NEW AND EXPANDED MARINE PROTECTED AREAS HEADED TO NEXT STAGE FOLLOWING CALIFORNIA FISH AND GAME COMMISSION VOTE

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Oct. 23 -- The California Department of Fish and Wildlife issued the following press release:

The California Fish and Game Commission (Commission) returned to the topic of marine protected area (MPA) petitions at its October meeting, granting seven petition actions to be considered for future rulemaking. Those granted include two tribally led petition actions that propose the creation of new MPAs for Point Sal in San Luis Obispo County and Carpinteria Reef in Santa Barbara County.

Twenty MPA petitions were submitted to the Commission in 2023 following the California Department of Fish and Wildlife's (CDFW) release of its MPA Decadal Management Review; at last week's meeting, 15 of those petitions remained to be granted...