISCO - UC Santa Cruz
Liz Whiteman, Program Director, California Ocean Science Trust
Skyli McAfee, Executive Director, Ocean Science Trust
Aimee David, Ocean Policy Manager, Monterey Bay Aquarium
Session Host
Charlton Bonham, Director, California Department of Fish and Wildlife
Overview of Central Coast marine protected areas network design and implementation
Paulo Serpa, Research Analyst II, California Department of Fish and Wildlife
DFW MPA outreach and education efforts in the Central Coast
Susan Ashcraft, Environmental Scientist, California Department of Fish and Wildlife
Central Coast marine enforcement overview
Captain Don Kelly, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Law Enforcement Division
Session Host
Liz Whiteman, Program Director, California Ocean Science Trust
Integrating science in the Oregon territorial sea plan and marine reserve process
Susan Allen, Director, Our Ocean (Pew Environment Group)
Advancing MPA monitoring to support adaptive management
Tess Freidenburg, Consultant
Panel Discussion: Setting the Scene: Building relationships between science & management
Liz Whiteman, Program Director, California Ocean Science Trust
Sonke Mastrup, Executive Director, Fish and Game Commission
Susan Allen, Director, Our Ocean (Pew Environment Group)
Tess Freidenburg, Consultant
Speaker
Cat Kuhlman, Deputy Secretary for Oceans, California Ocean Protection Council
Session Host
Tom Mason, Environmental scientist, California Department of Fish and Game
Characterization of and initial changes in intertidal communities in MPA

Contributing author(s):

Pete Raimondi, Professor, Department Chair, PI, UC Santa Cruz
Characterization of and initial changes in kelp forest communities in MPA

Contributing author(s):

Mark Carr, Professor, PISCO - UC Santa Cruz
Citizen scientist kelp forest monitoring: results from marine protected area (MPA) baseline surveys along California

Contributing author(s):

Jan Freiwald, Reef Check California Director, Reef Check
Collaborative surveys of nearshore fishes in and around Central Coast MPAs

Contributing author(s):

Dean Wendt, Director, San Luis Obispo Science and Ecosystem Alliance (SLOSEA), Center for Coastal Marine Sciences
Rick Starr, Director, California Sea Grant Extension Program
Monitoring deep-water assemblages inside and outside MPAs using an ROV

Contributing author(s):

Mike Prall, Environmental Scientist, California Dept. of Fish and Wildlife
Baseline surveys of deep-water demersal communities in and near Central Coast MPAs

Contributing author(s):

Rick Starr, Director, California Sea Grant Extension Program
Mary Yoklavich, NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center, Santa Cruz
Session Host
Tom Mason, Environmental scientist, California Department of Fish and Game
Patterns of recreational fishing in the Central Coast region before and after MPA implementation

Contributing author(s):

Debbie Aseltine-Neilson, Senior Marine Biologist Specialist, Calif Department of Fish and Wildlife
California Central Coast Commercial and CPFV Fisheries: Establishing a baseline and exploring initial changes in spatial use patterns and economic trends

Contributing author(s):

Cheryl Chen, Marine Planning Project Manager, Ecotrust
Central Coast Marine Protected Area (CCMPA), review and analysis of commercial fishing activity and revenue realization in pre CCMPA and post CCMPA time periods

Contributing author(s):

Terry Tillman, Senior Biological Specialist, California Department of Fish and Wildlife
Hints of baselines long past: a photographic look backward in time

Contributing author(s):

Marc Shargel, Photographer, Living Sea Images
Session Host
Clare O'Reilly, Project Manager, Ocean Protection Council