Preserving Ocean Life on the California Coast

0:00 {\an8}[music] -Our plan for the day is we're going

0:05 to motor out of the harbor, up the coast.

0:08 Conditions today look pretty good.

0:09 We're sneaking in before a storm system that's building through the weekend.

0:12 They actually say that if you learn

0:14 to sail and boat in the Santa Barbara Channel,

0:16 you're pretty set for boating in a lot of places in the world,

0:19 just because the weather can change so quickly.

0:20 We're very fortunate to have a very seaworthy vessel here

0:23 that can handle the channel and its potential for wind or swell.

0:28 Harbor patrol.

0:29 That's their new boat.

0:30 It goes a lot faster than our boat.

0:33 We're heading out today to conduct some boat-based surveys of our MPAs,

0:38 our marine protected areas.

0:40 Specifically, we're just looking at what kinds of human activity are taking

0:43 place in the areas adjacent to our MPAs and in the MPAs themselves.

0:48 -What is an MPA?

0:50 -Marine protected area is an area where we limit any extractive activities.

0:57 That includes take of any organisms, algae, fish, invertebrates.

1:02 The idea is that you let the whole ecosystem recover.

1:06 In California, we're really fortunate we have a network of protected areas,

1:10 124 MPAs along the coast.

1:13 The idea is that a lot

1:15 of these organisms do something called broadcast spawning.

1:18 If we have areas set aside where they are not removed,

1:22 they can get bigger and produce more offspring,

1:25 and help populate areas both inside the MPA and also outside.

1:31 -Santa Barbara Channelkeeper is a local nonprofit.

1:35 We work to protect and restore the Santa Barbara Channel and its watersheds.

1:40 We work from Point Conception all the way down to the Ventura River.

1:44 We work from the ridges of the Santa Ynez

1:46 Mountains all the way out to the Northern Channel Islands.

1:50 -Here we are.

1:51 We've entered into the eastern side of the Campus Point MPA.

1:54 There's a lot of fishing effort right up to the border of the MPA.

1:58 That's our local lobster fisherman taking

2:01 advantage of the movement of the lobsters.

2:05 I saw a man on shore.

2:07 It looked like he might have been fishing.

2:08 We got closer to shore to check out and see what he's doing.

2:11 He is fishing, so we're going to take note in our survey form.

2:16 -How do you know you're in an MPA?

2:18 Are there buoys?

2:19 There's no floating signs or anything.

2:21 How do you know you've entered one?

2:22 -I know.

2:23 That's a great question.

2:24 As the boater or the fisherperson,

2:26 it's up to you to know the regulations where you're fishing.

2:31 We have this lovely chart plotter, like Google Maps in your cars.

2:35 It shows the MPAs.

2:38 If you're a fisherman, there's apps I have on my phone that can

2:41 show you where you are in relation to the MPA,

2:43 and then the regulations for that MPA.

2:46 -On the land, we're very familiar with national parks.

2:49 Yellowstone was established in the 1870s.

2:54 For protecting the ocean environment, we're behind.

2:58 We really started working on that in the 1970s.

3:01 Particularly in the Santa Barbara area,

3:03 we're seeing some really positive results of the marine

3:05 protected areas that have been set in place.

3:07 We're not looking to shut down the entire Santa Barbara Channel for fisheries.

3:12 We're looking for ways to create balance that lets

3:14 them still be able to continue their livelihood.

3:20 -We're in Santa Barbara Harbor.

3:21 Right at the pier.

3:23 This is the Saturday Fisherman's Market.

3:25 We sell locally sustainably sourced fish right

3:27 here from the Channel Islands and beyond.

3:29 A whole bunch of sustainable and delicious, and nutritious seafood supplies.

3:33 All about the local seafood economy,

3:35 supporting the blue economy here in Santa Barbara,

3:37 and really showcasing the resources that are found and caught

3:41 right off the coast to bring a delicious meal to you.

3:44 -How do you clean it?

3:46 -You can either gut it,

3:47 or you can just cut the head off and then fillet it real quick.

3:50 You can have them fillet it for you.

3:52 I wouldn't pay $3 a fish for that.

3:54 -Yes, I know.

3:55 -It's all local hook and line rockfish.

3:57 We've got different species of the rockfish, and then we've got some rock sole.

4:01 Sold out of Mackerel first thing,

4:02 one of our most popular items here at the market.

4:05 We distribute from San Francisco to Los Angeles, all out of this harbor.

4:10 We're keeping the local fishing alive.

4:14 We're battling farm-raised fish.

4:17 We're battling fish from overseas.

4:18 We're battling fish from Mexico.

4:20 Everyone's trying to push out the little guys,

4:22 but here we are, and we're keeping that dream alive.

4:29 -How are the MPAs working out for you?

4:31 I say MPA, you think what?

4:34 -For me, they don't bother me.

4:36 Most fishermen have a different opinion.

4:39 I think that it's keeping the fisheries alive.

4:42 I actually think that they are helping

4:44 in the sense that we're giving the fish a break,

4:47 and we're getting the spillover.

4:49 I really do believe that we're getting spillover out of them.

4:51 -Spillover meaning the fish reproduce in the MPA,

4:55 leave the MPAs, and you're good to catch them.

4:57 -Absolutely.

4:58 I'm not against that.

4:59 Now, keep expanding, keep growing, and you make half the island close.

5:04 I might have a different opinion.

5:06 -Would you like to?

5:08 -There are mixed emotions about that.

5:11 MPAs, they were designed to close areas for a few years,

5:17 do some study on it, reopen it, and maybe close another area.

5:21 As far as the MPAs now, they've shut them down,

5:26 and there hasn't been fishing there since the MPA started.

5:31 -Does that affect you?

5:33 -In different fisheries.

5:36 The near-shore stuff, it definitely affects all the fishermen.

5:40 There's an abundance of sea life there that's not

5:43 tapped into, where it's been closed for so long.

5:48 The number of fishermen in this state when I

5:51 first started fishing was over 20,000 licensed commercial fishermen.

5:55 Now, it's less than 6,000.

5:58 -I'm saying that conservation of the marine environment is a good idea,

6:04 but it can be done in conjunction with well-regulated,

6:09 sustainably managed fisheries.

6:12 The two aren't incompatible.

6:14 We have an internationally award-winning network of MPAs in California,

6:19 and they contribute to the abundance of fish between

6:23 MPAs because they end up being repositories of spawning potential.

6:27 There should be a recognition of that reality.

6:31 We are durably regulated, and there's no need for California, of all places,

6:36 to dramatically expand the amount of protected areas when

6:40 the areas that we fish in are well protected.

6:44 -I think that there's also been a bit

6:46 of a tradition of thinking about oceans as vast.

6:49 We can't do any kind of damage to them.

6:51 It's taken a while, and it's taken a lot of really great people

6:56 to explore the ocean and start educating

6:58 that the oceans are deserving of protection too.

7:00 Particularly when we think about the importance of oceans for human populations,

7:04 it's something that does deserve greater attention.

7:09 -Thanks for watching.

7:10 If this story helped you see things from a different angle,

7:13 tell us what you think in the comments.

7:15 Stick around for the next video.

7:17 I think you're going to love it.